Sweetened Ginger

Sweetened Ginger

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. fresh ginger root

1 cup sugar

Enough water to cover ginger 

Instructions:

• Peel and slice ginger into even small strips by knife or mandolin
• Put ginger in sauce pan and enough water to just cover ginger
• Bring to a boil and reduce to medium and simmer for 45 minutes
• After water reduces, add sugar, bring to a boil again, reduce to medium, and simmer for 20 minutes stirring occasionally
• At this point the ginger should be covered and sticky
• Dump ginger onto cooling rack with something under the rack to catch the sugar drippings
• Let cool, bag or bottle, lasts for several weeks in air tight container 

Simple Chocolate Banana Bread

Simple Chocolate Banana Bread

Ingredients:

• 3 ripe Bananas (smashed) (I used 4 because I omit butter)
• 1/3 cup melted butter (I omitted butter and used minced apple)
• 1 cup white sugar (I used 1/2 cup white sugar)
• 1 egg (beaten) (I used a brown cage free egg)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (or all-purpose white flour)
• 1/4 cup unsweetened (or sweetened) cocoa powder

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Mix butter (or apple) into mashed bananas
• Add in sugar, egg, vanilla
• Add in baking soda and salt
• Add in flour and cocoa powder
• Pour into buttered 4X8 pan
• Bake for 1 hour
• Cool for 1 hour

Calories: 

For my recipe (omitting butter), the entire loaf is 1517 calories. (300 for 4 bananas, 387 for 1/2 cup white sugar, 70 for brown egg, 600 for whole wheat flour, and 160 for cocoa powder).