Homemade Ginger Ale

Homemade ginger ale is a refreshing treat in hot weather, cooling you down even as it sort of warms you up inside. Make some and pour yourself a glass! 

I am a pure chili pepper eater from way back. When I was eight years old, my party trick was to eat whole pickled jalapeños, much to the amazement of friends and classmates. Raw ginger, on the other hand, I just can’t do. It burns! My mother-in-law is the opposite. Ginger - yes, chili pepper - no!

When she was living in Singapore and I would visit, we frequented an outdoor eatery that specialized in Chinese cooking. There was one dish - stir-fried vegetables with bits of chicken - that I had to eat with caution. 

Sometimes that slice of vegetable was an innocent bamboo shoot, sometimes it was a take-my-head-off piece of fresh, crunchy ginger. When I’d get one between my teeth by accident, my nose felt like it did when I was a kid and got chlorinated pool water all up it. Not nice. Horseradish and hot English mustard in more than small quantities have the same effect on me. 

I’d watch agog, as my mother-in-law ate not just the slices of ginger on her plate but the ones I pushed aside on mine! 

Ah, but cooked ginger. That is a whole ‘nother animal. Along with garlic and onions, it is the base of my favorite Burmese curry paste. Spicy sweet tomato chutney would not be the same without it. Not to mention ginger ale and gingerbread and ginger lemon snaps. Cooked ginger is one of my favorite things!

Homemade Ginger Ale

If you are a scale user (and I hope you are!) you will find it helpful to know that the weight of the ginger before peeling is 7 3⁄4 oz or 300g. This recipe makes about 1 1/4 cups or 300ml syrup. 

Ingredients

For the ginger syrup:

1 1/2 cups or 220g ginger, chopped and peeled 

2 cups or 480ml water

3/4 cup or 150g sugar

Pinch salt

To make one serving of ginger ale:

2-3 tablespoons ginger syrup

3/4 cup or 165ml chilled seltzer or club soda (half a can)

1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

Ice

To garnish:

Lime slices (optional)

Method

To make the syrup: Bring water with ginger to a gentle boil then lower the temperature to simmer and continue cooking, covered for 45 minutes. 

When your timer rings (you did set a timer, right?) remove the pot from the stove and leave the ginger in to steep for another 20 minutes. 

Strain the ginger out through a sieve and squeeze the ginger to get as much juice as possible out. Discard the ginger. 

Pour the strained ginger water back into the pot along with the sugar and pinch of salt. Cook over a medium heat until the sugar dissolves and the liquid has reduced to about 1 1/4 cups or 300ml. 

Pour the hot syrup into a heatproof vessel and chill before using. Keeps for up to one week in the refrigerator or freeze in an ice cube tray for longer storage. 

To assemble the ginger ale, put two or three ice cubes in a glass. Add in the lime juice and a slice of lime, if desired. Pour in the ginger syrup then top up with seltzer or club soda. 

Stir gently to mix the juice and syrup in. 

Enjoy!

If you are a fan of ginger, this is the perfect Sunday FunDay for you! Check out all the great recipes we are sharing today with ginger. Many thanks to our host, Kalyani of Sizzling Tastebuds.

• Chukku Malli Kashayam (Dry Ginger Tea) by Sizzling Tastebuds
• Ginger & Lemongrass Tea by Mayuri's Jikoni
• Ginger Snaps by Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Ginger Spiced Pickled Figs by Palatable Pastime
• Green Masala Potato & Egg Curry by Sneha's Recipe /
• Ground Beef Stir Fry byA Day in the Life on the Farm
• Homemade Ginger Ale by Food Lust People Love
• Hot and Sour Soup with Pork by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Mrs. Coughran's Southern Gingerbread with Lemon Sauce by Culinary Adventures with Camilla

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Spiced Chickpea Flour Gnocchi with Coconut Spinach Sauce

These spiced chickpea flour gnocchi are deliciously savory bites, tender on the inside and golden on the outside, served on a divine coconut spinach sauce so good you will want to lick the plate not to miss a single drop. 

When I first saw the delicious. magazine recipe from which mine is adapted, I questioned calling these little squares gnocchi because they were unlike any gnocchi I’d ever seen before. Gnocchi dough is rolled into a long sausage then cut in bits and boiled, right? If you are French, you might cook it à la poêle, in a pan browned in butter, but it's still little ovals of potato pasta.

