In
my last post I shared a recipe that included olives and capers. These Mediterranean exotics can’t be grown in
my humid zone 6. Thomas Jefferson,
during his time in Europe, was so excited about olive trees he brought young
trees back to Monticello in hopes of developing an economically viable crop for
farmers here in the United States.
Needless to say, his efforts failed.
Of course that was before Texas, Arizona, and California were part of
the nation. My point here is that we
have to face the fact that we can’t grow everything we’d want to use in our
food preparation. Even creating
microclimates in our gardens won’t work due to the extremes of temperature and
humidity.
But
that doesn’t mean that we can’t grow some exotics! In my garden I grow Lemon Grass and Ginger in
pots. I also grow Bay Laurel and enjoy
the freshest peppery taste of bay leaves in my cooking. All three of these plants thrive in the hot
humid zone 6 summers, and at the end of the season, I place them under a bank
of shop lights in the cool basement, cut back on water, and wait patiently for
the warm weather to return. In spring, I
thin, prune, harvest, repot if necessary, and out they go into the garden
again. Of course during the course of
the summer, I use all three of these plants fresh. Pulling a stalk of lemongrass or a few bay
leaves is fine and if you are very careful, you can harvest the ginger without
lifting the whole plant.
 |
| Bay Laurel |
 |
| Lemongrass |
 |
| Ginger |
OK,
if you are living in zones where these grow without having to deal with super
cold winters, these may not be exotics to you, but maybe this idea will be, so
enjoy!
What
do I suggest to do with these exotics?
There are so many recipes out there using all three, I am going to
suggest a new direction: summer coolers!
Here
is a recipe to make base syrup for drinks, plus a few ideas on how to use them. And one more tip: once you have made the base
for each of these, you can freeze them in ice trays and use them to cool other
drinks.
 |
| Lemongrass, ginger, bay leaves |
Base
Flavor 1: 24 fresh bay leaves or
Base
Flavor 2: 2 stalks fresh lemongrass cut once lengthwise and then into 1”
lengths
Base
Flavor 3: 2 tbsp. grated fresh ginger
For
each flavor, bring two cups of water to a boil in a non-reactive pan.
Add
one of the above prepared plant matter to the water and remove from the
heat.
To
keep the flavor fresh and bright, DO NOT BOIL.
Let
brew for 5 minutes.
Strain
out the plant matter and add ¼ to ½ cup of sugar to your taste.
Drink Ideas:
- Pour ¼ C. of the Bay base syrup over ice in a glass, fill with lime seltzer, and two drops of orange blossom water.
- Pour ¼ C of the Lemongrass base syrup over ice in a glass and fill with peach or mango nectar.
- Pour 2 tbsp. of the Ginger base syrup over ice in a glass and fill with apple or carrot juice.
- Pour 1 tbsp. of the Ginger base and 2 tbsp. of the Lemongrass base over ice in a glass and fill with lemon or plain seltzer and two drops of rose water.
- Pour ¼ C of the Lemongrass base syrup over ice in a glass, add fresh crushed raspberries and lemon seltzer.
- Add any of the above syrup bases to taste to an iced glass of black tea.
- Add any of the above syrup bases to taste to your favorite mixed drink.
- Add any of the above syrup bases to taste to white wine and add a splash of unflavored seltzer.
As
you can see, there are many possibilities.
And this winter, you can add the syrup to your hot drinks too. Think of Lemongrass or Ginger in hot chocolate. Or Bay in hot tea.
Be
creative and Enjoy!
If
you want more info about growing ginger, try this site.
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