20 Ways To Enjoy Ginger!

ginger-8335164
.
From Epicentre.com:
Ginger is one of those ingredients that can be many things to many people. Not only is it used in cuisines around the world, but it also comes in a variety of forms fresh, pickled, dried, and crystallized among them
.
People who bake may immediately call to mind the ground ginger they use in gingerbread or the jewel-like crystallized ginger they add to holiday cookies and cakes. Others think first of ginger’s savory contributions: the brightness that minced fresh ginger adds to Chinese stir-fry, or the refreshing tang of pickled ginger served with sushi.
.
Rarely used as the sole flavouring in recipes, ginger combines particularly well with the warm spice notes of cumin and coriander in savory preparations. Garlic, mustard seed, turmeric, and the whole palette of Indian seasonings would shine less brightly without ginger’s glow. In sweets such as quick breads, muffins, and preserves, ginger is part of a classic triumvirate along with cinnamon and cloves.
.
In each of its incarnations, however, ginger makes its simultaneously hot and refreshing presence known.

Top 10 Recipes Featuring Ginger on TriniGourmet.com

gingerbeer-5167746 1. Carmen’s Jamaican Ginger Beer (recipe)

My mom’s traditional family recipe for Jamaican Ginger Beer

carrotgingercuminsalad-6135252

2. Carrot, Ginger and Cumin Salad (recipe)

The following is my take on a very popular Middle Eastern salad. The parsley and lemon juice give the carrots much needed brightness, while the cumin deepens all the flavours, creating an exotic side that complements most dishes 🙂

2-3643854 3. Sarina’s Sparkling Ginger-Lime Shandy (recipe)
Bubbly and sweet with a slight tang of lemon and beer. An unusual refreshment that is sure to garner raves!
spinachgingersalad-4441327 4. Sarina’s Spinach-Ginger Salad (recipe)
This quick and simple salad is perked up by the addition of slivered stem ginger. Stem ginger is an ingredient that doesn’t get as much love as I think it should. It’s usually found in the baking aisle, but at times I have seen it hiding rather uncomfortably in the aisles that house ‘international ingredients’ and/or random salad dressings.
guavaale-5838004 5. Sarina’s Bubbly Guava-Ginger Ale (recipe)

A light and refreshing non-alcoholic cooler.

butternutsquash-9020246 6. Butternut Squash Soup With Ginger (recipe)

Adapted from a recipe in Bon Appetit magazine, this warm and creamy soup became an instant classic in my home and graced the table at last year’s Passover Seder.

chocolategingerbread-9745220 7. Fresh Ginger and Chocolate Gingerbread (recipe)

Rich, coffee laced chocolate icing forms the perfect counterfoil to the sweeter chocolate gingerbread base. Studded with slivers of fresh (as well as crystallized) ginger and chocolate chips this gingerbread has no problem staying light, moist and vibrantly flavoured. It’s without a doubt the best gingerbread I’ve ever made, and the best gingerbread I’ve ever had!

fruitandnutcookies-6980820 8. Fruit & Nut Cookies (recipe)

Gingerbread fruit and nut ‘cookies’ are colorful, festive, and not-too sweet. Perfect for any gathering from formal to informal.

icedtea-1975290 9. Iced Lemon Ginger Tea (recipe)

This drink is wonderfully refreshing and has a soft muted tone, thanks to the use of honey. Not only does the honey take the sharpness off the ginger flavour, it also makes this drink especially soothing on the throat.

gingerlimetea-6555817 10. Get Your C Ginger-Lime Tea (recipe)

This recipe for Ginger-Lime tea comes from Everyday With Rachael Rayand is chock-full of goodness. Fresh lime/lemon juice provides a boost of vitamin C, and grated ginger brings powerful antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents. The combination of citric sweetness and spicy heat is not just good for chilling out on an afternoon but the health benefits also make it the perfect pick-me-up if you are feeling queasy, or like a cold is coming on.

5 More Ginger Inflected Recipes from my favourite Food Blogs!

1. Ginger Beef Patties with Lime Noodle Salad (sidewalk shoes)
2. Ginger and Maple Glazed Chicken Wings (The Hungry Mouse)
3. Pickled Garlic and Ginger (sidewalk shoes)
4. Fresh Ginger and Basil Pasta (Kahakai Kitchen)
5. Carrot, Ginger and Orange Soup (Chow Times)

And, if you want even more ideas. Here are 5 Ginger Intensive Cookbooks, picked for your enjoyment 🙂

1. Spoonful of Ginger

Part cookbook, part primer of Chinese medicine, Nina Simonds’s A Spoonful of Ginger offers dietary advice, herbal home remedies, and lively, unintimidating Asian recipes for the American home cook.

2. Ginger and Ganesh: Adventures in Indian Cooking, Culture, and Love

The recipes shared in this collection are far from ordinary; they are treasured family recipes from vegetarian homes in India — from homemade cheese cubes in a rich cilantro and almond curry to coconut-stuffed okra and luscious potato-curry dumplings. Power’s recipes and stories pave the road to understanding a culture that is at the same time ancient and so very much part of our modern world.

3. Blue Ginger: East Meets West Cooking with Ming Tsai

Blue Ginger offers many ways to spice up family meals and dishes to surprise guests without too much effort. Cooking from this book is an opportunity to take Asian ingredients you may have eaten in restaurants and master using them in your own kitchen.

4. Ginger (The Basic Flavoring Series)

A collection of 30 ginger recipes from around the world.

5. Ginger: A Book of Recipes (Little Recipe Book)