Tag: cooking

Ginger as Medicine

On Wednesday we wrote about how we are all using more ginger than in times past and how we love our gingery Asian Chicken broth. While most of our broth is used in cooking, we also use it as medicine.

Ginger as Medicine

The Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center maintains a directory of herbs and botanicals with information about their uses. Their report on ginger points out that, “Ginger root contains compounds that may help relieve or prevent nausea and vomiting. These substances can increase the flow of saliva and digestive juices and may also help calm the stomach and intestine.”

Liquid Ginger!

We sip a cup of warm homemade, ginger-scented chicken stock rather than ginger ale for an upset tummy. We share filtered-until-it-is-clear supplies of it with friends who are preparing for a colonoscopy, and we’ve supplied friends with colds, flu, and chemotherapy patients with sips of what one friend called, “your magic elixir.”

Penny loves ginger tea. She often makes her own with ginger from our supply, but you can buy some excellent organic ginger tea.

Some folks swear by ginger mints, ginger gum, or organic candied ginger to combat motion sickness.

In “Ginger Root In Ayurveda and Chinese Medicine,” author Eyton Shalom writes, “There are no panaceas in medicine, but if there were going to be one, it would have to be the humble ginger root.”

Please Read this Important Part!

Even with all these positive recommendations, increasing ginger consumption may not be for everyone. In addition to following the scientific research on each substance, Sloan Kettering also puts side effects and warnings even on everyday items like ginger. If you are planning on adding a lot of any ingredient or a supplement containing that ingredient to your diet, you would be wise to check for interactions with medications and medical conditions.

You should also let your personal physician know if you are using something like ginger as medicine.

Related Post: Ginger Goes Mainstream

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2017 Penny & Ed Cherubino

(Adapted for BostonZest from one of our fresh & Local newspaper columns.)

November 9, 2018
Cutting Celery, Chinese Celery, Smallage, Par-Cel, Have You Tried It?

A few weeks ago, after asking Halley Stillman at the Copley Farmers Market Stillman's Farm stand why so few local farms grew celery, she offered to bring in some of the cutting celery they were trying out back on the farm.

The next week, she had it on the stand. I bought it, popped it into a vase of cold water by my kitchen sink to refresh it, and proceeded to add it to a variety of salads, pasta dishes, and other recipes where I might have used celery or parsley. Each morning, I changed the water, washed down the stems, and continued to clip away at my bunch.

A week later, I was pleased to report to Halley that I loved this product and would be a customer for cutting celery – if it became a regular offering.

Reporting back to local vendors is important. While some of these experiments may never make it to the mainstream, others will, if they make good business sense for the farmers.

Here it played a supporting role in a Sicilian Cauliflower Salad. It is much stronger in flavor than celery and I learned that the strength of the flavor can vary from bunch-to-bunch.

In her book, Bitter: A Taste of the World's Most Dangerous Flavor, with Recipes, Jennifer McLagan explained that in 15th Century Italy growers began to reduce the bitterness of wild celery and this has continued until it resulted in the blanched stalks we know today.

Cutting celery, on the other hand, still has that strong flavor. It also has hollow stems and was sometimes use as we use straws.

One of my favorite food writers Deborah Madison in Vegetable Literacy had a great approach for those new to the powerful flavoring agent.

"When using the stalks or the leaves of cutting celery, such as Chinese celery or Par-Cel, taste them to judge their strength. Start small and add more, as if it were chile."

If you have a home garden, you should think about adding this to your herb patch. It's widely used as an herb by Asian and European cooks.

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino
Photography: © 2016 Penny Cherubino

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August 31, 2016
Cutting Celery, Chinese Celery, Smallage, Par-Cel, Have You Tried It?

A few weeks ago, after asking Halley Stillman at the Copley Farmers Market Stillman's Farm stand why so few local farms grew celery, she offered to bring in some of the cutting celery they were trying out back on the farm.

The next week, she had it on the stand. I bought it, popped it into a vase of cold water by my kitchen sink to refresh it, and proceeded to add it to a variety of salads, pasta dishes, and other recipes where I might have used celery or parsley. Each morning, I changed the water, washed down the stems, and continued to clip away at my bunch.

