Harmony Valley Farm: Ginger recipes

Even as we approach the end of the season, we still have exciting new crops to share with you. Year after year, I still get excited when we harvest baby ginger in November. I was telling Richard how much I love baby ginger and his response was “Do you think our members like it as much as you do?” Well, I don’t know, but I certainly hope so! If you are not familiar with baby ginger, please take a moment to read this week’s vegetable feature article. At the end of the article I included a few more recipe ideas including links to some of the recipes we’ve featured in past newsletters. For this week’s featured recipes, I turned to my longtime blogger friend, Heidi Swanson. The first recipe this week is for Ginger-Coconut Sweet Potatoes (See Below). This has been one of my favorite recipes from her blog, 101cookbooks.com, for many years. It’s super easy to make and is usually well-received by all, unless of course someone doesn’t like coconut. I’ve made it for dinner on just any old regular day, but I’ve also included it in holiday feasts. The second recipe, Instant Pot Dynamite Cold Tonic (See Below) is also from Heidi’s blog. If you don’t have an Instant Pot, don’t worry. You can do the same thing in a regular crock pot or just on the stove. I would recommend covering the pan if you are doing it on the stove and just bring the mixture to a simmer, don’t let it boil. You can cook it to your liking. The longer you cook it, the more flavor you’ll extract. This makes a nice, warm beverage to enjoy on a cold day. You may choose to make it if you feel like you’re starting to come down with something, or just to prevent a cold from developing! If you’re doing some traveling with the upcoming holidays, you may want to make some of this tonic to build up your immunity before and during your travels.

Cabbage Ginger Noodles
Photo from naturallyella.com

Throughout the rest of the recipe suggestions for this week I’ve included other recipes that include ginger, such as Chopped Thai Satay Salad with Peanut Ginger Dressing and Cabbage Ginger Noodles which make good use of the green savoy cabbage in this week’s box!

We are happy to be able to deliver tat soi as a fresh green this late in the season. Remember, tat soi may be used interchangeably with spinach and bok choi such as in this recipe for Red Lentil Masala with Spinach.

Thanksgiving is coming up soon, which for most households means mashed potatoes! This week’s Asterix potatoes are a great option for making mashed potatoes. If you still have some of last week’s Purple Viking potatoes, the two make very delicious, light and fluffy mashed potatoes when combined. I also like using Asterix potatoes when I make root mash, which may include sweet potatoes, carrots, or whatever root you may have.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, this is a great time of year to collect vegetable recipes! Food52.com always has some good recipe collections in honor of this holiday, so check them out as you plan your meals over the next few weeks!

I will plan to see you back in this space in two weeks as next week is a meat delivery only. We will have one more vegetable box before Thanksgiving and then we’ll come back after the holiday to wrap up the season! I hope you are able to find some inspiration with this week’s recipe selections and as always, be sure to share what you’re cooking in our Facebook Group!

Chef Andrea

Vegetable Feature: Baby Ginger

by Andrea Yoder

This week we’re featuring Fresh Baby Ginger, a tropical plant we have been growing for about a decade! Our growing season is much different than Hawaii and other ginger-producing regions, however it is possible to grow ginger in this climate! Ginger is actually a rhizome, which is a stem that grows horizontally underground. It produces roots to anchor it and sends up shoots to grow into foliage above ground as it grows and expands. The ginger we produce is actually referred to as baby ginger as we don’t have enough warm days, even when grown in the greenhouse, to produce fully mature ginger.

Baby ginger is different than fully mature ginger, which is what you have likely purchased if you’ve bought ginger from the store. Baby ginger has a very thin skin with some pink coloring, especially at the points where the stems have grown from the main rhizome. This is very different from the thick, brown skin you are likely most accustomed to seeing in the store. Due to its thin skin, baby ginger is more perishable and should be used within about a week for optimal quality. It is best to store it at room temperature as it can get rubbery in the refrigerator. When you cut into a piece of baby ginger, you will notice it is more tender, juicy and has a bright and perhaps a bit milder flavor than some fully mature ginger that can be quite spicy. In many ways, young ginger versus fully mature ginger is very similar to the differences you experience with using fresh garlic harvested in late June versus mature garlic that has been cured.

