Phyllis's Gingerbread Cake {Recipe}

It's young ginger season again at Swainway Urban Farm! We love growing this beautiful tropical plant and enjoying the mild, clean flavor of the young ginger.

Last year some time, my mom mentioned my Grandma Phyllis's ginger bread recipe. We didn't eat it much growing up so I adapted it with our fresh young ginger and whole ingredients to try. Here's a cake I can love!

I've made this dark, molasses-sweetened cake several times since, including at a recent Seasoned Farmhouse class. Everyone enjoyed the simple, rich flavors.

This gingerbread easy to make, requiring no stand mixer and few dishes. Freshly whipped cream lightens and smooths the rich flavors. Try this recipe for the holidays or any time you want a special autumnal treat.

Grandma Phyllis's Gingerbread Cake

Makes: 8x8" cake, approximately 9 servings Time: 45 minutes

1/4 cup unsalted butter + extra for greasing pan 1/4 cup white sugar 1/2 cup molasses 1 egg 1 small thumb young ginger, grated 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 3/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon cloves 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup hot water Whipped cream, sweetened and flavored to your liking, optional but highly recommended.

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. 2. Butter an 8x8 glass baking pan and set aside. 3. Melt butter in small sauce pan, allow to cool slightly. 4. Transfer butter to a medium bowl. Add sugar, molasses, egg, and ginger and whisk together until smooth. 5. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Meanwhile, heat water. 6. Alternately add flour mixture and hot water to butter mixture, stirring until smooth after each addition. 7. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until cake tester inserted in middle comes clean. Allow to cool before serving with freshly whipped cream.

Ginger Raw Honey Syrup {Recipe}

It's baby ginger season again!

Swainway Urban Farm is harvesting several dozen pounds of Hawaiian baby ginger each week. Unlike the grocery store stuff, fresh young ginger doesn't need to be peeled and has a pleasant crisp texture when raw. The flavor is complex and well-rounded with an alluring floral aroma.

I enjoy chopped pieces raw in stir fry or soup. A savored slice settles the stomach while making me feel alert*. Sadly, fresh ginger doesn't last long (though you can freeze it) and some members of my family don't like it raw.

So what else can I do to enjoy the delicate aroma and mild flavor? How about syrup?

I started by making a very strong tea of simmered roughly chopped pieces (including the stems and roots). To sweeten, I added raw local honey, a healthy, immune-boosting sugar*, after the tea cooled.

The resulting ginger raw honey syrup is the best thing I've made in months. It is sweet, flowery, and soothing. I 'prescribed' a shot in tea to Alex when he was complaining of an upset stomach*. Combined with soda water, the syrup makes top-notch ginger ale. And I can attest it pairs well with rum and whiskey.

I estimate this syrup will last in the fridge for at least a month. I'll report back on experiments with canning and fermenting some to further extend the shelf life through the winter cold and flu season.

In the meantime, find some baby ginger at the Clintonville Farmers' Market and make this healthful* and tasty syrup for yourself.

Ginger Raw Honey Syrup

Makes: 3-4 cups Time: 45 minutes

2 cups scrubbed fresh baby ginger, chopped 4 cups water 3/4-1 1/2 cups raw local honey, to taste

1. Gently simmer ginger and water in a heavy bottomed pan for 30 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature. 2. Pour ginger tea through a strainer to discard ginger pieces. 3. Add honey and stir vigorously. 4. Store in the refrigerator. Use as a base for ginger ale, cocktail mixer, addition to hot tea, or sip as a health tonic*.

*Health-related statements have not been approved by the Food & Drug Administration, who is shutdown and can't approve anything right now. Cultures around the world have eaten ginger and honey in various forms to treat a multitude of symptoms so I defer to their wisdom and my personal experience.

Playing with Fresh Ginger in Ohio? {Friday Five}

Earlier this week, my friend Joseph, the farmer behind Swainway Urban Farm, gave me samples of his latest product. It's ginger. Fresh, pink Hawaiian ginger, planted early last spring and harvested now.

I went through my standard methods to try a new fruit or vegetable. I ate some raw and it didn't pucker my lips like grocery store ginger does. I cooked some gently and came away with tender slices, none of the stringy dry texture of the sat-on-the-shelf-too-long roots. Even the stems are tasty to chew on. In short, I played with an entirely new ginger.

Specifically, here are five ways I enjoy fresh Ohio ginger:

1) Candied in honey water - I simmered slices in a light honey syrup and then dried them. These will be perfect sore throat lozenges in the winter.

2) Ginger syrup - Don't waste what's left in the pot when the ginger slices are removed! I mixed the honey ginger syrup with rye whiskey and apple cider vinegar and served in a cinnamon sugar rimmed martini glass for a gingersnap cocktail. Yum!

3) Tops as decor - Ginger greens are spiky, adding interest to an arrangement or on their own.

4) Infused in vodka - you knew I would, right? Ginger flavor infuses in a mere three to four days.

5) Atop soba - This ginger is so fresh that it was a pleasant biting condiment to an umami-rich noodle soup. The amazing orange egg is from Cota farms!

You can pick up some of Joseph's fresh ginger (it's organic too!) from the Swainway booth at the Clintonville Farmer's Market tomorrow and every Saturday until the supply runs out. Or, come see the ginger in its 'natural habitat' at the Movie night & Terra Madre fundraiser at Swainway Urban Farm this Saturday, September 22 at 6:30 pm. I'll be there!