Ginger Soda and Ginger Candy: Double Duty Recipe

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With this recipe, I can kill two birds with one stone.    The two birds are my children.  One loves ginger ale and the other loves ginger candy.  The stone is this lovely ginger syrup recipe for making ginger soda and candied ginger.  This ginger soda is similar to ginger ale but has a lovely warm heat that creeps up after you have taken a couple of sips.  A ginger syrup is made, poured into a glass with ice, a half a lime is squeezed in and then it is topped with sparkling water or plain soda.   Very refreshing.  One interesting aspect of a homemade ginger soda is the warm, spicy after taste of the ginger which I love.  The candied ginger tastes very much like the store bought variety, except for not as sweet.  I know that sounds a little silly considering that it is candy, but none the less, I stand by my statement.  I think the reason is that my ginger syrup was not as sweet as it could have been and therefore neither was the candy.  I am more into flavor than sweet and too much sweetness seems to take over the flavor sometimes.  In the USA, I think many of our products are overly sweet and the flavor is not as pronounced as it could be.  This is my personal opinion.

Fresh Strawberry Scones

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Strawberries are everywhere.  They hit the markets somewhere around February 14, Valentines Day, and continue to increase in volume and drop in price.  The first strawberries that are available sadly are usually flavorless.  So I wait.  Fruit in season is undeniably the best.  That can't be argued with.  In season on the northeastern coast is June and the season is short.  That is depressing.  There is not too much that is in season right now but maybe celery and asparagus.  So Plant City, Florida is not too bad.  It's still in the US and on the east coast.  The weather south is warmer than here, and right now - I am jealous.

Morning Glory Muffins

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Muffins.  Most muffins are too much like cake for me.  They seem more like a treat than breakfast.  I like hearty for breakfast.  Nutritious helps.  Foods like homemade granola with plain yogurt, oatmeal made with steel cut oats,  hot cereals made with a multi-grain cereal or a whole grain slice of toast with some delicious jam or fruit spread on it.  These are the types of breakfast foods that make me feel good and gets me going.  Of all the muffins I have made and tried, Morning Glory Muffins are presently my favorite.  How can you really go wrong with a name like that?!

I searched for the healthiest Morning Glory Muffin recipe I could find and then started tweaking. I am very happy with the results and am sad to say not one made it to the freezer.  Nutrient dense recipes that taste good become staples in my recipe files.  I like the phrase "nutrient dense".  It is a concept we can all live by, literally. 

Chunky, Healthy and Delicious.

Even though I love hearty, healthy recipes, I do want to be true to what foods are suppose to be.  Cookies are supposed to taste like cookies,  cakes taste like cakes and so on.  Healthy only goes so far and then the recipe is nothing like it is supposed to be or something else entirely.  I am  not willing to give up all purpose flour or white sugar because they have their place in baking when you are trying to achieve a certain texture and/or taste which for me is also important.