Ginger is used as both medicine and food. As a medicine, it has anti-inflammatory properties, can sooth a whole host of gastrointestinal maladies, and helps to boost the immune system. When used in cooking, you will find it is a common, if not staple, ingredient in many Asian cultures. It is often paired with garlic and scallions in Chinese stir-fry or combine it with chiles, lemongrass and a variety of other ingredients to make Thai curry pastes. Ginger has a spicy, warm flavor which also makes it an excellent ingredient to pair with other warming spices and rich, comforting foods such as sweet potatoes, winter squash, mushrooms, broccoli, etc. It can be used extensively to make beverages, teas, baked goods, stir-fry, salad dressings, vegetable dishes, curries, and much much more!

To use baby ginger, simply cut a piece from the main chunk and peel if necessary. As I mentioned above, it’s best to use baby ginger within about a week. If you do not think you’ll be able to use all your ginger within a week, consider preserving it for later use. There are several options for ways to preserve ginger. First, consider making a ginger syrup that you can keep in the refrigerator to use as a base to add to beverages or just eat a spoonful each day for an immune boost. You can also turn fresh ginger into pickled ginger. Traditional Japanese Pickled Ginger that is commonly served with ginger is made with baby ginger. The pink hue of pickled ginger comes from that pink color you see on the skin of baby ginger. This is also the preferred form of ginger to use as it’s more tender and delicate compared to fully mature ginger. Pickled ginger is very easy to make and will keep for up to six months in the refrigerator. Lastly, you can freeze fresh ginger. Just wash it well and cut it into smaller pieces, about the amount you may want to use at a time. Place the clean ginger pieces in a freezer bag and freeze it raw. When you have a recipe that calls for fresh ginger, pull a piece of the frozen ginger out and let it rest at room temperature for a few minutes. The ginger may be a little soft once fully thawed, but that doesn’t really matter. Just chop it up and use it wherever you need “fresh” ginger!

We’ve come to appreciate this crop over the years and hope you enjoy this little taste of the tropics! I couldn’t stop myself as I was looking at different ginger-centric recipes, so I just decided to compile a list of recipes you may choose to make with your fresh baby ginger.

Ginger-Coconut Sweet Potatoes

Photo from 101cookbooks.com

Yield: 6 servings

2 ½ pounds sweet potatoes

⅓ cup coconut milk

1 Tbsp fresh ginger, grated

1 Tbsp maple syrup

½ tsp sea salt

⅓ cup raw, unsweetened grated coconut

2 Tbsp olive oil or melted butter

⅓ cup toasted macadamia nuts or hazelnuts, chopped

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Butter or oil medium-sized casserole dish. Set aside
Place sweet potatoes in a baking pan with about ½ inch of water in the bottom. Place in the oven for somewhere between an hour and an hour and a half, or until each is baked through. Times vary greatly depending on the size of your sweet potatoes—in the end you should be able to cut through the center flesh as if it were soft butter.
Remove the potatoes from the oven, let them cool for a few minutes, and cut each sweet potato in half. Scrape out the flesh. You should have about three cups of sweet potatoes. In a food processor, puree the sweet potatoes with the coconut milk until well-combined and smooth. Stir in the ginger, maple syrup and salt. Let it set for a few minutes, stir again and taste-adjust the seasoning if you need to—this is your chance to get the right amount of salt and ginger in the sweet potatoes before they go in the oven.
Spoon the sweet potato mixture into the baking dish, sprinkle with coconut, drizzle with olive oil or butter and bake uncovered until warmed through and the coconut has turned golden. This will take approximately 30-40 minutes. Remove and sprinkle with the toasted nuts just before serving.