But just a couple of weeks later, I was researching Roman recipes for another blogger event and I came across many for gnocchi that reminded me of my crispy polenta. Case in point, Serious Eats' Gnocchi alla Romana. It is indeed very similar in method to this chickpea flour version, aside from the shape. 

So I guess the potato gnocchi I’ve been making all these years is Italian, not Roman, but my crispy polenta is! Who knew?

Anyhoo, name aside, you are going to want to make these guys. We absolutely loved them and the spiced coconut spinach sauce as well. I'm not kidding when I say you'll want to lick the plate. It looks like a lot of ingredients and many steps but they are all super easy. Give this a try! You will not regret it. 

Spiced Chickpea Flour Gnocchi with Spinach Coconut Sauce

Here in the States, bags of spinach generally come measured in ounces and/or pounds. If you live elsewhere and can get a one kilo bag, go ahead and use the whole thing. This recipe is adapted from one in delicious. magazine, the UK edition, from the talented Chef Vivek Singh of The Cinnamon Club in London.

Ingredients

For the gnocchi:

3 cups or 735g Greek yogurt (sub a non-dairy yogurt to make this vegan friendly)

1 3/4 cups or 210g chickpea (gram) flour plus extra for dusting

1 1/2 cups + 4 teaspoons or 375ml water

1 piece (about 1 in or 2.5cm) fresh ginger

4 small hot red chili peppers

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

1/2 teaspoon asafetida (if you can't find this, skip it. I'm addicted to the aroma of asafetida but I can't say I notice much of a flavor difference when it's added to a recipe)

1/2 teaspoon nigella seeds aka kalongi 

1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds

1/2 teaspoon sugar

Plus canola or other light oil for pan frying

For the coconut spinach sauce:

28 oz or 794g young leaf spinach

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon gram flour

1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger

4 hot red chili peppers, minced

3/4 cup or 180ml coconut cream (not milk - we want the thick stuff for extra flavor!)

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon garam masala

For the tempering:

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

2 whole dried red chili peppers, broken into small pieces

2-3 sprigs fresh curry leaves

Method

Line a 9x9 in or x 23x23cm pan with baking parchment. 

Peel the ginger and cut the stems off of the chili peppers. Chop the ginger roughly. Use a small food processor to mince both finely. Alternatively, you can use a pestle and mortar to grind them into a paste. 

Use a little of the water measure to rinse the processor or mortar to make sure you don’t leave any ginger/pepper behind. 

Mix all the gnocchi ingredients together in a pan and whisk to combine.

Cook gently for 12-15 minutes until thickened and shiny, whisking, then stirring as it thickens, all the while.

Transfer to the prepared pan and spread it out evenly to cool. Cover well with cling film and chill for up to 24 hours. 

When you are ready to complete the dish, put a 1/4 cup or 60ml water in your largest pot that has a lid. Bring it to the boil then add the spinach. Pop the lid on. If you don't have a pot this large, put as much as you can in, then add handfuls as the spinach shrinks and makes room until it's all been added.

Cook for 1-2 minutes or until wilted. Tip it into a bowl with ice water. 

Drain in a colander. Put a bowl under the colander when most of the water has drained and push down on the spinach so even more water drains and collects in the bowl. 

Purée the spinach in a food processor, adding a little of the spinach water, if necessary to get it moving. Set aside. (yield: 2 3/4 cups spinach purée)

Heat the oil for the coconut spinach sauce in a medium sized pot over a medium heat. Add the cumin seeds, then the garlic and stir until the garlic is golden. Add the chickpea flour and stir until it gives off a roasted aroma about 1-2 minutes. 

Add the spinach puree to the pan and bring to a slow boil, stirring often. Turn down the heat, add the ginger and chili peppers.

Simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in the coconut milk, add the salt and sugar then sprinkle in the garam masala. Keep warm. 

For the tempering, strip the curry leaves off of the stems then heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. When hot, add the red chili peppers, mustard seeds and curry leaves. 

Once the spices crackle, stir till dry and remove from the heat. 

Cut the cooled gnocchi into 36 squares. Lightly dust the gnocchi with a little more gram flour. I find using a small sieve for this most helpful. 

