Orts & Reports: Wild Cards and Ginger Zingers!

savoring the stories

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Small Bite #1: Virtual Recipe Swap

Recipe card shorthand is a language all its own. But squeezing a recipe on a tiny card? That’s a true culinary art. By now, most of you are aware of how much I adore recipe cards. The obsession runs deep: Last year, I published a micro-cookbook about them and you actually bought it! You guys are the best and your purchase helped the Good Shepherd Food Bank of Maine feed hundreds in need over the holidays.

Recipes also tell stories and stories are meant to be told. What better way to tell them than to share your favorite food and memories with others? As we head into the third year of cooking and telling together, I invite you to share your favorite recipe cards with the Cook & Tell community in a virtual recipe swap. Simply submit your favorite recipe card and the story behind it via email or snail mail, and I’ll feature it in an upcoming issue. Don’t worry about writing the perfect piece; we’ll work together to shape it into a microstory.

You might want to consider the following:

• Why is this recipe special to you?

• Where/who/how did it originate?

• Where did you first make it?

• How long have you been making it?

• What memories emerge when you think about the recipe?

Unwrap your bouillon cubes, thaw your orange juice, whip out the wax paper and send me those cards and stories!

If you’d rather send snail mail, let me know and I’ll send you my mailing address.

And just maybe, there’s a future Secret Recipes Volume Two, a micro-cookbook dedicated exclusively to your recipes! A girl can dream, right?

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Small Bite #2: Ginger Zingers

Inspired by a field trip through the Bangor European Market last summer, I tweaked a basic scone recipe, pairing candied ginger with a hint of fresh tarragon. Island neighbors and friends loved everything about it: the soft texture and subtle spicy flavor. Give it a shot!

GINGER TARRAGON SCONES

Makes 12 scones

• 3 cups (400g) all-purpose flour

• 3/4 cup (160g) sugar

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon fresh tarragon, chopped

• 3/4 cup (3 1/2 ounces or 110g) candied ginger (chopped into 1/4-inch pieces or smaller)

• 1 tablespoon lemon zest

• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

• 3/4 cup (200ml) buttermilk*

• 10 tablespoons (5 ounces, 140g) unsalted butter, melted

• 1 tablespoon raw sugar for sprinkling on top

Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl vigorously whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Stir in the tarragon, candied ginger, lemon zest, and fresh ginger until evenly mixed.

Create a well in the center of the flour, pour in the melted butter and the buttermilk. Gently mix with a wooden spoon until the flour mixture is just moistened. Don't over-mix! The mixture should look very shaggy.

Divide the mixture into two balls and flatten each onto a floured surface into a 1-inch thick, 6-inch-wide circle. Slice each round into 6 wedges. Transfer to the parchment paper-lined baking sheet, spacing at least an inch apart. Sprinkle with raw sugar.

Bake for 18-20 minutes. Cool on a rack for 5 minutes before eating.

This recipe, originally published in an old Cook & Tell dedicated entirely to ginger, originated from—what else but—a local community cookbook from 1972, the Juniper-McCown Cookbook. Zero labor, zero cooking!

GINGER BANANA CREAM

Makes 6 servings

• 1 c. (1/2 pint) heavy or whipping cream

• 2 T. confectioners’ sugar

• Dash of salt

• 1 T. lemon juice

• 3 bananas, pureed in a blender

• 12 gingersnaps, crushed into crumbs

• ½ finely chopped crystallized ginger (as a certified ginger fanatic, I recommend as much ginger as you feel like chopping)

Whip the cream in a large bowl, adding the confectioners’ sugar and salt toward the end of the whipping.

Combine lemon juice and pureed bananas and fold into the whipped cream mixture. Fold in cookie crumbs. Cover and chill.

Serve garnished with a shower of crystallized ginger.

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Small Bite #3: Vintage Reads & Reels

Subscriber

Cynthia Nims

was recently interviewed about her beloved family recipe collection. Her latest culinary offering is a gorgeous tribute to those recipes with tips from her workshops on preserving family recipes. If you’re into vintage food, it’s a must-read!

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Endnote: Our Culinary Community

Since Cook & Tell’s first digital issue in January 2023, readership has quadrupled! You’ve shared and commented and restacked this foodletter and I’ve even met some of you in real life! A giant thank-you to readers old and new. And to all the southern California subscribers affected by the fires, please know I am keeping you close in my heart.

We’re not just a newsletter, we’re a community.

Your pantry pal,

Amie

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