The Cranberry, not just a relish

The cranberry. Because of it's nutrient and antioxidant qualities it is considered by food experts to be one of the "super fruits" yet for most people it brings to mind Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. Generally it is served as fresh cranberry relish, or even more commonly as a relish from a can. Of course you can always find it in the juice form and in most stores as a dried berry in the same aisle that raisins and prunes are stored.

Until a couple years ago I never really gave this berry much thought outside these two holidays. So when I went hunting for a bag of fresh berries in February I was shocked to discover that stores only sell them in their fresh state for only two months of the year. (In my area from late October/early November until the end of December.) Apparently there is not enough demand for fresh berries outside of these two months so cranberry farmers put the majority of their produce into the form of canned berries, dried berries, and juice that can be bought 12 months a year.

Because of this I was left with the choice of canned berries or dried berries for my recipe. I was disappointed, but in the end the dried worked out fairly well. Still, I determined to buy up some extra bags the following November and freeze them for use later in the new year. The berries left in their bags freeze well and can be used later in all sorts of recipes or even as fresh cranberry relish.

The following are two recipes that call for fresh cranberries. (Note: you could substitute dried, but the fresh is preferred.) They are favorites in our home and I encourage you to pick up a couple bags of fresh berries now, even if you don't plan to try the recipes for a couple months. The berries will last up to (or even a little over) a year in your freezer.

Cranberry Orange Bread

I found this recipe at AllRecipes.com. Since it isn't my own and I've done little to adapt it I have linked the name to the recipe. Be sure to check it out and print off a copy for your own files.

My thoughts: Every Christmas I try to bake some sort of seasonal bread to share with our neighbors and friends. The last several years I have made a family favorite, Lemon Bread, but this year I decided to try something different. Since I still had two bags of cranberries in the freezer I went hunting for a cranberry bread recipe. There are several, but this one seemed the easiest. It turned out well and went fast, so I ended up making a second batch.

Notes regarding the recipe: The recipe calls for 1 cup of cranberries. Each bag of cranberries from the store contains approximately 4 cups, so to save time I just multiplied everything in the recipe by four. This required a large bowl, but ended up giving me 10 small loafs of bread, perfect for sharing. If you decide to double, triple or quadruple the recipe be sure to use a stand mixer, not a hand mixer or a spoon. The batter gets thick and sticky, which makes it difficult to stir. Although the batter is thick it cooks into a light, fluffy, sweet yet tart bread.

I omitted the walnuts, not so much because people aren't crazy about nuts (or have allergies), but because I didn't have any on hand. I noted that it is also possible to make this recipe gluten free so long as the cook substitutes gluten-free flour for the regular flour.


Braised Brisket with Cranberries

This is another favorite recipe of mine. It's such a delicious meal on a cold winter evening (or Sunday dinner), but since cranberries are not available past New Years it tends to be a recipe you can only make in November or December... Unless you freeze your berries! (This recipe is the reason I started buying up and freezing cranberries, it's that good.)It makes a lot of food, so it's perfect for serving when we entertain company. I love the mix of flavors - the tartness of the cranberries, the richness of the beef and the tang of the onions. I found this recipe a few years ago in Martha Stewart's Everyday Food magazine.

My Thoughts: I do not have a big enough pot that can be used on the stove burner AND in the oven, so I had to move the meat from one pot to another, but otherwise this recipe was fairly simple. It takes a while to cook, but it smells so good and is so delicious that it is worth the wait.

Note: I prefer to use a bag of frozen pearl onions, but not all stores sell them -- or if they do, they sell them seasonally. Like the cranberries you may have to plan ahead and purchase the frozen onions earlier than when you plan to use the recipe. However, when frozen pearl onions are not available you should be able to find fresh pearl onions. The fresh require a little more work (i.e. pealing), but work just as well.

For those who prefer not to use drinking wine in their cooking you could substitute cooking wine, or vegetable/chicken broth (though this may slightly change the overall taste of the recipe).

Killer Leftover Turkey Soup

Got leftover turkey? Unclogged arteries? A yearning for tasty-but-bad-for-you soup?

Then try the soup recipe I invented to use up leftover turkey!

TURKEY BACON CHEDDAR SOUP

5-6 pieces of bacon
1/2 large red onion, chopped
2 Tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup whipping cream (whole milk will do)
1 1/2 cup chicken broth
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup diced turkey

Fry bacon and onions in large, deep frying pan, keeping them mostly separate. When the bacon is crispy, take it out and put it on a paper towel-lined plate. Drain off most of the bacon drippings, leaving about 2 Tbsp. Add the turkey, flour and the pepper to the onions and bacon drippings. Cook, stirring constantly, until bubbly. Then keep stirring occasionally for 2-4 minutes.

