315. Z is for Zingiberaceae

That is, ginger.

My love affair with ginger has been longstanding.  Though in my earlier life it was only as a minor element in pumpkin pies, gingerbread cake and other spice cakes, molasses cookies, and the like, when I went to live in England I was introduced to it in fresh new ways that had yet to hit the U.S. -- at least my provincial part of the U.S. -- such as ginger ice cream and ginger tea (or tissane, as they know it).   

Nowadays my favorite yogurt is ginger yogurt, my favorite vodka is ginger-flavored vodka, my favorite cookies are ginger cookies, my favorite dish at my local Chinese restaurant is ginger chicken with string beans, and I order it with extra ginger.  One of my favorite teas is ginger tea, I love ginger in my smoothies, I often use ginger in my jams, and I've (almost) never met a gingerbread cake I didn't like. I adore gingerbread hermits, I love to munch on crystallized ginger, and looooooove dark-chocolate-coated ginger.    

But ginger is a rather strange-looking little root and is surprisingly challenging to photograph and come up with anything that doesn't look like a little gnarled weird-looking thing-that-I-won't-name, especially when you're in competition with things like this cookbook. 

Not that I would deign to compete with that.  I mean, really.  I could claim I posed for this photo, but at least a couple of the readers of this blog would know this is clearly not me   

...................because I do not have long dark hair.

------------

And thus, I am thankfully done with this year's ABC-Along. 

Comments

[moiraeknittoo]

Hey, wigs are easy, cheap, available and...ok, that sentence is not going where I wanted it to. It's a part of the modeling contract you signed? To help make you less recognizable?

I love ginger. A whole lot is usually a bit too spicy for me, but in moderate amounts it definitely provides a zing that is invigorating but comforting at the same time. Good stuff! I have to admit I haven't had it dipped in dark chocolate, but I will have to keep an eye out for that!

[Katie B.]

I heart ginger. And I'm enough of a geek that I knew it by the botanical name. :3 *spins the propeller on her beanie*

Am I the only one in the world that, if I read or (especially) write a word often enough, it begins to lose its sense? and look like it's misspelled?

[Kristen]

Abigail?! ;)

I also love ginger, but can't get into the ginger + chocolate thing. And, Katie B, nope I feel the same way about the botanical name (which I also recognized--double spin on the beanie). Then again, since I lost the 5th grade spelling bee on the word restaurant, that word never looks right to me, so I may not be the best person to comment on the spelling of more exotic words!

[Ally]

Katie B., that happens to me all the time! Think about the word "puberty" for a while.

And Norma, I love the pictures in that cookbook! Although, I'm on the fence about this one:

http://www.intercourses.com/recipe_seafood.htm

I love salmon... but I think they might have gone a bit too far putting it in that area and calling it honey-glazed...

[Teresa C]

I love ginger. Have you found The Ginger People yet? (http://www.gingerpeople.com/). I love these, I have only tried the original flavor: http://www.gingerpeople.com/order_chews.html and these: http://www.gingerpeople.com/order_gingins.html. Now you have me wanting to place an order with them right.now.

[margene]

Well, you learn something new everyday. Zingiberaceae...what a great name!

[gayle]

I recognized the name, too - when I saw the title in Bloglines I said to myself "Ooooo Ginger!!"
Love the ginger. I make a Ginger Pear Clafoutis that is to die for...

[Carrie]

I'd love to have seen the contract on that. "Required personal grooming to include a Brazilian wax, so as not to interfere with the ginger slices." o.0
I'm thinking ginger crinkles are on the menu for this weekend.

[Paula]

That's a great Zed word. Dark chocolate covered ginger and citrus peels are one of the few things I look forward to at Passover.

[naomi]

:D And that is why zingiber is part of my other gmail address. Mmmm.

[Danielle]

Mmmm. Love ginger. I'm making my dad a gingerbread cake with lemon sauce and bananas for his birthday dessert tonight. My mom won't make it for him anymore because the sauce takes about 30 minutes to make, stirring frequently. But it earns me some serious "favorite daughter" points. And I love how it tastes too :)

[Marcia]

I have a recipe for ginger snaps that is so fabulous I make them as offerings when there is a funeral in the family or neighborhood. Everyone says they are....comforting, somehow.

[marianne]

Ok, so that wasn't you (with the long dark hair) but I'm thinking.... the pine nuts. hmmmm?
Loves me the ginger. I'm in serious desire of the Ginger Pear Clafoutis recipe.

[Annie]

The Ginger People's Ginger Beer is extremely wonderful. Lemon sherbet, a few fresh strawberries and some GP Ginger beer whirled in the blender is a delightfully refreshing summer drink. And then there's the ginger scones. Mmmmm, ginger!

[KittyMommy]

Mmmmm...ginger. Getting to the time of year for gingerbread cookies!

[Cheryl S.]

Hmmmm. I was just thinking about making some gingerbread muffins yesterday. Maybe I need to do that.

[Ryan]

What in God's name does that woman have on her butt?!

[Vicki]

Mmmm, I just had a skinny something-or-other at Starbucks that had candied ginger sprinkled atop -- I took the recommendation for just a LITTLE whip to hold up the ginger so it didn't all sink to the bottom right away.
; )

[Laurie]

Classic blog p0rn! I'd approach the topic gingerly, but you already did.

[Cookie]

I'll be in the naughty corner if you need me.

[Imbrium]

I need to try -good- ginger - most of my experience with it is in its pickled state, as it comes with sushi, and every time I convince myself to try it I am reminded that pickled ginger tastes like soap to me. Blech.

[Cindy in Happy Valley]

If you haven't already, you might want to try Origin's ginger body cream. It is too die for!

[lisa]

Bwa ha ha ha!!! I like the comment about wigs... Being a botanist type, I knew the Z word but panicked... is it Z already? Am I so out of it lately? But then I remembered what a rule-follower you are and so I relaxed. One of our interns brought in some molasses cookies to die for... hard to tell if they were ginger snaps or what. The secret? Loads of freshly made from scratch crystallized ginger. MMMMMM hmmmmm... she shared the recipe, something from Yankee Mag, but I didn't have the same quality of ginger and mine were not as good. Sad, so sad...

[jessica~]

Ha ha, that isn't you??? I looooooove fresh ginger...put it in everything. The milk in my morning cereal, my bean dips, smoothies, the biscotti I'm baking right now. Yum! It's also a very powerful anti-inflammatory, which my body likes. Bobby Flay makes a ginger & tequila cocktail that I'm dying to try. I didn't know that was the real name!

[kathy]

Being from Detroit, MI I have to ask if you've ever had Vernors? One of my favorite drinks.

[Birdsong]

A grrl after my own heart, once again! I mean the ginger... one of my top three spices and present in something daily. Nice one, being able to use it for Z!

[Sarah]

If you're done, I can be done, too.

[Seanna Lea]

I love Ginger People, but it is definitely more cost effective most of the time to buy crystallized ginger. I also have a huge amount of pickled ginger that I made a while ago. I love to eat it when I am feeling tired, because it just picks me right up!

[Julie]

If you want a super gingerbread try the recipe in the the first Moosewood cookbook. It starts with grating fresh ginger. I haven't made it in ages but I'm thinking I might need to make one soon after reading this post. Now I'm doubting myself, the recipe is definately in either of the first 2 Moosewood cookbooks, Moosewood or Enchanted Broccli Forest.