Ginger & Coconut Milk Tea

Like this post? You may want to peruse our archive of both tea and ginger posts.

We just had our first real snow storm of the season! It always creates a special buzz in our house. With this definite sign that winter’s on the way, I get particularly excited for everything that a new season brings, and last night my mind was on this drink.

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tomato jam

Ginger is our ingredient of the season. So far we’ve shared a super simple ginger dessert and a savory shepherd’s pie minus the mash. You can find our archive of previous featured ingredients here.
*We originally published this post in 2018.*
This week, while visiting PA, I put up a few batches of tomato jam. The farm garden was overrun with tomatoes, and my jam supply was precariously low. If your counters are overrun with tomatoes, there’s nothing better than a batch of this jam. It’s absurdly easy to make, which is perfect for anyone new to canning.

Tomato jam is the jam! Bet you didn’t see that coming.

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I do find that many people are surprised at the idea of a tomato-based jam. This isn’t something to pair with your peanut butter. This is a savory and slightly spicy jam that’s serves as an amazing condiment. I like to pair it with cheese, but it’s also amazing as a spread on savory sandwiches. Think of a grilled cheese with caramelized onions and a thin spread of this amazing concentrated tomato+spice flavor. Or imagine a pulled pork sandwich with a spread of jam. Do we have your attention? This stuff is amazing.

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Cranberry Rosemary Sour

This past spring we shared a variety of fizz and sour cocktails. Today we’re back with a wintry version. You can find all of our cocktail recipes here.
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If you’re up for a bit of egg on your face in your drink, then I think you’ll love today’s drink. The combination of spicy ginger + tart cranberry + earthy rosemary creates a drink that encapsulates everything I feel as I watch the sun’s low rays move across our hill on a winter day.  Continue reading

Moroccan Spiced Shepherd’s Pie

Ginger is our ingredient of the season. You can find our archive of ginger posts here and our previous featured ingredients here.

*This post was first published in September of 2017, but we’re republishing it today because it’s pie day!… technically we should be baking this in a circular pan. If you bake it in a rectangular pan for Pi Day, use it as a test and see if any of your guests call you on it. 🙂

I mentioned this dish in my recent farm share post, and with fall right around the corner, it’s a perfect time to add this to your repertoire.

This dish includes all of the best comforts of shepherd’s pie with added interest from the Moroccan spices and added simplicity from the sliced potatoes. The first time I made this we took it to a friend’s house and everyone around the table (from the 1 yo to the adults) loved it!

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We are big shepherd’s pie fans, but honestly, I never make it because I don’t want to mash the potatoes. But as soon as I saw this recipe, I was all in because the potatoes are sliced instead of mashed. The recipe is from Modern Israeli Cooking, with just a few slight variations…  I have a feeling you’re going to see us mentioning this book many times throughout the season!

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Our Favorite Kimchi Recipe

Last winter ginger was our ingredient of the season. You can find our archive of ginger recipes here.

This is our well-tested kimchi recipe, and it’s a recipe that I’ve been wanting to share/document for a while.

What is kimchi? Most simply, it’s a spicy Korean side dish made from fermented vegetables, commonly a mix of cabbage, radishes, garlic, ginger, and chili.

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What to do with it? It’s (obviously) a common side for many Korean dishes. In our house, the most common way to eat kimchi is as an addition to a jazzed-up bowl of ramen. Sometimes we get creative with our uses. I love adding it to an egg salad sandwich.

If you’ve never had kimchi, you may want to start by sampling some in a restaurant or from the grocery store. Once you’ve found a version that you like, you can start to experiment by making your own!

Check out our simple recipe below.

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Fire Cider!

Ginger is our ingredient of the season, and you can find our complete archive of ginger posts here.

Have you heard of Fire Cider*? Some consider it a magic elixir others consider it crazy hippie medicine. No matter where you stand on the topic, we can all agree that it’s a bit hard to swallow without a good dose of honey.

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This is a post has been on the back-burner for a while. I’ve been wanting to write it and share one of our trusted winter elixirs, but at the same time, I don’t like to spout magic without having a bit of science to back me up.

In the end, I decided to share a recipe for fire cider along with a few links and a suggestion that you do your own research into food as medicine.