Note from Chef Andrea: This has been one of my longtime favorite Heidi Swanson recipes that I found on Heidi’s blog, 101cookbooks.com almost 10 years ago! We originally published it in our newsletter back in 2013, but it’s good enough to bring back to the forefront for those who may not have been with us in 2013! It is easy to make for every day meals, but is also a great addition to a Thanksgiving feast. Sometimes I also add a little bit of orange zest and juice for a bit of a fruity variation.

Instant Pot Dynamite Cold Tonic

Yield: 6 cups

6 cups water

3 Tbsp honey, plus more to taste

2 cinnamon sticks

1 tsp dried turmeric

3 dried chiles de arbol

3-inch knob of fresh ginger, thinly sliced (about ½ cup)

Combine all of the ingredients in the Instant Pot.
Secure the lid and select Manual to pressure cook on High for 5 minutes. Allow to natural release for up to 25 minutes or quick release after 15 minutes for a slightly weaker tonic. Strain and transfer to glass jars. Serve warm, sweetened with a bit more honey if you like.

Recipe borrowed from Heidi Swanson’s blog, 101cookbooks.com. Here’s what Heidi has to say about this recipe: “This head-clearing, sniffle-blasting cold tonic is the color of Tang, with flavor like a stick of ginger dynamite. If you need to jolt a cold out of your body with brute force, consider starting here!”

Thursday, November 3, 2016

Vegetable Feature: Fresh Baby Ginger

By Chef Andrea

We are very excited to deliver possibly the freshest ginger you may ever have experienced! Given our shorter growing season, the ginger we grow is actually considered “Baby Ginger.” Ginger has a wide variety of culinary uses and is a common ingredient in the cuisine of many Asian cultures. It is a base ingredient in Chinese stir-fries. It is combined with lemongrass and chiles to make Thai curry pastes and in Japan, it is often served alongside sushi in its pickled form. Ginger has a spicy, warm flavor which also makes it an excellent ingredient to include in baked goods, tea and other beverages.

To use your ginger, cut off a piece from the main chunk and peel it. Remember, this is very fresh ginger and still has a very thin skin so you don’t have to peel very deep, rather just gently scrape away the thin skin. You can store ginger pieces for several days at room temperature or if you aren’t going to use it right away you can store it in the refrigerator. It can also be preserved for long term storage by freezing it. I like to cut it into smaller pieces before I freeze it so I can just pull out a small portion as I need it. You will find this fresh ginger to be very juicy and crisp with a bright flavor. The long green stems attached to the lower portion contain a mild ginger flavor as well. I cut them into 5-6 inch pieces and use them to infuse a little more ginger flavor into soups, stocks, curries, tea, etc.

We have more recipes available on our website from past newsletters. A few of my personal favorites include Golden Milk, Chai-Spiced Bread, Ginger-Cardamom Tea and Pickled Ginger. Have fun using and experiencing this tropical Wisconsin treat!

Crystallized Ginger

Recipe adapted from Alton Brown, The Food Network

Photo borrowed from The Food Network Website

8 oz fresh ginger root

4 cups water

½ lb granulated sugar, or as needed

1. Spray a cooling rack with non-stick spray or brush lightly with oil and set it in a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.

2. Clean and peel the ginger. Because the ginger is so young and fresh, a spoon or knife scraped against the root should work well for peeling.

3. Slice the ginger into ⅛ inch slices. Place ginger and water into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover, lower heat, and simmer for 35-50 minutes, or until the ginger is tender.

4. Drain the ginger, reserving ¼ cup of the liquid. Weigh the ginger and add an equal amount of granulated sugar. Return the ginger, sugar and up to ¼ cup of the reserved liquid back to the pan. You only need to use enough liquid to dissolve the sugar.

5. Stir over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium, and continue stirring and watching as the syrup thickens. Keep stirring and cooking until the syrup has dried and the sugar has recrystallized, about 20 minutes. The transformation will be obvious. Immediately move the ginger to the wire rack and cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

HVF Note: Use the crystallized ginger in the carrot-ginger soup recipe in this newsletter or add it to banana bread, sugar cookies, ginger snaps, citrus salad, granola bars, cakes, pies, muffins, cupcakes, shortbread, pancakes, waffles, over ice cream, in lemon pound cake, cranberry relish or in pear or apple crisp. Save any gingery sugar crystals to put in your coffee or tea. You can even add the ginger water that you made in the first step to tea, but be careful - it’s spicy!