A week later, I was pleased to report to Halley that I loved this product and would be a customer for cutting celery – if it became a regular offering.

Reporting back to local vendors is important. While some of these experiments may never make it to the mainstream, others will, if they make good business sense for the farmers.

Here it played a supporting role in a Sicilian Cauliflower Salad. It is much stronger in flavor than celery and I learned that the strength of the flavor can vary from bunch-to-bunch.

In her book, Bitter: A Taste of the World's Most Dangerous Flavor, with Recipes, Jennifer McLagan explained that in 15th Century Italy growers began to reduce the bitterness of wild celery and this has continued until it resulted in the blanched stalks we know today.

Cutting celery, on the other hand, still has that strong flavor. It also has hollow stems and was sometimes use as we use straws.

One of my favorite food writers Deborah Madison in Vegetable Literacy had a great approach for those new to the powerful flavoring agent.

"When using the stalks or the leaves of cutting celery, such as Chinese celery or Par-Cel, taste them to judge their strength. Start small and add more, as if it were chile."

If you have a home garden, you should think about adding this to your herb patch. It's widely used as an herb by Asian and European cooks.

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino
Photography: © 2016 Penny Cherubino

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August 31, 2016
Rhubarb, Ginger Crostata Recipe from Leite’s Culinaria
Okay, when you click on this link to Leite’s Culinaria to get the recipe, it will just say Rhubarb Crostata, but the ginger sets this simple tart on a rung high above similar recipes.

I'm sure a few long-time readers are surprised to see a recipe for baked goods here because I'm not a baker, I'm a cook. But this dessert is so simple and quick that it should be part of every cook's repertoire.

I had posted the recipe on social media when it popped up on my daily reading list. (As you know from this previous Friday Link post, Leite’s Culinaria is one of my favorite sites.)

A friend saw it and delivered a big bag of her own freshly cut rhubarb with a note saying, "I was totally inspired by your rhubarb post this week …"

Just imagine walking into a summer potluck with a tray of these beauties made with whatever fruit is in season.

My Version with a Major Shortcut

I used Trader Joe's frozen pie crust instead of making my own. Thanks to this excellent, flaky crust and the ease of making crostata, I do make these pastries from time to time.

I've been using it since back in 2010 when Erin Zimmer, one of my editors at Serious Eats, tested it. She was right, it is crumbly. But this is an informal dessert and a few crumbles are fine.

My work to make this dessert consisted of cleaning and cutting the rhubarb, grating the ginger, and tossing those with the other ingredients.

I also used less sugar as suggested by one of the recipe testers. And, because I thought it would add depth and round out the sharp notes of the rhubarb and ginger, I used half light brown sugar and half raw sugar.

A Few Tips:
- The frozen dough takes time to thaw. I moved it from the freezer to the refrigerator overnight and it still had to sit on the counter for an hour before it was ready to use without cracking and breaking.
- I used local, organic ginger from Old Friends Farm. I keep a supply of this zesty alternative in my freezer and just grate it in its frozen state.
- Once thawed, I left the pie crust between its layers of plastic and used my hands to reseal a few cracks. That meant no rolling pin or floury counter to clean.
- You can use the bottom piece of the plastic to help flip the pastry onto your prepared baking sheet. Pile on the filling then flip up the sides in your most casual manner.
What's on your Food Lover's shopping list? Be sure to add David Leite's wonderful cookbook, The New Portuguese Table.

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino

Photos: ©2016 Penny & Ed Cherubino

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May 27, 2016
Rhubarb, Ginger Crostata Recipe from Leite’s Culinaria
Okay, when you click on this link to Leite’s Culinaria to get the recipe, it will just say Rhubarb Crostata, but the ginger sets this simple tart on a rung high above similar recipes.

I'm sure a few long-time readers are surprised to see a recipe for baked goods here because I'm not a baker, I'm a cook. But this dessert is so simple and quick that it should be part of every cook's repertoire.

I had posted the recipe on social media when it popped up on my daily reading list. (As you know from this previous Friday Link post, Leite’s Culinaria is one of my favorite sites.)