Cut bacon in small pieces and reserve, keeping warm.

Stir in broth. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Add cheese; when cheese is melted, add cream and bacon. Cook, stirring frequently, until warmed through.

Serve soup warm with crusty bread.

It is pictured above garnished with a little bacon and served with Irish Soda Bread. I don't eat the soup (I'm not a carnivore), but I love the bread! It's good with almost any soup. A missionary friend from Japan gave me the recipe, and here it is:

IRISH SODA BREAD

4 cups unsifted flour [I used 2 cups white and 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour and it turned out great!]
½ cup sugar
¼ tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 ½ cups buttermilk (or yogurt)
2 eggs
4 oz (1 stick) butter or margarine
½ lb. raisins (optional)
1 tsp caraway seeds (optional) [I never have put in raisins or caraway seeds… ick]

Preheat oven to 350F

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Toss mixture with hands (this gives the bread a light, airy consistency).

Add softened butter to the flour mixture, still using hands, and blend until evenly distributed. [I have found that if you use cold butter, and mix about half of it in evenly and the other half in small clumps, as you would for biscuits, it’s even lighter and better]

Add raisins and caraway seeds. Toss with hands.

Beat eggs in a separate bowl. Add buttermilk and blend well.

Pour egg mixture, a little at a time, into dry mixture. Blend well with a spoon. [I do the biscuit thing again – I make a hole in the center and pour it all in at once. Then I use my hands]

The dough should be heavy but not too wet. If it seems too dry, add a little more buttermilk [Mine is always VERY wet… and it always turns out tasty]

Dust hands with flour and mold dough into a round. Place dough in a greased 9” round pan. Dust top generously with flour. [Again, mine never really molds. It really just plops/spreads. But it’s always good]

Using the wrong end of a fork, cut a deep cross in the dough. This will prevent the bread from cracking, and will give it a traditional look. [Um… again, mine is too wet for this really to work]

Bake at 350F for one hour, or until well browned. Cool on rack.

I’ve started making honey butter to go with this – use equal amounts softened butter and honey, and stir together. Rocket science!

Enjoy! And don't blame me if your arteries clog!

Apple Bread

The zucchini bread recipe below is excellent, and rather quick to put together. A variation that my family loves is Apple Bread. Follow the recipe, but substitute:

- the same amount of apple for the zucchini
- 1 1/2 tsp of clove instead of the cinnamon

(In the interests of full disclosure, I haven't turned this specific recipe into apple bread. I use the one in my BH&G cookbook. They're similar, although this one makes more batter.)

The best part is the crunchy sugary crust on top. Mmm. Off to check if we have any apples now...

-- SJ

Zucchini Bread

A friend recently brought me two zucchinis the size of police nightsticks. We've used some for dinner in our favorite saute recipe. But I still had a lot leftover so I decided to take some of them and make some zucchini bread. I used a recipe I found on another blog (here). It turned out wonderful! It actually reminds me of pumpkin bread, yum... It was especially good with an iced chai.

Mom's Zucchini recipe
From Kelly Sauer

Combine:
3 eggs
2 cups white sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil

Add:1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
2 cups flour
2 cups grated zucchini

Bake in two greased and floured loaf pans or in one bundt pan for 50 minutes at 350°.

Some Breadish Things

Argentine Cornbread

"Hey Dad, get a picture of me next to this cornbread in authentic Argentinian garb!"

This was tried for a missions potluck, but it was good enough to warrant repeating under more ordinary circumstances.

3 T. olive oil
3 onions, chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped
3/4 c. beef or chicken broth
1 t. salt
1/2 t. crushed dried chili pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Heat olive oil in a skillet. Add the onions and saute 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the tomatoes and saute 10 minutes more while stirring. Add the broth, salt and chili pepper. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Sift together:
2 cups cornmeal
1 t. baking powder
Add:
1/2 lb. cottage cheese
3 T. butter
Mix well. Add 1 1/2 c. milk, and beat thoroughly. Combine with tomato mixture. Pour into a buttered 8-inch square pan. Bake for 1 hour.

Herb-Cheese Biscuits
I have finally perfected my reasonably-healthy biscuit technique. (The secret is to use a liquid fat and stir everything together at once.) This variation was particularly nummy.

Mix together 1/3 c. vinegar and 1 c. milk. Allow to stand for a minute, then stir in 2 c. whole wheat flour. Let stand for several hours.

Blend 2 c. white flour, 2 t. salt, and 1 1/2 t. baking soda. Add the flour-milk mixture, 2/3 c. olive oil, 1 t. basil, and 1/2 c. or so of finely shredded cheese. (I used monterey jack/cheddar mix, as that was what needed to be used up.) Mix together, then dump it out and knead it just until the flour is well mixed in. Pat out and cut into desired shapes.

