Is there such a thing as too much ginger?

I don’t like to use recipes. When I used to help my Mom make dinner there were no instructions — she just knew how much to put in. Of course, I never wrote anything down, so now I don’t recall how to make any of her dishes. So if any of you ever run across a Macedonian cookbook (heaven knows where, they’re not a Chapters) pick it up and I’ll pay you back.

But getting back to my lack of interest in cooking protocols. This no recipe habit usually is not a big deal, I can guess proportions pretty well but today I think I experienced a ginger overdose.

I grated a two inch piece into a cup of boiling water. It seemed a bit strong (okay, very strong) so I Googled it. Apparently I was supposed to use a two inch piece with about 4 cups of water.

Tomorrow I will make a proper ginger tea. One that doesn’t make me worry that I am in danger of ginger poisoning.

Comments

  1. I am not Macedonian. This obviously isn’t a cookbook but quite by coincidence I came across this list just after I read your posting:

    You know you are Macedonian when . . .

    Your granfather always has a shot of Rakija for breakfast.

    The minute church services are over you go straight for the bar and get smashed.

    You only go out of town for Macedonian Tournaments and Dances.

    Even if you’re a girl, your parents (who can’t remember your name), they call you sine.

    You are hopelessly trying to bring the Macedonian community in Australia together.

    Your uncle makes his own wine that’s stronger than ‘rakija’.

    Your mother insists that ‘promaja’ will kill you.

    Your mother insists you must eat something with ‘Sirenje’ at least three times a week.

    You base your whole life on the fortune in your coffee cup.

    You use ‘Rakija’ to cure all illnesses, celebrate all occasions and as a massage lotion.

    You celebrate Christmas, Easter and New Years two weeks after everyone else.

    Your baba will not accept the fact that you’re just not hungry.

    Your parents constantly say you’ll end up a nobody if you don’t graduate from a University.

    You go to a restaurant and bring your own drinks.

    You go to your baba’s house, she offers you supa, sarma, piperki or Kolbasi and gets upset if you don’t eat EVERYTHING.

    You are at a party and the guys try picking you up by asking, ‘Hey baby, what’s your slava?’.

    When you have four pairs of ‘Vlecki’ in your wardrobe.

    All other action stops when you hear the music of ‘Ogan da go gori’ or ‘Biser Balkanski’

    You are a fan of whatever soccer team Darko Pancev plays for.

    When your mom calls you ‘stoka’.

    You can always smell garlic on your parents’ breath and they insist it kills all bacteria.

    Your walls are crowded with icons of saints.

    You have a Goce Delcev picture on the wall.

    There’s a slab of fat in your fridge called ‘SLANINA’.

    Your parents still prefer to buy tapes rather than CDs.

    Your mom has a whole pharmacy in her medicine cabinet.

    Your parents think everything is a conspiracy.

    You get offended if someone asks you if you are Greek.

    You have gone to at least 3 Macedonian protests in the city.

    Your old man hits you more because you are still crying.

    Your parents tell you that Virginity (for girls only) is more important than your life.

    Your mom or Dad screams at you infront of the whole school on report card day.

    You deinitely know you are a Maco when the ‘Kisela Voda’ from the village of Dolno Dupeni is supposed to taste better than Evian mineral water.

    You have at least a whole ‘tengere’ left over with food after the whole family has eaten.

    If something goes wrong in the family, it definitely has something o do with ‘Magia’.

    Everyone asks you how much money you made on your wedding night.

    You constantly get asked how much money you make at work and how big your home loan is.

    The longer you live with your parents after you get married the better off you are because you can save up enough money to buy a $400,000 home in cash.

    Your wife has to make you food eveyday and if she doesn’t she is not a ‘domakjinka’.

    If you are caught doing the vacuuming by your mom or dad, they say that you are under the thumb and your wife’s parents are laughing at you. (only if you are a guy)

    You have atleast 20 grand cash in the roof or under the pillow.

    Your parents invite 500 people over to your house because you proposed to your girlfriend.

    If you dont go overseas for your honeymoon, people think that you are having financial problems.

    Your parents can eat ‘luti piperki’ like chocolate and not break out in a sweat.

    The house has to be vacummed atleast 10 times a week.

    After a late night out with your friends on a Friday night, your mom comes into your room at 8:00 in the morning and vacuums your room and tells you to get up because it’s almost lunch time… and then she accidently sprays windex on your face because she is trying to clean the bed head.

    Your fridge always has more beer than food, just in case ‘gosti’ come over.

    You always bargain at the market and try to get discounts.

    You have an uncle that sticks his thumb up at someone instead of his middle finger and calls him a ‘peder eden’

    Half of your backyard is a bafcha.

    Your guests insist on seeing your parents bafcha.

    You know your Macedonian when your mother says shes eating “makedonija nuts” not macadamia nuts.

    You can smell the food before you even enter the front gate.

    You know you are Macedonian when you ask your mom to go out and she says “ask your dad”

    You eat “graf” at least three times a week.

    Your parents don’t let their American guests leave the house without trying some Macedonian food or a drink.

    Your mom claims she can cure any illness with homemade medicine.

    Your “Kumovi” (godparents) choose your child’s name.

    Your parents insist that when shaking hands with somebody you have to look at them directly in the eye because it shows respect.

    Your moms coffee cups are as small as Barbie toys.

    Your mother gets paranoid about cleaning the house before she has guests over.

    Your parents make enough jars of “Ajvar” in November to last for 3 months.

    All of your relatives in Macedonia think that you are rich.

    Your parents have their friends come over at midnight on a school night, and talk so loud that you can’t fall asleep till they leave.

    Your family celebrates a “Slava” at least once a year.

    Your father drives to stores an hour away so he can buy Macedonian food.

    Your mother can cook anything you want her to.

    Your dad bought and set up an illegal satellite dish so that you can watch Macedonian TV in your house.

    Your American friends are scared of some of the food you eat.

    You eat “Sirenje” with everything.

    Your dad insists that he is not drunk no matter how much he has had to drink.

    You know how to drive a stick-shift.

    You have icons of saints hanging from your rear-view mirror.

    Your parents say your 2 hour of homework is nothing compared to their 5 hours of homework when they used to go to school in Macedonia.

    When guests walk into your house your mother gives each one of them a pair of “Vlecki”.

    When you go over someones house, you take of your shoes otherwise its rude to walk into their house with shoes on.

    You get straight A’s at school without even trying and all of your friends think that you are a genius.

    You get hurt and your parents say “Nisto nema, ke pomini”.

    Your dad insists that his homemade hamburgers are better than the ones at MacDonalds or Burger King.

    You are naturally good at soccer.

    You can understand Serbian, Bulgarian, and Croatian and a little bit of Russian.

    Your dad would rather fix something than hire a repair man.

    People can’t pronounce your last name.

    People give you nicknames because they can’t remember how to say your name.

    You call all of your parents Macedonian friends “Teta or Cico” (aunt and uncle) even if your not related.

    You have a Macedonian flag somewhere in your house or car.

    You don’t get grounded but get smacked instead.

    Your dad built the entire house that you are living in.

    Your dad makes hand gestures to explain what he is talking about.

    You have been stuffed in a 5 passenger car with 10 other people.

    Your Baba is constantly asking you when you’re getting married.

    You move into a new house and the first guests to arrive at your door are your Baba and Dedo…plus the local Macedonian priest they brought over to bless the house.

    You can relate to something above and are cracking up right now!!!!

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