Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Gingermericubes (Ginger, Turmeric and Lemon juice ice cubes)

Equipment

  • ice cube tray
  • food processor
  • peeler
  • gloves, optional

Ingredients

  • 1/4 lb fresh ginger root, preferably organic
  • 1/4 lb fresh turmeric root, preferably organic
  • Lemons.  Lots of lemons.  Last time I used 10, which was too many...but 6 would not be surprising.

Method

  1. Peel the roots.  If you care about staining your hands and fingernails, wear gloves
  2. Put the peeled roots into the food processor.  It will stain!!  So just be ready for that.
  3. Pulse to fine.
  4. Put the diced root mixture into the ice cube tray compartments.  
  5. Juice and strain the lemons into a spouted measure, and pour into the compartments until they are just full.
  6. Freeze the cubes.
 Use these in Bone broth (one cube per quart) or in soda water.

Chicken bone broth (Instant Pot)

Equipment
  • Instant Pot (at least 6 quarts, big enough to hold a whole chicken)
  • Strainer
  • 4-5 Quart Mason jars
Ingredients
  • 1 small whole frozen chicken
  • 2-4 Frozen chicken feet (if you can get them)
  • Salt
  • Water
Method
  1. Put the chicken in the pot, and fill almost to Max with water.  You could go all the way to Max if the chicken is fully submerged, but if anything is poking out give yourself a little leeway.
  2. Add 1 Tablespoon of salt, or a little less
  3. Seal the Instant Pot, turn venting off.  Set to Meat/Stew for 90 minutes.
  4. When it's done, you can release manually or naturally.
  5. Remove the chicken from the pot.  I usually put it into a glass baking dish, and spread out the meat to cool slightly.
  6. If you need some broth for a recipe, remove it.  It's pretty darn good right now.  
  7. Use the chicken meat for something delicious like Kota Soupa Avgolemono or Chicken Casserole (recipe TBD).
  8. When you can, start separating the skin and bones and other inedibles, and put them back into the pot with the broth.
  9. Add the chicken feet to the pot.
  10. Close the pot again, and leave the vent open.  Slow cook as long as you can -- 20 hours is good!
  11. When the broth is done slow cooking, strain it into the quart jars.
  12. Cool the jars, and when you need to use the broth, skim the fat off of the top.
I do this about every other week.  Every three days, I'll open up a quart, skim the fat and drop in a Gingermericube.  The next morning, I shake it up and then pour out a mug and heat it in the microwave, and drink it as my breakfast.  Delicious!  I don't get sick very often at all -- just recently, I did get a cold for the first time in two years, and I hadn't been drinking my potion recently.