Ginger, you will always be my first love

CRYSTALLIZED  GINGER (Photo via)

You could say it started in Austria back in October of 2005 when I was standing in line to catch my flight back to the states from a trip to Romania.  My flight was boarding in less than 5 minutes and I had terrible nausea, the progressive kind where you are running out of time; you aren’t sure which "end" to worry about and the only thing that could comfort you is the nearest restroom. (You know what I'm talking about.)

The kind where you just want to be in the safety of your own home and definitely not in an airport in a foreign country! Which by the way, have you ever been to an airport in Austria? It is UNUSUALLY quiet. People whisper and if you don’t, you are definitely an American.

Thankfully, a friend came to my rescue and handed me a piece of crystallized ginger, which I choked down quickly and desperately, followed by a crinkled face and a “Yeeechk” sound. I wasn’t prepared for the hot spice and zing of raw ginger. Though, now I love it for just that taste.


Within a couple minutes, my stomach settled. The nausea passed. I boarded my flight and all was well.


While this was new to me, people have been using ginger for hundreds of years not only for its taste but for its superior health properties. This was my most memorable experience with “food as medicine” and I was most intrigued.  I have a little twinkle in my eye that hasn't left since that day.  

Now, I never travel or go camping without crystallized ginger in my carry-on, purse or hiking pack. I have a stash in my pantry and keep a small supply in my "first aid kit."


One of the extraordinary things about ginger (Zingiber officinale) is that you can use it in so many forms: fresh root, ground, dried, crystallized.  It is one of the world's best medicines and here are a few reasons why:

A Few of Ginger's Health Properties...

• warming, soothing, boosts circulation
• relieves motion sickness and nausea
• digestive stimulant
• good for cold and flu
• anti-inflammatory
• may help in the prevention of migraines

I'm in love with ginger's therapeutic benefits equally as much as I am with the delicious flavor it adds to dishes and drinks. How amazing is it that you can get both benefits in one shot? 

GINGER ROOT (Photo via)

As I write this to you, I just got back from a midnight walk in the snow (and they say it rarely snows in the Seattle area!).  I am sitting in front of my cozy fire place, but the one thing that would make this picture right is a satisfying, warm, fragrant cup of Ginger & Orange Spiced Cider.  

STAR ANISE (Photo via)

The recipe below is an apple juice-based cider with a generous amount of fresh ginger root; it's infused with fragrant essential oils from the orange zest as well as the whole spices that are added --- which by the way, aren't you just itching to use whole cinnamon sticks?  And to gaze upon the beauty that is star anise?  

NUTMEG (Photo via)

And don't you want to smell the perfect, deep, bittersweet, woody fragrance of fresh ground nutmeg?  It will ruin you forever for pre-purchased ground nutmeg.  I promise.  






There is a fabulous blend of warm, sweet, pungent and aromatic in this cider and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.  Take a little field trip to the bulk spice section in your natural foods store to find these rich and warming whole spices.  


If you give it a try, let me know what you think. 

What is your favorite way to use ginger?

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Ginger and Orange Spiced Cider

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Preparation time: 30 minutes

Serves 8

1 gallon unsweetened juice

Juice from 1 orange

1 teaspoon orange zest

4 cinnamon sticks

5 stars of anise

1 teaspoon whole cloves

1 teaspoon whole allspice berries

½ teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg

3 tablespoons fresh grated ginger root

Combine all ingredients in a large pot.  Heat to establish a gentle simmer.  Cover and simmer for 30 minutes to allow time for spices to infuse.  Reduce heat if it begins to boil.  Strain cider and serve warm.

Copyright 2010, S. Nester, Original recipe

Oatmeal Coconut Cookies

One of my good friends had a sweet tooth yesterday and specifically put in a request for oatmeal cookies. I whipped up
this recipe for her creating a traditional oatmeal cookie that would satisfy expectations but with a bit of a spin on it by adding in coconut and some winter spices.

In this recipe, I use both chocolate chips and dried cranberries ...truthfully, you can take 'em or leave 'em and it's still a pretty delicious cookie if you ask me.

My friend explicitly said "no chocolate." (And yes we are still friends. She has many other redeeming qualities : )) So I threw in the cranberries for her and did a separate batch with chocolate chips for the chocolate lovers.

Either way, you can make these cookies 3 ways:

• no cranberries/no chips
• split batch (as directed in recipe)
• cranberries and chips together
  

Your call.
Be sure to use rolled oats and not the instant ones. As for the sugar: rapadura, sucanat or raw cane sugar will do. Be sure to use whole wheat PASTRY flour and not just whole wheat flour. It does make a difference. Many of these items can be found in the bulk bins or natural foods section of your market.

These cookies will spread a little bit on the pan and they come out a little crispy around the egdes. They have the quality and flavor that come with using whole ingredients and of course the buttery finish you would expect from a homemade cookie. Well, that's what I expect in a cookie. B U T T E R. Amen to that.

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Oatmeal Coconut Cookies
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
2 1/4 cups rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground coriander

2 sticks of butter, at room temperature
2 cups raw cane sugar or other unrefined sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup dried cranberries
¾ cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Combine flour, coconut, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices in a mixing bowl. In a separate mixing bowl, cream the butter using a mixer. In a spice/coffee grinder, partially grind the sugar, being careful not to grind it too fine. Add the sugar to the butter and blend for about a minute. Add the eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla and give it one good final mix. Add in 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix using a fork. Mix in another third and then the final third. The dough will be thick. Split the dough in half and mix cranberries into one bowl and then the chocolate chips into the other half of the dough.

Scoop a heaping tablespoon of dough; with moist hands, roll into a ball and flatten just slightly. Place 2 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack.


Preparation time: 45 minutes
Yields 3 dozen cookies

Copyright 2010, S. Nester, Original Recipe