Root Ginger
The other day when I was at the Market I saw these lovely fat roots of ginger. I bought a couple and on getting back home started on my root ginger attack!
It is so easy to buy those expensive little jars of ginger paste which I think have half the flavour as fresh and you use twice as much and end up with the rest in the fridge until it gets thrown away!
So,to make the most from your ginger, break each root into separate pieces, then scrape them with a teaspoon to remove the skin – any difficult knobbly bits peel using a knife. Keeping all the peelings and any tiny knobbly bits that I cut off, pop these into a pan and cover them with water. Place on a low heat and simmer for about 20 minutes. Leave to cool. Strain into a jug and throw away the peelings. This ginger juice can be used in many different ways.
- freeze into ice cubes and add to drinks for added flavour
- use in soups
- I love ginger cordial but find they are rather sweet, so I add some of this juice
- add to asian dishes
- for colds, heat and add lemon juice and honey
Now to the rest of the peeled ginger. I simply place it in handy chunks in a plastic bag or container, ready to use when needed. It is easier to grate, chop or slice when it is slightly frozen.
Garlic
When I see some beautiful large and firm heads of garlic, I buy half a dozen and, wearing vinyl gloves, peel them and freeze them whole in a plastic bag or container. They roast whole straight from the freezer, or you can slice, crush or chop them as needed. 