A friend saw it and delivered a big bag of her own freshly cut rhubarb with a note saying, "I was totally inspired by your rhubarb post this week …"

Just imagine walking into a summer potluck with a tray of these beauties made with whatever fruit is in season.

My Version with a Major Shortcut

I used Trader Joe's frozen pie crust instead of making my own. Thanks to this excellent, flaky crust and the ease of making crostata, I do make these pastries from time to time.

I've been using it since back in 2010 when Erin Zimmer, one of my editors at Serious Eats, tested it. She was right, it is crumbly. But this is an informal dessert and a few crumbles are fine.

My work to make this dessert consisted of cleaning and cutting the rhubarb, grating the ginger, and tossing those with the other ingredients.

I also used less sugar as suggested by one of the recipe testers. And, because I thought it would add depth and round out the sharp notes of the rhubarb and ginger, I used half light brown sugar and half raw sugar.

A Few Tips:
- The frozen dough takes time to thaw. I moved it from the freezer to the refrigerator overnight and it still had to sit on the counter for an hour before it was ready to use without cracking and breaking.
- I used local, organic ginger from Old Friends Farm. I keep a supply of this zesty alternative in my freezer and just grate it in its frozen state.
- Once thawed, I left the pie crust between its layers of plastic and used my hands to reseal a few cracks. That meant no rolling pin or floury counter to clean.
- You can use the bottom piece of the plastic to help flip the pastry onto your prepared baking sheet. Pile on the filling then flip up the sides in your most casual manner.
What's on your Food Lover's shopping list? Be sure to add David Leite's wonderful cookbook, The New Portuguese Table.

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino

Photos: ©2016 Penny & Ed Cherubino

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May 27, 2016
Discussion on Teaching Life Skills, Like Cooking – Our Friday Link

I had already clicked over to National Geographic to read their post, Bring Back Home Economics: Three Food Writers on Teaching People to Cook, when I saw that one of the food writers taking part in this brainstorming session was Boston's own maven of many things food, Jacqueline Church. That gave the discussion great credibility.

Once upon a time, students at Boston schools learned life skills like cooking. The photo above, from the Boston Public Library Collection, is of girls at the Everett School in th 1890s. (I loved the old home economics photos in the National Georgraphic piece, so I went hunting for some local versions.)

Today, we have many adults who don't know how to feed themselves and resort to buying highly processed food and fast food that damages their health.

With each successive generation, fewer people have the skills these eight young women were gaining in the Boston Public Schools. (Photo from the Boston Public Library Collection.)

Or, this group of boys identified as being part of "An experiment of Miss Fuller's: boys' cooking class." (This is from the City of Boston Archives and is circa 1898-1899.)

Here's Jacqueline Church, a modern woman with a modern approach to teaching cooking skills.

If you cook, how did you learn? Are you a confident shopper? Are you feeding yourself in a way that is keeping you healthy or that addresses the health issues that concern you?

If cooking and feeding yourself is a goal you'd like to set for yourself, consider consulting with a professional like Jacqueline. Here is a link to her site where she explains how you can gain Kitchen Confidence.

Just as you might want to consult with a personal trainer to learn proper exercise techniques to achieve your fitness goals, you can turn to a cooking coach to "learn the skills you'll use for a lifetime," as Jacqueline says.

By the way, here is Jacqueline's own follow up post to the National Geographic conversation with a cooking lesson!

What's on your Food Lover's shopping list? Shop Amazon for all your kitchen & dining needs and support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: Boston Public Library and City of Boston Archives used under this creative commons license. Jacqueline Chruch photo courtesy of www.jacquelinechurch.com

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September 12, 2014
Cooking in Vacation Rentals: The Spice Box

What would you miss from your pantry if you were cooking in a kitchen that was empty of food products? I quickly learned that I missed my seasonings. So, I created a spice box that travels with me when we rent a vacation home.

I use a box of watchmaker's tins that I've filled with a supply of spices and blends designed to give me the most versatility with the fewest containers.

What's in my spice kit?

