Tag: Ginger

Grandma Libbey’s Soft Ginger Cookies

Our camp cook’s wife, Lorraine, shared her recipe for soft ginger cookies after I begged for it at one of the sumptuous Christmas open houses she and Chris hosted. As I have mentioned before, I really prefer cookies that remind me of cake rather than crackers.

I do like crackers, particularly when they are smeared with a nice ripe Brie or Camembert or are supporting a generous slice of aged Cheddar from Wisconsin or Cave Aged Gouda from the Caves of Faribaultt. I also use crackers in lots of recipes for everything from Italian Meatballs and Jerri’s Salmon Loaf to Nellie’s Rhubarb Raisin Pie and Phyllis’ Bar-B-Que Burgers, and of course, Jerri’s Oyster Stew demands oyster crackers.

I do enjoy an occasional crisp cookie, but I would sneak an extra one of Grandma Libbey’s Soft Ginger Cookies before I reached for a crisp sugar cookie. Lorraine got the recipe from Ms. Diane, as Chris calls her, who is married to his brother David. She contributed it to “Feeding the Flock,” a cookbook published by The Baptist Church of Grafton, Massachusetts.

In a note at the end of the recipe, she explains, “This recipe comes from David’s Grandma who made it frequently to celebrate, to console and to be enjoyed with cold milk.”

I think Diane says it all. It’s time to bake some cookies.

INGREDIENTS:

1 large egg
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups molasses
1/2 cup sour milk
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
2 tsp. baking soda
5-6 cups all-purpose flour

PROCEDURE:

First make the sour milk. Put one and one-half-teaspoons of vinegar or lemon juice into a measuring cup. Add enough milk to make a half cup. Stir the mixture and set it aside. Preheat the oven to 425º.

Beat the egg, sugar and molasses together in a large mixing bowl. Add the sour milk and beat well. Add the oil and beat until it is blended with the other liquids.

Sift the salt, ginger, baking soda and flour into a separate bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the molasses mixture a cup at a time, beating well between additions. If the dough is not firm enough to roll out after the last cup has been stirred in, add more flour.

Transfer half of the dough onto a well-floured surface. Use a spatula to turn the dough until it is covered with flour. Roll out the dough to a quarter-inch thickness. Cut with a floured cutter and place the cookies about an inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for six to seven minutes until the center of the cookie is set.

Work the scraps into the remaining dough and cut more cookies. Knead the final scraps into a ball and roll it out to make the rest of the cookies.

NOTES: If you want extra sweetness, sprinkle a little granulated sugar on top of the cookies before putting them in the oven.

Depending on the size of your egg and the kind of molasses, you may need to add a little more than six cups of flour. This recipe makes five dozen three inch cookies.

Buttercup Squash Soup

On the twentieth of July, 1962, I had to scrape frost off the windshield of my magnificent 1950 Desoto Club Coupe. I had a summer job at WERL in Eagle River, Wisconsin, and was sharing a cabin on Silver Lake with Nelson, a friend from Hayward, who had signed on the radio station earlier that morning.

Both having grown up in Hayward, neither Nels nor I mentioned the frost to one another. Having grown up in Hayward, we expected such phenomena occasionally. I remember snow on my birthday in May and white stuff on the ground in early September.

I mention the frost in July mainly to explain why my parents seldom tried to grow squash in our garden. By August, when winter squash would be ripening, the plants might well be turning black from an early frost. The climate was more hospitable just forty or fifty miles south of Hayward, and Lake Superior created a microclimate with a longer growing season on the south shore, so that farmers there were not only successful orchardists, but also grew squash and watermelons.

On our annual family apple outing to Bayfield, Mom and Dad often bought some winter squash. Mom was especially fond of Hubbard squash, those huge blue-green monsters that supplied our family with a week’s worth of vegetable from a single fruit.

In a weak moment I bought a twenty pounder two years ago for seven dollars, which would have been a bargain if I had not neglected my purchase in the basement. By the time I checked on it, I had to use a large pail to transport that once magnificent Hubbard squash up the stairs and out to the compost pile.

Cutting open a Hubbard squash is a challenge. Mom used an axe to split it in half. She would then scoop out the seeds and pulp and cut chunks of squash from the two halves for steaming or baking. I use a saw-and-raker knife to do the job on Hubbard squash. Buttercup squash is another excellent winter squash that is best opened with the saw-and-raker knife.

Buttercup squash have dark green rinds and bright gold flesh. They are delicious baked and flavored with brown sugar, butter, and maple syrup. They also make a wonderful soup. Many years ago, Jerri had a bowl of buttercup squash soup flavored with ginger at a local restaurant. Here is the version I came up with that she says tastes almost as good.

INGREDIENTS:

1 buttercup squash (about 7 inches in diameter)
1/2 tsp. butter
1 medium onion (2 1/2 – 3 inches in diameter)
1 medium carrot (about 1/3 cup chopped)
1 T vegetable oil
3 3/4 cups chicken broth (2 cans)
2 T fresh ginger
2 large garlic cloves
1/2 tsp chili paste
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

PROCEDURE:

Preheat the oven to 400º. Wash and cut the squash in half and use a spoon to remove the pulp and seeds. Line a baking pan with a sheet of parchment paper and grease it lightly with a half teaspoon of butter. Place the squash cut sides down on the paper and bake it for thirty to forty minutes. Use a fork to test for doneness. The squash is done when a fork slips easily into the flesh.

Peel the onion, carrot, garlic and ginger while the squash is baking. Chop the onion and carrot into a quarter-inch dice and put them into a three quart saucepan along with a tablespoon of vegetable oil. Mince the ginger and garlic and set them aside.

Remove the squash from the oven when it is done and allow it to cool for a few minutes while you cook the onion over moderate heat. When the onion is soft and translucent, remove the pan from the heat to avoid browning the vegetables. Scoop the flesh from the squash and combine it with the onion and carrot in the pan. Add the chicken broth to the vegetables, stir well, and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for ten minutes, then add the chili paste, ginger and garlic and cook for another ten minutes. Stir occasionally.

Purée the soup with an immersion or countertop blender or food processor. If you use a countertop blender, it is wise to blend the soup in stages, filling the blender a bit less than half full and transferring the puréed soup to a bowl so you can process the remainder.

Return the puréed soup to the saucepan. Stir the coconut milk, salt and pepper into the soup and simmer it for three or four minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

NOTES: If the diced onion and carrot seem too dry when you are cooking them, feel free to add a little more vegetable oil.

If you don’t have any chili paste in your kitchen, you might try a little hot sauce or cayenne. I have not had to do this, but you really need some spice to balance the ginger and squash.

Don’t be afraid to store any leftover coconut milk in the refrigerator. Put it in a jar with a screw cap. It will keep fine for at least a couple of months.