Tag Archives: garlic

11Feb / 2011

Homemade Ginger & Honey Tea

I’ve been intrigued by this ginger tea recipe posted by Design*Sponge , but I haven’t had much reason to make it until today.  I woke up at 6 am, my usual time, with a pretty wicked headache that I attributed to too much sleep.  I went to bed at 9 o’clock last night because I’m lame like that.  Halfway through my 8 o’clock class I started to feel queasy.  While walking back to the office after class I passed some men doing something to a door that involved some very stinky oil, and that pushed me over the edge.  I didn’t throw up or anything, but I did go to the bathroom and wash off my perfume because at that point any smell was too much.  Once I got up to the office (three flights of stairs with a queasy stomach is no fun, by the way) I heard stirrings of a virus that’s been going around with symptoms very similar to mine.  Luckily my Fridays are very short, so I was back home in my night gown and throwing together this ginger tea by 10:15.  I plan on sipping it while grading papers in bed this afternoon; hopefully it will restore my health enough to allow for a special Valentine’s day edition of craft night tonight.  A girl can dream, right?!

I'm crossing my fingers that this cloudy concoction will kick my immune system into action.

If you’re feeling a little on the sick side, I recommend brewing a batch of this tea.  Add the garlic if you think you can handle it!  I did, and it really isn’t so bad.

Ginger & Honey Tea
Yields 32 ounces (2-4 servings)

Ingredients

  • 4 cups boiling water
  • 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 2–4 tablespoons honey, to taste
  • pinch of cayenne
  • 1–2 cloves fresh garlic, minced (optional)

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients in a ceramic teapot.

2. Stir and allow to steep for about 10 minutes. For a dose of added medicinal value, add fresh garlic to the tea. Strain off the liquid through a fine mesh sieve before use. Compost the solids.

3. Pour tea into mugs and enjoy.

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14Jan / 2011

Croutons

Local spinach & lettuce w/ chevre, tomato dressing, and homemade croutons.

Spinach and lettuce are in season and delicious here.

Remember the wonderful Tuesday-night farmers market I mentioned a couple of posts ago?  Well, along with those sweet baby plants I purchased a couple bunches of spinach and lettuce.  I combined a bit of spinach and lettuce the diced white parts of a bunch of scallions left over from the scallion and parmesan cornbread we had with dinner last night, then added a little chevre and tuscan tomato dressing and homemade croutons to create one of the best lunches I’ve had in a while.  The greens were great, but the croutons really stole the show.  They were crunchy and seasoned on the outside, but unlike store-bought croutons they were slightly chewy in the middle–making them much easier to eat with a fork.

To make them, you’ll need:

  • Various stale bread bits–we used a combination of sourdough and multigrain that had been left out overnight; together they equaled about half a loaf
  • 2-3 T melted butter
  • 1 t. garlic powder–fresh garlic very finely diced would probably work well here, but  I was too lazy to dice any
  • 1 t. onion powder

Preheat oven to 475°. Roughly chop the bread into 1″ cubes. In a large bowl, sprinkle the garlic and onion powders over the cubes and toss.  Add the butter and toss again, making sure every cube is coated well.  Spread on a baking sheet and bake for no more than ten minutes, stirring the cubes halfway through to prevent burning.  Sprinkle on a salad and enjoy!

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14Jul / 2010

Lemon Fusilli (sort of)

I stumbled upon this recipe about six months ago, and it’s become one of my favorites because it’s ridiculously easy and very filling.  Two of the tastiest things I can think of are heavy cream and tomatoes—throw in lemon and spinach, and my world is pretty much rocked.  This should be made with fusili, not elbow macaroni, but in all honesty I’ve used just about every kind of noodle available and it always turns out just fine.  This recipe comes from the fabulous Ina Garten via The Dreamy Dish.

lemon macaroni just doesn't have the same ring to it

To make this, you’ll need:

  • 1 T olive oil
  • 1 T minced garlic (about 2 cloves)
  • 2 C heavy cream
  • 2 lemons
  • 1 t salt
  • 1 t pepper
  • 1 pound dried fusilli pasta
  • spinach roughly chopped, to taste
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
  • 1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved if you like

Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 60 seconds. Next, add the cream, zest from 2 lemons, juice of 2 lemons, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until sauce starts to thicken.If you want to keep the cream from curdling, use really fresh cream and add the lemon juice slowly while stirring with a wooden spoon. Don’t worry if it does curdle, if you keep stirring and will become smooth and again.