Bake at 350 for about 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned. (I'm not too sure on the temperature and time. Keep an eye on them.)

SPICED PUMPKIN LOAVES WITH WHIPPED CREAM

From my friend Amy

4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups canned solid pack pumpkin
2 cups (packed) golden brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
2 cups raisins
1 cup chopped pecans
Lightly sweetened whipped cream

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly oil two 9 1/4 x 5 1/4 x 2 1/2-inch loaf pans. Dust pans with flour. Sift first 6 ingredients into large bowl. Using electric mixer, beat pumpkin and next 4 ingredients in another large bowl to blend. Beat in dry ingredients just until blended. Stir in raisins and pecans. Transfer batter to prepared loaf pans.
Bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, covering breads loosely with foil if browning too quickly, about 1 hour 20 minutes. Transfer pans to rack. Cool 15 minutes. Remove breads from pans. Cool slightly. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cool completely. Wrap in foil. Store at room temperature. Before continuing, rewarm in 350°F oven 15 minutes.)
Serve breads warm with cream. Makes 2 loaves.

One a penny, Two a penny

There's still time to mix up a batch of Hot Cross Buns for Sunday morning. These were easy and (we sampled one each last night) very delicious.

1 pkg active dry yeast
4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. Salt
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
2 eggs
1/2 cup currants (can't find them around here, so I used raisins. A bit largish, but workable.)
1/4 cup diced citron, optional (I didn't use it. I'm not even sure what it is.)

Combine yeast, 1 cup flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in a mixing bowl. Heat milk and butter to about 125 degrees (feels quite warm on your wrist), pour over dry ingredients and beat until smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Gradually add remaining flour, beating well. Mix in currants and citron. Turn out on a floured board and knead until smooth and satiny. Place in a greased bowl and butter top lightly. Cover and let rise in a warm place until almost doubled.

Turn dough out on a floured board and knead lightly. Cut off pieces about the size of a golf ball. roll between the palms of your hands. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet, cover and let rise until almost doubled in size. With a razor blade or sharp knife, cut a cross in the surface of each bun. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool on a wire rack. Drizzle lemon glaze over tops of buns in a cross design:

1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. grated lemon peel
1 1/2 tbs. milk

Bread and circuses

Well, not really circuses.

We just got back from a place that served the most sumptuous chocolate bread. Michael ate some every meal and actually asked the chef for the recipe. So I was going to make some for his birthday. The problem is that the recipe is handwritten, and a little difficult to decipher. Unfortunately I don't make bread often enough to recognise what is credible, so I'm at a loss with the proportions. Perhaps some helpful soul out there can verify for me how much salt and yeast should go per cup of flour. (I tried looking up some basic bread recipes in my cookbooks to get an idea, but they were very unhelpful, giving all the proportions with packages of yeast.)

So the recipe calls for 2 lbs. of flour. (How much is that in cups, by the way?)

Then 4 TSP of salt and yeast. I assume this is teaspoon? Because otherwise there would be a B in there? But then why the all caps? Perhaps because the chef is French? Anyway, there's a big difference between tsp and Tbl, and I want to make sure the loaf doesn't end up too bland or too salty. Any help and guidance would be much appreciated. If it turns out well I'll post the recipe here.

Strange Things to Do with Biscuits

Besides being tasty, biscuits can be made in seasonal shapes! (Not that a flag is appropriate to the season, but I mostly have star cookie cutters.) Cutting biscuits in slabs or squares is a great way to simplify the process and not mess with re-rolling the dough.

Biscuits

Rose asked what the big draw about biscuits is (under the comments section of the Sour Milk post). Although a bit dazed that someone wouldn't know, instinctively, the appeal of biscuits, I'm rallying myself to post the recipe I use. Rose, try serving hot biscuits and butter (and honey, as Darren prefers) with your next meal. Rounds it out nicely. These take about twenty-five minutes total.

Baking Powder Biscuits
(from Better Homes and Gardens cookbook)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 TBS baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup shortening*
3/4 to 1 cup buttermilk or soured milk**

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add shortening, working it in with your fingers until dough resembles corn meal. Add buttermilk and mix well. Dough should be soft but not sticky. If dough is too sticky, add a little flour.

Roll out biscuits with well-floured hands and place on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for, oh, fifteen minutes or so until the bottoms are golden brown.

This recipe makes anywhere from six to ten biscuits, depending on how big you make them.

* Butter, especially if cold when added to the dough, makes rich, flakey biscuits. It's a luxury we don't indulge often.

** To "sour" milk, add a dash of vinegar to the milk and let it sit for about five minutes.