Fresh Ginger Muffins

Can I put into words how excited I am to move to Fullerton? I don't know if I can! This past week Tyler and I have been to Carlsbad:

Newport:

and Huntington beaches!

Two out of the three are SUPER close to where I live, Newport is maybe ten minutes or less away! I'm going to get so tan! Now onto Fresh Ginger Muffins!

I got this recipe from the Foods class I took in high school. It's a really interesting recipe, since it uses fresh ginger root, not something I have sitting around my kitchen. Fresh ginger flavor takes me back to all the weird Chinese/Hawaiian food my grandma always had me try as a kid. The ginger and lemon combination is refreshing, and is a good change in my muffin rotation!

Fresh Ginger Muffins
makes apprx. 16 muffins

Ingredients
-A 2-ounce piece unpeeled ginger root
-3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
-2 tablespoons lemon zest with some pith
-1/2 cup butter, room temperature
-2 eggs
-1 cup buttermilk
-2 cups all-purpose flour
-1/2 teaspoonful salt
-3/4 teaspoonful baking soda

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Grease 16 muffins pans.

If you have a food processor, process the ginger until it is in tiny pieces. Or, hand chop in into fine pieces. You should have about 1/4 cup. Too much ginger is better than too little.

Put the ginger and 1/4 cup of the sugar in a small skillet and cook over medium heat until the sugar has melted and the mixture is hot. Do not walk away from the pan - the sugar will melt quite quickly. Remove from the heat and let the mixture cool completely.


Put the lemon zest and 3 tablespoons sugar in the food processor and process until the peel is in small bits. Or, sprinkle the sugar over the zest and chop by hand. Add the zest and sugar mix to the ginger mixture and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, beat the butter slightly, then add the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and beat until smooth. Add the eggs and beat well. Add the buttermilk and mix until blended. Add the flour, salt and baking soda and beat until smooth. Add the lemon-ginger mixture and mix well.


Spoon the batter into the muffin cups so that each cup is about 3/4 full. Bake 15-20 minutes. Serve warm.



P.S. All beach photos were taken by Mr. Tyler Park. I've posted his Flickr account here if you'd like to check out more of his stuff :]