Carrot-Ginger Soup

Recipe adapted from The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook by America’s Test Kitchen

Yield: 6 servings

HVF Note: This recipe aims to keep it simple by amplifying the sweet flavor of carrots by using a few basic aromatics and lots of carrots, including carrot juice. If you’ve been stockpiling your carrots for the last few weeks, this would be a great recipe to use. The addition of baking soda is to tenderize the carrots and ginger, producing a perfectly creamy soup.

2 Tbsp unsalted butter, ghee or vegetable oil

2 onions, chopped fine

¼ cup minced crystallized ginger (see recipe, opposite)

1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger

2 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed

2 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

2 pounds carrots, peeled and sliced ¼ inch thick

4 cups water

1 ½ cups carrot juice, divided

2 sprigs fresh thyme

½ tsp baking soda

1 Tbsp cider vinegar

Salt and pepper, to taste

Optional Garnishes: chopped chives, sour cream, croutons

1. Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in onions, crystallized ginger, fresh ginger, garlic, 2 tsp salt, and sugar. Cook, stirring often, until onions are softened but not browned, 5-7 minutes

2. Stir in carrots, water, ¾ cup carrot juice, thyme sprigs and baking soda. Increase heat to high and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer gently until carrots are very tender, 20-25 minutes.

3. Discard thyme sprigs. Working in batches, process soup in blender until smooth, 1-2 minutes (caution: vent the blender carefully, as steam will be released). Return pureed soup to clean pot and stir in vinegar and remaining ¾ cup carrot juice.

4. Return soup to brief simmer over medium heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve, garnishing individual bowls with chives, sour cream and/or croutons.

Thursday, October 29, 2015

Vegetable Feature: Fresh Baby Ginger!

by Sarah Janes Ugoretz

Ginger Growing in the Greenhouse

The wait is over. Baby ginger is here! A member of the Zingiberaceae family, ginger is often referred to as a root, but it is technically a rhizome. This knotted, thick rhizome forms underground, growing downward from the surface, while its narrow, green, flowering stem extends up to 36 inches above ground.

We start the ginger in the greenhouse in either late February or early March. It takes about 6 weeks just to start sprouting the seed pieces. We transplant it into our cold frame greenhouse in June. This location allows us to get more heat gain to give ginger the more consistent, warm climate it requires. Even then, we will never reach the full potential of the plant before winter sets in, hence our ginger is called “baby” ginger.

Fresh Baby Ginger!

Ginger’s presence has been documented in Asian artifacts dating back 4400 years. Today, its uses fall primarily into the culinary realm, though it is also widely recognized for its herbal medicinal properties. In the kitchen, ginger is a highly versatile ingredient, easily incorporated into sweet and savory dishes alike, from breads and muffins to curries and soups. As a tonic, combine ginger with lemon, honey (and brandy, if you feel so inclined), and enjoy its warm, healing properties. Ginger is often recommended to help alleviate the common cold, as well as a host of other ailments.

There are a few key ways in which baby ginger differs from what you’re most likely used to working with. Texture-wise, baby ginger’s flesh is much more tender and juicy. You’ll notice the skin is very thin with a pinkish hue. In its fresh state, you don’t really need to peel baby ginger. If left on your counter, your baby ginger will slowly develop a traditional thicker, grayish-brown skin.

Harvesting Ginger

In terms of storage, baby ginger can hang out on your counter for up to one week. We recommend using the stems right away, however. Feature them as stir sticks in fancy cocktails, where they’ll also work to infuse their host liquid. For refrigerator storage, wrap your ginger in a paper towel and stash in a plastic bag in your crisper drawer. For storage that exceeds 1-2 weeks, you can preserve ginger by freezing it. You can mince or dice the ginger and freeze it in small quantities or you can freeze it in whole pieces. Simply clean the ginger to remove any dirt, and then cut it into pieces that you would consider to be the amount you might use at one time. Put them in a freezer bag and freeze until you are ready to use it. When you are ready to use it, remove a piece from the freezer and let it rest at room temperature for 5-10 minutes before you cut it. In general, proper storage ensures you’re able to preserve both the potency and the incomparable flavor of your ginger. Enjoy!

