Frugality is my birthright.

Both of my parents lived through the Great Depression as impressionable children. Ones that saw how hard it was to put any kind of food on the table, not just special foods like candies.

When I was a child, I heard the phrase, "Remember the starving children in Africa." whenever I didn't finish my meal.
As a family of eight raised on the single salary of my engineer father, we learned early how to stretch the family budget, yet eat healthy, nutrient dense foods and how to cook to get the foods we wanted.

My mom had a big sweet tooth.
She loved to have chocolate around to nibble, candies to suck and some to make for holidays like her butterscotch. 

I'm grateful for all those lessons. They have come in handy as our daughters have grown as touchstones for the skills needed to be a fully functioning adult.  I want them to be able to satisfy their desires without having to purchase everything they want.

I want them to grow their own food, and make their own put ups.
And make their own candies from something others might discard.

Simmering Candied Chai Ginger

It's really fun to make something special from something overlooked or neglected.
Like this Candied Spiced Ginger, combining a simple technique for candying fruits with the ginger simmered with cardamom, cloves, pepper and cinnamon.
The final product is a terrific gift, or ingredient, elevating simple cookies to sublime.
Enjoy!

Candied Chai Ginger

By Dr. Jean Layton
November 18, 2015

Prep time: 3 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 13min
Yield: 1 1/4 cup
Equipment small saucepan, sheet of parchment paper
Ingredients:
Leftover ginger slices from a batch of Spicy Chai Drink
Equal amount of sugar by weight
Half amount of water

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in the saucepan and bring to a boil quickly.
2. The sugar will melt and then form a syrup, continue to cook till almost all syrup is absorbed. The slices of ginger will curl and darken a bit.
3. Pour out on the parchment paper and allow to cool.
4. Place in pretty jars for gifting or a sealed container to add to your baking ingredient shelf. Make sure to save the spiced sugar as well.
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