2 of ma favourite God-sent Spices

Natural spices for me are just a must in my cooking. Apart from the fact that they are products of nature, they have medicinal uses as well as culinary uses.this post will just give an overview of TWO of the very many, we will look at these and more, intricately during the "foods that heal" series.

• Ginger; Mainly grown in Africa, India, jamaica, China, this spice produces a hot fragrant kitchen spice. ginger roots can be steeped in hot water to make ginger tea. In western cuisine, its used in making ginger ale, ginger snaps ,gingerbead and other sweets but I dont negotiate its use when boiling meat, cooking jollof rice ,fried rice,grilled fish and other savoury dishes. its a must have! I can almost grate it into my omelletes.wide grin! Somehow I prefer the fresh ginger root to the powdered one...I remember one of my friends telling me I just like "wahala" (stress) by peeling and grating/crushing the fresh ginger knowing that the powdered ginger is easier and faster to use. Ginger is also linked with sedatives,carminative,flu treatments,antibactaria......

• Garlic

Garlic has a characteristic pungent, spicy flavor that mellows and sweetens considerably with cooking . Although some people "run away" from it because of the odour, there are still so many people love it in their cooking. My mum is a number one fan of garlic, I guess my tastebuds just grew to love it over time. I try to grind ginger in my food,as opposed to the way my mum does it,she cuts it in pieces and says its soooo healthy. I Love the taste of her cooking !Some people even chew it raw (eeew), others swallow a peeled clove like a capsule. The leaves are also sometimes eaten in some parts of the world.In addition,oils can be flavored with garlic cloves.
 These infused oils are used to season all categories of vegetables, meats, breads and pasta. Crushed garlic in boiled  meats, grilled fish/chicken, jollof and fried rice add a "5 star" (lol) taste to these foods. Garlic is amazingly used to prevent some types of cancer,one of which I  know, is colon cancer, It also helps to prevent heart diseases as it reduces cholesterol and high blood pressure.

So I heard that Garlic powder has a different taste from fresh garlic. If used as a substitute for fresh garlic, 1/8 teaspoon of garlic powder is equivalent to one clove of garlic. Actually, I like to crush garlic and grate ginger and mix them into a paste to save time in cooking. I refridgerate it and actually know when to prepare another fresh mix.

Hope you consider cooking with both spices next time. In the "foods that heal" series, I will be more detailed, providing references as I feature these two and other foods/spices that have medicinal uses.