Golden Milk

Yield: 2 cups
1 ½ -inch knob fresh baby ginger
One 1-inch knob fresh turmeric or 2 tsp
powdered turmeric
2 tsp ghee
1 cup full-fat coconut milk
1 cup coconut water
1 Tbsp honey, or to taste

Grate the ginger and turmeric (if using fresh) into a mortar or a bowl. If using dried turmeric, add it to the bowl along with the ginger. Spoon the ghee into the mortar or bowl and grind the ghee into the turmeric and ginger with your pestle or the back of a spoon until they form a fine paste.
Pour the coconut milk and coconut water into a saucepan, and spoon in the paste made with the turmeric, ginger and ghee. Turn the heat up to medium-high and warm the ingredients together until little bubbles just begin to creep up the sides of the pot. Turn off the heat and cover the saucepan, allowing the turmeric and ginger to steep about 3 minutes. Strain the golden milk through a fine-mesh strainer into a tea pot or clean saucepan. Stir in the honey and continue stirring until it dissolves. Serve warm.

This recipe is borrowed from Jennifer McGruther. She featured it on her blog, Nourished Kitchen
(nourishedkitchen.com). We enjoy this warm & tasty beverage in the winter months to ward off colds and illness.

Steamed Broccoli with Soy & Ginger

Yield: 4 servings
1 large head of broccoli (approximately 1-1.25#)
2 Tbsp sesame seeds
Olive oil
5 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
3 Tbsp soy sauce
½ tsp sesame oil
Juice of 1-2 limes
A Thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger

Remove the florets of broccoli from the stem, staying as close to the stalk as possible. By doing this you’ll be left with lovely small florets of broccoli and the stalk. You don’t want to throw the stalk away as it’s absolutely delicious to eat, so peel it using a peeler then cut it in half and finely slice it up. It will now cook at the same time as your florets. Feel free to either steam or boil the florets and stalk; just cook them so they’re soft enough but not overdone and mushy.
While the broccoli is cooking, toast and toss your sesame seeds in a dry pan until golden. Remove them from the pan and then put them to one side. Add 3 Tbsp of olive oil to the pan, heat it up and slowly fry your garlic until golden and crisp; like mini crisps. I find that if I angle my pan so that the oil pools in one side, the garlic will fry really nicely. Make sure you don’t let it burn as it will taste bitter. When done, remove the garlic chips with a slotted spoon and put them next to the sesame seeds.
Now, instead of giving yourself another bowl to wash up, make your dressing in the pan—you don’t need the heat on, so turn it off and let the pan cool down a little. You only need to use about 2 Tbsp of the garlicky oil, so discard any extra, then add the soy sauce and sesame oil to the pan and swirl it around. Add the juice from one of your limes, then grate your ginger with a fine grater. At this point taste it—you should have a balance of nuttiness, saltiness and a lovely zing from the lime. If it needs more soy sauce, olive oil or lime juice for perfect harmony then feel free to adjust to your taste.
Serve the steaming broccoli in a bowl drizzled with your dressing (which you’ll need to keep shaking in the pan before serving so it doesn’t divide), and sprinkle with the garlic chips and sesame seeds—gorgeous!

The voice of this recipe is Chef Jamie Oliver. He featured this recipe in his cookbook, Cook with Jamie: My Guide to Making You a Better Cook.

Friday, October 31, 2014

Feature: Fresh Baby Ginger

By Andrea Yoder

Ginger growing in the greenhouse

Ginger is a very interesting and unique crop, unlike anything else we grow on the farm. It is actually a rhizome, which is a stem that grows horizontally underground. It produces roots to anchor it and sends up shoots to grow into foliage above ground as it grows and expands. We grow the plant in one of our greenhouses that has a dirt floor. Ginger grows best in an ideal soil temperature of about 65°F, so trapping heat within the greenhouse helps us provide a longer period of warmth so we can maximize growth. Given our shorter growing season, we will never reach a full-sized ginger, so our ginger is actually “Baby Ginger.”

