The Ginger Woman

Perhaps only a serious ginger lover like me would want to serve all the following dishes at one meal--the salmon is the only course in the menu that doesn’t contain ginger. But I confess that when I’ve made this meal, I have been known to sneak some grated ginger into the salmon marinade too. Obviously, I am a ginger addict.

SOY-MARINATED SALMON STEAKS

2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 teaspoon dark sesame oil

Dash crushed red pepper

4 salmon steaks, 1/2- to 3/4-inch thick

Combine soy sauce, garlic, sesame oil and red pepper on plate and stir with fork to blend. Add salmon steaks and rub gently on both sides with soy mixture. Marinate 15 to 30 minutes.

Broil salmon steaks, or grill until lightly browned on both sides, about 5 minutes per side, depending on heat of grill. To oven-bake, place salmon on baking sheet and bake at 450 degrees 10 to 12 minutes. To test for doneness, make slit in center of 1 steak. Salmon is cooked when flesh turns from translucent to opaque at center. Makes 4 servings.

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For minced or thin-sliced ginger root, peel off the light tan outside layer with a paring knife. When a recipe calls for grated ginger, peeling usually isn’t necessary.

BROCCOLI AND CARROTS WITH GINGER

1 bunch broccoli, trimmed, cut into 1-inch pieces

2 carrots, cut into 1/2-inch diagonals

1 tablespoon oil

1 tablespoon thin strips fresh peeled ginger root

1/2 clove garlic, minced

Salt

1 tablespoon thinly sliced green onion tops

Place steaming basket in large deep skillet over 1 inch water. Bring water to boil. Add broccoli and carrots. Cook, covered, until tender-crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove steaming basket from skillet. Discard water and wipe skillet dry.

Reheat skillet over medium heat until hot enough to evaporate 1 drop of water upon contact. Add oil, ginger root and garlic. Cook and stir until ginger sizzles, about 20 seconds. Add broccoli and carrots and stir-fry over high heat until coated and heated through, about 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt. Sprinkle with green onion tops before serving. Makes 4 servings.

Note: To make thin strips of ginger root, cut into paper-thin slices, then stack 2 to 3 slices together and cut through into thin strips.

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For this simple dessert (it only takes a few seconds to chop fresh ginger in the food processor), you have to make the ginger syrup one day in advance. But if you didn’t think ahead that far, you can still make a ginger dessert by topping vanilla ice cream with chopped crystallized ginger or stem ginger in syrup.

GINGER AND LEMON ICE

1 1/2 cups water

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup finely chopped fresh ginger root

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

Combine water and sugar in saucepan. Heat, stirring, until water boils and sugar is dissolved. Stir in ginger root and bring to boil. Remove from heat. Let stand, covered, about 1 hour. Strain mixture, pressing down on ginger to extract as much flavor as possible. Cover and chill overnight.

Stir lemon juice into syrup. Pour syrup into shallow pan and place in freezer. Stir every 30 minutes or until mixture is almost frozen solid. Transfer to food processor and puree until smooth. Transfer to plastic freezer container and keep mixture frozen until ready to serve. Spoon into dessert dishes. Makes 4 servings.

Note: This ice is delicious served with sliced fresh strawberries.