Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Magic Formula

Ginger Honey Lemon

DSC_7447I let out a small scream when I got on the scale the other day. The time has come for me to be on a ‘diet’ plan. Holidays and travel attributed to this awful weight gain. Why aren’t I built like a friend who can eat anything and never gain an ounce? I secretly despise her metabolism. Totally not fair! Totally!DSCN1634

I’m reading a Japanese ‘Dried Ginger’ cook book. Dried ginger is more potent than raw ginger to combat cold, improve metabolism, burn more fat and it is good for skin, wow! That’s what I’ve been waiting for my whole life! I could be lazy, yet still thin and beautiful? The book came with a handy drying net but I think you could dry ginger by other methods.

Day 1 – I cleaned the fresh ginger (新しょうが) and julienned. Then I put it in the drying net, hung it and waited.
DSCN1638DSCN1639DSCN1642As the sun was shining, I hung it outside first. It’s getting very nippy, I brought it inside.DSCN1641Day 2 – While waiting for that to dry, I finished the last of the Tokyo Bananas. You never know when I can have sweets again, right? By the end of the second day, the ginger was shriveled up and ready to make ginger honey lemon. I put the ginger in the food processer to make coarse ginger powder. It was way too noisy, I will just mince with a knife next time.DSC_7410DSC_7423DSC_7425

Ginger honey lemon – makes about 65g

  • Lemon 3-4 thinly slice then cut in small pieces
  • Dried powdered ginger 10g
  • Honey 1/2 cup

Put everything in a small jar or plastic container with lid. Keep in the refrigerator. It is ready for use after 4 hours. I used 1 teaspoon of honey lemon ginger and 3/4 cup of hot water to make ginger tea and put a spoonful on top of plain yogurt, which is great too. DSC_7435DSC_7438DSC_7452DSC_7449DSC_7454

The flavor of dried ginger is more pronounced and bitter than fresh. You should dry bunch because weight of ginger shrink a quite a bit when it’s dry- about 100g of fresh ginger produces approximately 8-9 g. Put the left over dried ginger in freezer for later use, the ginger never gets frozen solid so you could use right away without defrosting.The book came with a few warnings though, consume only 1 teaspoon of dried ginger a day (1-2g), too much ginger may cause heart burn…diar…rhea …..I know there is a catch.

DSC_7400 I woke up to a thin blanket of snow…(no, it was a sheet of frost). No school today? Of course not! It’s Saturday!DSC_7390DSC_7380DSC_7381DSC_7373DSC_7393DSC_7395DSC_7398This photo is not well focused yet still interesting I think.DSC_7379DSC_7389Even the spider web got a coating of frost. Brrrr, I need to go inside and have a cup of hot chocolate…I mean ginger honey lemon tea.

15 comments:

  1. I love all your recipes, pictures, and your wonderful sense of humor. You should publish a
    cookbook. It should be called, "Eat, Pray, Laugh".

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  2. Hello! Been reading your blog with much interest eversince..and today I noticed, with great delight, your superb idea of the 'drying net bag'! It's a solution to our need that I never thought of before...

    One question: Did you have to put airing holes on the food tray? Hope you don't mind asking you this...

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    1. Thank you for your comment. Actually it was not my idea but the net come with the book. There are wires on the bottom and netting material over the wire so that air flows through it. Ginger will dry in 1 to 2 days.

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    2. Thank you for the reply:) I have to pick my brain cells some more to come up with a near enough product as what you have, for I don't think I could buy them here...this will also be a test to see if cells are still workable:)

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  3. Spectacular photos....loved reading this post. India (Mumbai) is still warm now and as I write to you, my fan is on! Snowfall never happens in Mumbai, so I found these pictures thrilling!
    http://cosmopolitancurrymania.blogspot.in/

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    1. Thank you so much for your comment. Mumbai sounds so exotic - I know a little about the city from TV show - 'Amazing Race' is my favorite show.

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  4. I agree with the first commenter!

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    1. Jalna, Thank you so much. I'm LOL right now. You're so fun!

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  5. I also agree with your readers. I am delighted by your adventures with food (and nature).

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    1. Karen, I enjoying your blog very much. Kids are glowing up so fast that it's so amazing!

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  6. I need this ginger honey lemon, gaining weight a lot recently . Love to see those snow photos.

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    1. Sonia, Thank you so much. It's easy to make and with this drying net, drying is cinch.

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  7. すごいー。フレッシュな生姜を乾燥させるなんて。私生姜大好きだから、これやってみよう!なんかとても寒かったんですね。こちらも寒かったけど、雪までは降りませんでした。とても綺麗な写真に魅せられました。

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    1. なみちゃん、コメント毎回感謝してます。そうなよ~まだ寒いし。風邪に気をつけてね。

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