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Ginger Whoopie Pies

Ginger is our ingredient of the season. You can find our archive of ginger recipes here.

I love a good spice cake. In my book, there’s only one way to improve any good cake : make it portable! That must be why the whoopie pie was invented.

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If you’re unfamiliar with a whoopie pie, let us introduce you. These are small treats made by sandwiching frosting between two small circular cakes. Most commonly, the cakes are chocolate and the frosting is vanilla, but I always felt lucky when I found a place selling the chocolate pies with peanut butter frosting!

Growing up in PA, it was common to see individual whoopie pies wrapped and for sale at farmer’s markets and near the cash registers of mom & pop markets. If you’re in Philly – stop into Reading Terminal and pick up a whoopie pie from the Amish stand. You can thank me later.

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Today we’re sharing a recipe for ginger whoopie pies with cream cheese frosting. This recipe comes from the cookbook (appropriately named) Whoopie Pies. While this is still a fairly common whoopie pie flavor, that book is filled with a wide variety of cake and frosting options for mixing and matching.

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Ginger Whoopie Pies

Ingredients

  • 4 cups flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 4 Tbsp shortening
  • 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 3/4 cup molasses
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 325F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. Sift together the dry ingredients: all ingredients from flour through nutmeg.
  3. In an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, beat together the butter, shortening, and brown sugar on low speed. Increase to high speed and beet for an additional 5 minutes until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the egg, beat well. Add the molasses, and again beat well.
  4. Add half of the dry mixture and half of the buttermilk to the butter mixture. Beat on low speed until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add in the remaining dry mixture and buttermilk, and beat until fully combined.
  5. Drop approximately 2 Tbsp scoops of batter onto the prepared baking sheets (leaving about 2 inches of space between each one).
  6. Bake one sheet at a time for about 10-12 minutes. The pies should spring back when pressed gently. Let the cakes cool completely before frosting.

https://liveseasoned.com/ginger-whoopie-pies/

The cookbook comes with a candied ginger frosting recipe, if you want to go whole-hog with the ginger.

Personally, I love pairing these cakes with a simple cream cheese frosting. Beat together 8 oz cream cheese + 1 stick butter + 2 cups powdered sugar + 1 tsp vanilla. Spread a generous layer between two cakes.

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In my opinion, these are cakes that get better with age. Give them a few hours or even a day for the flavors to meld, and you won’t be disappointed.

As I mentioned, these are super portable cakes. We had a friend over last week that packed an extra one for the slopes… pass these out on the chairlift, and you’ll become a legend.

Ginger Apps and Mains

Ginger is our ingredient of the season. You can find our archive of ginger recipes here.

Um, it’s Valentine’s Day. The heart balloons, roses, and piles of chocolate in the grocery store warned you this was coming. And now it’s here.

Our plans for the evening? Prepare and eat at a delicious f-ing meal. Because that’s what love is.

We hope your plans are just as awesome. And if you’re looking to add a bit of fiery spice to your evening, here are four dishes from our archives with a delicious touch of ginger.

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Chicken with Preserved Lemons

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Vegetarian Spring Rolls

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Pumpkin Curry

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Moroccan Spiced Shepherd’s Pie

Three Easy Infused Alcohols for your Valentine

Hey lovers! We had the best idea, infused ALCOHOL! Make it for your loved ones or yourself, either way, we think it’s the perfect way to celebrate V-day. If you’re on that sober train, we hear ya, here are a few of our favorite mocktails. We’ll be back tomorrow with some delicious love-infused treats too.

The following infused alcohols can be prepped this weekend and still be ready in time for Valentines, so you have a few days to think about what an easy and awesome gift this is before gettin’ to it.

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Ginger Liqueur – ready in just a day

Rosemary Vodka – ready in just a few days

Candy Cane Vodka – ready in just a few hours

Ginger Liqueur & Mule

Ginger is our ingredient of the season, you can find more ginger recipes here and more drink recipes here.

We’re popping in with a homemade ginger liqueur recipe and using it in a ginger mule cocktail. Just getting ready for the weekend.

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This liqueur has a quick turn-around. No long steeping period like our hazelnut liqueur or limoncello (oh hey, old blog!). Instead, it’s much similar in wait to something like our rosemary vodka.

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