Homebrewed Ginger Beer

I started brewing kombucha at home several years ago now, and just recently became interested in expanding a bit further into other naturally fermented beverages (and foods!) Sourdough wasn't the biggest success for me, but a recent attempt at sauerkraut came out absolutely fantastic and has led me into a bit of an obsession. Oops.

I've been loving ginger beers for some time now, and the more I saw how simple the list of ingredients was the more I knew it was something I wanted to experiment with on my own. I recently picked up a copy of Wild Fermentation and the first recipe I found myself drawn to was of course- one for ginger beer.

I found this recipe unique, wherein most recipes for ginger beer that I've seen online rely on the addition of commercial yeast to create carbonation. This recipe has you first create a ginger "bug" a few days in advance that is added to the rest of your ingredients before bottling.



Homebrewed Ginger Beer (Gently adapted from Wild Fermentation)

Ingredients for Ginger Bug:
Several inches fresh ginger root
Pure cane sugar
Water

Mix 2 tsp grated ginger root (skin is fine) with 2 tsp sugar, and 1 cup of water in a small jar. Stir well and store in a warm spot, covered by cheesecloth or paper towel. Continue adding 2 tsp of grated ginger and sugar daily, until ginger bug begins to look frothy or bubbly- 2 days to a week, depending. Once ginger bug is bubbling, you're ready to start your brew. If you decide to wait to brew- continuing adding sugar and ginger to your bug daily.

Ginger bug- pre-bubbles

Ingredients for Ginger Beer:
2-6 inches fresh ginger root, grated (depending on how gingery you'd like it to be)
1 1/2 cups pure cane sugar
Juice from 2 lemons
Water

Boil 2 quarts of water. Add grated ginger root (I went for the full amount), and sugar. Boil mixture for 15 minutes, then allow to cool completely. Once mixture is cool- strain out ginger, then combine with lemon juice, and strained ginger bug. Add enough water to total 1 gallon (4 liters). Stir well, then carefully bottle. Store in a warm place for 2 weeks. Refrigerate at least several hours before opening- and open very carefully as carbonation may be very strong.

Tips on bottling: I used two 1/2 gallon growlers with screw-on lids from a local homebrew supply shop. You can also use recycled plastic soda or juice bottles, flip-top beer bottles with rubber seals, or standard beer bottles if you have a capper. Basically anything that you can safely seal. Large canning jars would also work.

Link Love! Gifts In Jars

My 300-ish square foot apartment is currently overflowing with jars of things. Three types of jam, tomato sauce, two types of liqueur, pickles, pears, and on and on. My general motivation here is not only to have beautiful summer produce throughout the year, but also to have a perfect stash of last minute gifts and treats to share with friends and loved ones during the holiday season. It isn't too late for handmade gifts by any means- and the perks of gifting something that can be both stored, and later eaten once the house is cleared of other holiday sweet things is truly hard to argue. I've also tried to include primarily recipes that don't require any special canning equipment.

- Despite the fact that Washington doesn't actually have a citrus season- it still is citrus season. I'm enamored with the idea of this Chili Mandarin Marmalade with a Spritz of Ginger from Mandolin the Mirthful. She notes its intensity and that it would pair beautifully with crackers and chevre. My kind of lady.

- On that note- this idea of gifting Marinated Goat Cheese is unarguably simple, and absolutely gorgeous. This would make a phenomenal host/ess gift, even when rushed for time.

- Homemade Coffee Liqueur from Food In Jars makes for another well received gift that uses a few straight-forward ingredients. The original recipe notes that it's best when allowed to sit anywhere from three to six weeks- but I've given gifts like this in the past that included a note one when it's best to open. No one has complained.

- Okay, I'm totally cheating on this one. It doesn't come in a jar, it's merely just being served in one. But I cannot get over how obscenely delicious this sounds. I cannot. Jen Altman's Black Spiced Rum Eggnog will be my first attempt at eggnog ever. I will drink it out of a jar, and I will probably not share. You should go ahead and make your own.

-  Bacon Jam. I know. Bacon is played out, and this recipe takes hours to make, and if you want to store it out of the fridge you need a pressure cooker. But I don't care about any of those things. It's bacon, and onions, and maple syrup. And I just don't care.

- I accidentally made myself a big beautiful jar of ginger syrup last year- it was the byproduct of candied ginger, and it was probably one of the best accidents I've had in some time. It makes for some of the best ginger ale I've ever had, and has stored perfectly in my pantry without any issues. Joy the Baker shares her recipe for Homemade Ginger Syrup for Ginger Ale and includes a perfectly simple recipe for ginger ale to tack on as part of a gift.

Are you making any of your gifts this year? What are your favorite homemade treats to give and receive?

Link Love!

I'm almost certain that once upon a time I used to post links to things that weren't just related to food and eating. I'm glad that I've moved on from that place. My heart has only one real love. (That's a lie.)

-  I actually made an audible squealing noise when I came across this recipe. That's normal, yeah? Apple Fennel Sauerkraut with Caraway from The Bitten Word is just so... glorious. I still haven't experimented with sauerkraut or kimchee, and I'm finding myself a little antsy. My CSA this week came with a big beautiful head of fennel. It's a sign, clearly.