Sea salt and kosher salt get their own larger containers. The blends are French herbs, curry powder, Bell's Seasoning, Old Bay Seasoning, and an Italian herb blend. One container holds star anise, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom, and bay leaves. My beloved Aleppo pepper and candied ginger get containers of their own.

What would be in your spice box?

We'd love to hear in the comments below. Send us an email and we'll add your ideas to this piece.

Fortunately, you can now buy peppercorns in containers that are grinders,
so I carry one of those as well. You can also buy spice kits that are usually sold by ethnic group. If I were creating this today, I think I'd use magnetic spice tins.

Using what I have as a guide, I make an amazing array of meals over a couple of weeks with just this selection. I've also been able to loan some flavors to neighbors at an apartment complex in Provincetown. I remember one long-time fellow renter calling up to me, "Penny, I'm craving carrot salad, would you have some cumin." I did, and she shared her salad and recipe!

One exception to this empty pantry rule was a home we rented for a few years on Lake Tashmoo on the island of Martha’s Vineyard. It had an herb garden outside the door and enough equipment to run a small catering business.

The homeowners stocked every spice, extract, staple, and supply imaginable. A note invited renters to use what they needed but to replace whatever they used up during their visit. That way the kitchen should always be fully supplied. Apparently, this worked because the system continued throughout the years we rented that home.

Updates from our readers!

(03/05/12) "I would have pickling spices. Why? Because we always prepare our own lobster dinner when on vacation, and the pickling spices added to the boiling water sweeten the lobster meat and create a unique aroma as well. Vacation rentals almost always come with a lobster pot and everything else you need for a lobster dinner, except for the pickling spices," wrote Marlene.

Thanks Marlene! I think we'll try this. What a perfect excuse to have lobster this week!

Related Posts:

Cooking in Vacation Rentals: The Tool Roll

What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List? Shop Amazon for all your kitchen & dining needs and support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino
Photos: ©2013 Penny Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

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March 5, 2013
Cooking in Vacation Rentals: The Spice Box

What would you miss from your pantry if you were cooking in a kitchen that was empty of food products? I quickly learned that I missed my seasonings. So, I created a spice box that travels with me when we rent a vacation home.

I use a box of watchmaker's tins that I've filled with a supply of spices and blends designed to give me the most versatility with the fewest containers.

What's in my spice kit?

Sea salt and kosher salt get their own larger containers. The blends are French herbs, curry powder, Bell's Seasoning, Old Bay Seasoning, and an Italian herb blend. One container holds star anise, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom, and bay leaves. My beloved Aleppo pepper and candied ginger get containers of their own.

What would be in your spice box?

We'd love to hear in the comments below. Send us an email and we'll add your ideas to this piece.

Fortunately, you can now buy peppercorns in containers that are grinders,
so I carry one of those as well. You can also buy spice kits that are usually sold by ethnic group. If I were creating this today, I think I'd use magnetic spice tins.

Using what I have as a guide, I make an amazing array of meals over a couple of weeks with just this selection. I've also been able to loan some flavors to neighbors at an apartment complex in Provincetown. I remember one long-time fellow renter calling up to me, "Penny, I'm craving carrot salad, would you have some cumin." I did, and she shared her salad and recipe!

One exception to this empty pantry rule was a home we rented for a few years on Lake Tashmoo on the island of Martha’s Vineyard. It had an herb garden outside the door and enough equipment to run a small catering business.

The homeowners stocked every spice, extract, staple, and supply imaginable. A note invited renters to use what they needed but to replace whatever they used up during their visit. That way the kitchen should always be fully supplied. Apparently, this worked because the system continued throughout the years we rented that home.

Updates from our readers!

(03/05/12) "I would have pickling spices. Why? Because we always prepare our own lobster dinner when on vacation, and the pickling spices added to the boiling water sweeten the lobster meat and create a unique aroma as well. Vacation rentals almost always come with a lobster pot and everything else you need for a lobster dinner, except for the pickling spices," wrote Marlene.

Thanks Marlene! I think we'll try this. What a perfect excuse to have lobster this week!