Ginger has thin skin with pink to purple scales

Ginger is used as both medicine and food. As a medicine, it is said to have an anti-inflammatory effect and can sooth a whole host of gastrointestinal maladies. It can also be an effective pain reliever and part of a treatment plan for cancer. It is a common ingredient in many Asian cultures, often pairing with garlic and scallions in Chinese stir-frys or combine it with chiles, lemongrass and a variety of other ingredients to make Thai curry pastes. Ginger has a spicy, warm flavor which also makes it an excellent ingredient to pair with other spices and rich, comforting foods such as sweet potatoes, winter squash, mushrooms, broccoli, etc. It can be used extensively to make beverages, teas, baked goods, stir-frys, salad dressings, vegetable dishes, curries and much, much more!

Baby ginger has a very thin skin with pink to purple scales. You don’t need to peel the thin, delicate skin of fresh, baby ginger. Simply trim away the scales and you are ready to use the ginger. You’ll find baby ginger to be tender, juicy and very flavorful. Baby ginger is excellent to use for making pickled ginger. The leaves and stems also contain quite a bit of flavor. Use them to flavor soups or stocks or steep them in hot water to make tea. You could also use the ginger stems as a stirring stick for a tropical beverage. Fresh baby ginger can be stored at room temperature for several days. For longer storage, you can put it in the refrigerator or freezer.

We hope you have as much fun experimenting with and experiencing the delicious flavors of fresh ginger. We’ve had a lot of fun growing this crop for you!

Brussles Sprouts with Ginger & Cranberries

Recipe by Andrea Yoder

Serves 4

4 oz bacon, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 heaping Tbsp fresh ginger, minced

1 small onion, small diced

3 cups Brussels sprouts, halved

Salt & Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 cup fresh cranberries, finely chopped

1. Heat a medium saute pan over medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add the bacon. Cook the bacon until it is just turning golden and is crispy. Remove the bacon pieces from the pan, put them in a bowl and set them aside. Pour the bacon grease out of the pan and into a glass jar. Reserve one tablespoon of the bacon grease.

2. Put 1 Tbsp of bacon grease back into the pan. Add garlic, ginger and onions and sauté 1-2 minutes or until the vegetables are fragrant and slightly sizzling.

3. Add the brussels sprouts and continue to sauté until the sprouts are tender and browned on the cut side. Remove from the heat and add the cooked bacon and cranberries.

4. Gently stir to combine all the ingredients. Season with salt and pepper.

Ginger Bug

“This is a marvelous fermented concoction that mixes well with a variety of syrups and juices to create carbonated drinks with added ginger flavor. It takes some tending and up to 10 days to really carbonate well, but the tending is very minor…easier than feeding the cat!” –Recipe and introduction by Eugenia Bone from her book The Kitchen Ecosystem.

Yield: 1 quart

1 quart water

1 Tbsp plus 10 tsps minced, unpeeled fresh ginger, divided

1 Tbsp plus 10 tsps unrefined cane sugar, divided

1. Place the water in a gallon jar, leaving about 2 inches of headroom at the top. Add 1 tablespoon each of the ginger and sugar, place a lid on the jar, screw on the band fingertip tight, and give it a good shake. Leave the jar out on your counter.

2. Every day for the next ten days, add 1 tsp ginger and 1 tsp sugar to the jar. This feeds the fermentation, increasing the amount of carbonation. When you give the jar a shake, you will see the bubbles along the top of the liquid, and if you open it, it may really bubble up..and out!

3. After 10 days, strain and pour the ginger bug into bottles and close them with a cap or cork and refrigerate. The ginger bug will hold for about 1 month.

NOTE: You can find additional information about Ginger Bug & how to use it at www.nourishedkitchen.com