- My biggest struggle with cutting back on gluten hasn't had anything to do with pasta or toast. It's shortbread. Shortbread relies so much on the simplicity of its ingredients, that when one thing is slightly off they verge on inedible. I experimented with a GF shortbread recipe this past spring- and while my co-workers humored me and ate the tiny heart shaped gritty lumps, I haven't gone back to trying to recreate them. Serious Eats hosts Gluten Free Tuesday every week, and amongst their recipes they have a simple and beautiful recipe for Gluten Free Shortbread Cookies. They also have a recipe for Allergen Free Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Cake, which does admittedly sound a bit clinical, but looks (and reads) to be delicious. I can usually get pretty excited about anything combining chocolate and pumpkin.

- Absolutely not gluten free, but when Molly from Orangette refers to something as "some of the best cookies I will ever eat" - I'm probably going to pop some acidophilus and make a batch. Plus- these are actually Autumn Martin's infamous peanut butter cookies. Yes. These Salted Peanut Butter Cookies. Yes, again. Yes. There is Theo Chocolate in there.

- I've been eating so much winter squash lately. And while Zucchini Stuffed with Sausage, Mushrooms, and Sage from The Kitchn  uses a zucchini (obviously)- I'm likely going to re-utilize the stuffing recipe and cook it with a lovely little butternut or spaghetti squash. Forever.

- Maple Buttermilk Pie from 101 Cookbooks is so perfectly timed for fall. She uses rye flour in her crust, and nearly a cup of maple syrup in the filling. Perfection.

Gluten Free Chocolate Zucchini Bread & A Lighting Issue

Two weeks ago, in my first CSA from Tiny's Organic- I was blessed with a child-sized zucchini. "Blessed" being a bit of an objective term. I've spent the past two weeks staring at this thing. It took up half of my butcher block counter and I'm pretty sure that it moved on its own at least once. A giant zucchini is not a thing to be dealt with lightly. You cannot just chop it up and throw it into whatever happens to be for dinner, or munch on lovely little zucchini spears. Absolutely not. Giant zucchinis exist solely to be baked into things.

from our garden - snuggling zucchinis by m soto

I modified this recipe to suit my needs. Gluten free, more zucchini, less sugar, and butter instead of oil. Feel free to work with the original recipe if you find it suits you better. My version yields a nicely sweet, soft and moist loaf, without even a hint of the density or gritty texture that's characteristic of many gluten free baked goods. It's hands down my favorite GF recipe so far.


Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, melted
3 eggs
3 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups gluten free flour blend (I used half Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free AP Flour, a quarter millet flour, and a quarter white rice flour- use whatever mixture you prefer.)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp sea salt
2 tsp xanthan gum (omit if using standard flour)
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
2 1/2 cups shredded zucchini - moisture squeezed out (I do this by wringing it out wrapped up in a clean dish towel or cheese cloth- do not skip this step or you'll end up with soggy bread!)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts


Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and lightly grease two 8"x4" loaf pans. In a large bowl beat together sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla extract until foamy. In a separate bowl combine flour, cocoa powder, salt, xanthan gum, baking powder, and baking soda. Gently stir dry ingredients into wet, being sure not to over-mix. Fold in shredded zucchini and chopped nuts, then pour batter into pans. Bake 50-60 minutes, until top is cracked and a toothpick inserted in the middle of your loaf comes out clean. Allow to cool before slicing.

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I'm having major issues with lighting my photos in my new apartment, and I need your help! Even in the middle of the day with both of my blinds open I don't get enough natural light to get a decent photo. The light in my apartment is extremely yellow, and I don't have enough photography/lighting skills to get around this. My food photos are hideous and it's bumming me out! Without being able to rely on natural light- what are my options for taking decent photos? Below is the best I could get of my zucchini bread. And normally I wouldn't photograph brown on top of brown, oops. Suggestions?

Vegan & Gluten Free Coconut Cupcakes

 Uh oh from Another Pint Please

I normally wouldn't ever post a recipe without including a picture of the actual said item, but I'm still in a bit of a battle with the lighting in my apartment. If I posted any of the pictures I took you probably wouldn't want to make these. I sure as hell wouldn't.

Despite their lack of a decent photo- these cupcakes are unbelievably light and tender, and not even just for a gluten free baked good. Admittedly- there are a lot of leavening agents going on here, but they work really well with Bob's Red Mill GF All Purpose Flour which has become my go-to for much of my GF baking. These can easily be made with standard AP flour as well- just omit the xanthan gum.

Ingredients:
- 2 cups Bob's Red Mill GF All Purpose Flour or flour of choice
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 2 tsp. xanthan gum (omit if not using GF flour)
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 14oz can unsweetened coconut milk (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce, smashed banana, or yogurt (vegan or non is fine)
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup unsweetened flake coconut, plus extra for topping cupcakes

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, and line a muffin tin with paper liners. In a large bowl sift together dry ingredients including sugar, and set aside. Combine coconut milk, applesauce, and vanilla extract in a separate bowl. Create a well in your dry ingredients, then pour in wet ingredients. Fold together gently, being sure not to over mix (gluten free flours aren't really an issue with this- but it's a good practice regardless). While batter is still lumpy- gently fold in coconut flakes. Spoon batter into liners, top with additional coconut, and bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before eating- and feel free to top with powdered sugar or frosting of your choice if you'd like them a little more sweet. Makes 1 dozen.