Related Posts:

Cooking in Vacation Rentals: The Tool Roll

What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List? Shop Amazon for all your kitchen & dining needs and support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino
Photos: ©2013 Penny Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

Related articles

A Sprinkle of Urfa Pepper…

Cooking in Vacation Rentals: The Tool Roll

At-A-Glance Chart of Spices

Your Questions: The 10 Essential Spices for Stocking Your Pantry

March 5, 2013
Cooking in Vacation Rentals: The Spice Box

What would you miss from your pantry if you were cooking in a kitchen that was empty of food products? I quickly learned that I missed my seasonings. So, I created a spice box that travels with me when we rent a vacation home.

I use a box of watchmaker's tins that I've filled with a supply of spices and blends designed to give me the most versatility with the fewest containers.

What's in my spice kit?

Sea salt and kosher salt get their own larger containers. The blends are French herbs, curry powder, Bell's Seasoning, Old Bay Seasoning, and an Italian herb blend. One container holds star anise, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom, and bay leaves. My beloved Aleppo pepper and candied ginger get containers of their own.

What would be in your spice box?

We'd love to hear in the comments below. Send us an email and we'll add your ideas to this piece.

Fortunately, you can now buy peppercorns in containers that are grinders,
so I carry one of those as well. You can also buy spice kits that are usually sold by ethnic group. If I were creating this today, I think I'd use magnetic spice tins.

Using what I have as a guide, I make an amazing array of meals over a couple of weeks with just this selection. I've also been able to loan some flavors to neighbors at an apartment complex in Provincetown. I remember one long-time fellow renter calling up to me, "Penny, I'm craving carrot salad, would you have some cumin." I did, and she shared her salad and recipe!

One exception to this empty pantry rule was a home we rented for a few years on Lake Tashmoo on the island of Martha’s Vineyard. It had an herb garden outside the door and enough equipment to run a small catering business.

The homeowners stocked every spice, extract, staple, and supply imaginable. A note invited renters to use what they needed but to replace whatever they used up during their visit. That way the kitchen should always be fully supplied. Apparently, this worked because the system continued throughout the years we rented that home.

Updates from our readers!

(03/05/12) "I would have pickling spices. Why? Because we always prepare our own lobster dinner when on vacation, and the pickling spices added to the boiling water sweeten the lobster meat and create a unique aroma as well. Vacation rentals almost always come with a lobster pot and everything else you need for a lobster dinner, except for the pickling spices," wrote Marlene.

Thanks Marlene! I think we'll try this. What a perfect excuse to have lobster this week!

Related Posts:

Cooking in Vacation Rentals: The Tool Roll

What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List? Shop Amazon for all your kitchen & dining needs and support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino
Photos: ©2013 Penny Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

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A Sprinkle of Urfa Pepper…

Cooking in Vacation Rentals: The Tool Roll

At-A-Glance Chart of Spices

Your Questions: The 10 Essential Spices for Stocking Your Pantry

March 5, 2013
My Silly, Little 4th Burner Multi – Pot Scores Again!

A while back, I bought a Kuhn Rikon 4th Burner Multi – Pot thinking I would use it when a big meal was crowding my small cooktop. It quickly found a place in this cook’s heart and I wrote about, Loving this Odd Little Cooking Pot. Since then I keep finding more instances when it scores as the perfect answer to a kitchen chore.

For Thanksgiving, it worked well at its trick of fitting on a crowded stovetop. It’s seen here ready to cook rutabagas. Even with my giant roasting pan on the stovetop, it stood its ground. I often fit a 12-inch skillet in front of it.

But, before it reached that point in its turkey day to-do list, it had already joined up with a China Cap Chinoise Strainer to strain turkey broth. And, post rutabagas this combo was used to strain the gravy.

I’m nominating this as the perfect holiday gift for someone who cooks for one or two people, someone who has a tiny kitchen like mine, or anyone who will make good use of this true multi-tasker.

Related Post:

Another Trick from My Favorite, Little Cooking Pot

The Kuhn Rikon 4th Burner Multi – Pot now comes in colors too! Personally, I love the look of the stainless. What else is on your Food Lover’s Shopping List? Shop Amazon for all your kitchen & dining needs. and support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers’ comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

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November 26, 2012