GINGER

Ginger.  It's a wonderful root that many say can help with nausea, colds, headaches, and even arthritis.  For myself, I ate crystallized ginger when nauseous (in the car) and it did seem to help.  Joe had the flu not long ago and when he was almost ready to eat food again I made ginger honey and ginger tea for him.  He was able to eat soup after having ginger tea as it soothed his nausea.  Joe was running a slight fever still and I like to think the warming effect of ginger tea and ginger honey I kept shoving at him kicked the fever up and out.

  

 Ginger tea is easy to make.  Grate fresh ginger and place it in a reusable tea ball or bag.  You could also grate and dry ginger for later use, reducing the time it takes to prepare the tea - helpful if you are making the ginger tea for yourself when you are sick.  Steep the ginger and add honey if you like.  

Ginger honey or ginger jam is almost as easy to make as tea.  Grate fresh ginger and place it in a saucepan.  Add enough honey just to cover the ginger.  Simmer 5-10 minutes, remove from heat and add a small amount of arrowroot powder to thicken the syrup to more of a jam consistency.  This is very good on toast.  The idea for ginger jam was one of the many helpful tips I picked up at the Mother Earth News Fair in September (thank you, Rosemary Gladstar!).    

 The most recent adventure with ginger was an attempt at crystallized ginger.  There are a million recipes online for crystallized or candied ginger.  This is what I did: peel and slice 1 pound of ginger.  Place ginger in a saucepan and cover with water, boil and reduce to simmer 10 minutes then strain.  Repeat this.  Place the ginger back into the saucepan with 4 cups water and 4 cups sugar.  Bring to a boil.  I let it cook on high for about 30 minutes.  Strain (keep syrup) and place ginger on parchment paper.  Toss with sugar and allow to dry.  Store in a sealed container for several months.

--My ginger required a lot of sugar to coat.  It kept soaking it up, even after drying overnight.  The next time I make it I will try letting it dry some before tossing it with sugar. I kept the extra sugar that got damp but didn't coat the ginger.  It will be good when I want to sweeten something with a little bit of ginger flavor.  I kept the syrup that the ginger cooked in also.  The syrup should be refrigerated.  It is good on waffles!     

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