While the sauce is cooking, cook and drain the pasta, returning it to the large pot you cooked it in.  Pour in the sauce and cook it over medium-low heat for 3 minutes, which will help the pasta absorb the sauce. Pour the hot pasta into a large bowl, and add the spinach, Parmesan, and tomatoes and toss.  When I’m lazy or don’t have guests over, I just add the spinach, Parmesan, and tomatoes to the cooking pot to cut down on dishes and because there’s no one to impress.

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06Jul / 2010

Fall and Winter Gardening

One of my favorite sources for gardening/simple living inspiration is Not Dabbling in Normal.  Earlier this morning I read a post over there titled It’s Time to Think About the Fall/Winter Garden, and that post did indeed get me thinking.

If things go according to plan (fingers crossed!), within the next month we’ll be moving into our first real house with a real yard suitable for a real garden.  Our last apartment, where we were for two years, was great and had a decently-sized yard.  However, the gardener (who was hired and paid by the landlord) had a really bad habit of weed-whacking everything that wasn’t growing in a pot–even if it was in the flower bed with a plant marker next to it.  I lost sage, basil, dahlias, daylilies, and even a tomato plant to his lack of discernment.  Needless to say, I’m excited about having complete control over a (pretty sizable) front and back yard, and I’ve got big dreams for next spring–but I don’t want to wait that long! I’ve started doing a little research as to what I can include in a small fall/winter garden that won’t require too much maintenance, but will hopefully knock out a considerable portion of our grocery bill (not to mention the health and environmental benefits of growing your own food).

In the spring, I plan on taking advantage of the chain link fence in the backyard by planting climbing varieties of beans, cucumbers, melons, and tomatoes.  Until then, I’m thinking of going ahead and building some raised beds against the fence and trying my hand at fall and winter crops.  According to HumeSeeds.com’s Fall and Winter Vegetable Planting Guide, “the soil in a well made and maintained raised bed can be between 8 and 12 degrees F. warmer than the same soil in the surrounding garden areas.”  That should be really beneficial in fall and winter gardening.

I checked the Ira Nelson Horticulture Center’s website for zone-specific advice (we’re moving to South Louisiana), and of the plants they recommend I think we’d really enjoy broccoli, garlic, onions, spinach, lettuce, and radishes.  I’m going to get to work planning planting and harvest times, and hopefully by the time we’re moved in I’ll be ready to get started.

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09Nov / 2009

Garlic Spinach Stir Fry

I love this dish for so many reasons. I have the bad habit of buying spinach with the best of intentions (“I’m going to eat salads for lunch all week!”), only to fail miserably and end up with a lot of spinach sitting in my fridge. The fact of the matter is that I just don’t really like cold fruits and vegetables that much (unless it’s July or August). They hurt my teeth, and when given the choice, I will always pick something hot over something cool, because I am constantly fluctuating between chilly and freezing. So, I love this stir fry because I still feel good about eating something moderately healthy, but I’m actually eating it rather than drowning it in dressing and picking at it. Also, I’m pretty sure there’s nothing authentically Chinese about this meal, but I will continue to love it and eat it on a very regular basis. I posted my recipe for Orange Chicken Tofu a few days ago, and this Garlic Spinach Stir Fry is my favorite thing to serve with it.

Spinach is full of calcium and potassium

Spinach is full of calcium and potassium

I got this recipe from a book that I can no longer find or remember the name of. Having mostly committed it to memory, I guess that isn’t a big deal, though I’m not really sure if all of these measurements are what they’re supposed to be. But these quantities consistently work for me, so I guess it’s not too much of a loss. To make this Garlic Spinach Stir Fry, you’ll need:

  • 5-6 cloves of garlic, minced
  • a medium-sized bag of regular or baby spinach (this is not scientific at all because the spinach will wilt and everything will run together and be gooey and wonderful)
  • 3-4 fresh tomatoes, diced
  • 1 T black bean sauce (can be found in the international section of most grocery stores, I’ve been using the same jar of Sun Luck brand forever)

Cook the garlic and black bean sauce over high heat until the garlic is golden, then throw in the tomatoes and spinach. There shouldn’t be any sticking issues with this, as the spinach will begin to wilt and release plenty of water. Once the spinach has reduced to roughly half its original size and everything looks pretty wilted, serve immediately. So easy it’s silly!

Orange Chicken Tofu and Garlic Spinach Stir Fry

Orange Chicken Tofu and Garlic Spinach Stir Fry

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