Drizzle a little oil into a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat then fry the gnocchi in batches, turning them until they are browned on all sides. 

Remove them to a pan in a warm oven, with a wire rack and paper towels to absorb any oil as you finish each batch. Keep warm. 

Divide the coconut spinach sauce between plates then top with the golden gnocchi and sprinkle with the tempered spice mix to serve.

Enjoy!

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing recipes made with chickpea flour, also known as gram flour or besan. It’s commonly used in many Asian cuisines, predominantly in the subcontinent, for savory dishes and baking. According to Wikipedia, it contains a high proportion of carbohydrates as well as higher fiber and protein relative to other flours. It is naturally gluten free, making it a healthy choice for many. Check out all the recipe links below! Many thanks to our host, Renu of Cook with Renu for hosting today and for this wonderful theme.

• Airfryer Banana Crisps by Sizzling Tastebuds
• Onion Pakoda/Bhajiyas by Sneha’s Recipe
• Spiced Chickpea Flour Gnocchi with Coconut Spinach Sauce by Food Lust People Love
• Tawa Bread Pakora by Mayuri's Jikoni
• Vegan Chickpea Tomato Omelette by Cook with Renu
• Zucchini Fritters by A Day in the Life on the Farm

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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 with Coconut Spinach Sauce!

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Mini Peanut Butter Cup Muffins #MuffinMonday

These mini peanut butter cup muffins are full of peanut butter flavor and are studded with mini peanut butter cups inside and out.

I usually do most of the grocery shopping in our family because I enjoy it. I actually like choosing the produce and browsing the aisles for ingredients that say “Dinner!” to me. We have a shared note on our iPhones so that everyone can add items or untick the little circle (which makes that item jump to the top of the list) so that I know exactly what to buy on my weekly shopping trip. 

A number of weeks ago, my daughter added rice cakes to the list. Unsalted rice cakes. Low salt, low sodium and lightly salted were all options in my usual grocery stores but no unsalted. Who knew they would be so tricky to find? 

I finally ended up at a store called Sprouts Farmers Market and found not just one brand of unsalted rice cakes but three! Yay! I celebrated my good fortune by browsing the shop to see what other great things they might sell and found the tiniest little peanut butter cups in the bulk section. Perfect for snacking and muffin baking.

Sprouts is also the only store where I have been able to find the pearl onions I need for my homemade pub-style pickled onion recipe. I really should shop there more often. 

Mini Peanut Butter Cup Muffins

This recipe makes six normal sized muffins. It's easily doubled to make a batch of 12. If you don’t have mini peanut butter cups, by all means substitute chocolate chips. Chocolate and peanut butter are such a great muffin combo so you need to get some chocolate in there!

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups or 156g flour 

1/4 cup or 50g sugar

1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup or 95g creamy peanut butter

1 large egg

1/2 cup or 120ml whole milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup or 100g mini peanut butter cups 

Method

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your six-muffin pan by greasing it or lining it with paper liners.

In a large mixing bowl, combine all of your dry ingredients: the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

In a smaller mixing bowl, add all of your wet ingredients, the creamy peanut butter, egg, milk and vanilla extract.

Use a whisk to break up the peanut butter and continue mixing until the whole mess is homogeneous.  That is to say, smooth and of the same consistency throughout.

Pour your wet ingredients into your dry ones.

Fold them together gently. If there is still a bit of flour showing, that is good.

Fold in most of the tiny peanut butter cups in, saving some to decorate the tops. 

Divide the batter between your prepared muffin cups. Decorate with the reserved peanut butter cups. You might want to push them in a bit more than I did so they don't slide down the muffins so much while baking. 

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

After allowing them to cool for a few minutes, remove the muffins from the pan and place on a wire rack to finish cooling.

Enjoy!

 

It's the last Monday of the month when we always celebrate Muffin Monday! Check out all the great muffin recipes below!

• Dutch Apple Pie Muffins from Jolene's Recipe Journal
• Maraschino Cherry Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Mini Peanut Butter Cup Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Pizza Muffins from Palatable Pastime
• Small Batch Zucchini Blueberry Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Sourdough Cinnamon Buttermilk Muffins from Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Vegan Jackfruit Muffins from Magical Ingredients

 

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all of our lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page.

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