Chick Pea and Edamame Salad.....

Simple, quick, healthy and delicious.  Everything I want in a salad.  Here's the recipe, enjoy!    

1 (15oz.) can of chick peas, drained and rinsed
12 oz. edamame, no need to defrost, they'll defrost while the salad rests in the fridge
1 red pepper, diced small
1/3 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup dried cranberries
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
3 to 4 tbsp. good quality balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Note* I only use GMO free ( genetically modified organisms) edamame from Traders Joe's.

Mix everything in a bowl and let it sit for a few hours in the fridge so that the vinegar and oil can flavor the salad.   I like to eat this salad with a piece of whole grain pita.

Cranberry Vodka....

Before I buy my fresh bag of cranberries this year I needed to use up the two cups of frozen cranberries left over from last year.  I have wanted to make cranberry vodka for a long time.  It is ridiculously easy and fun to make.   Martinis are also all the rage and I thought I could use it at Christmas time.  Here is the recipe.

1. One 750 ml. vodka ( good quality)
2. 2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
3. Rind from 1 large orange
4. 1 cup super fine sugar

Throw all of the ingredients in a large jar with a lid.  Stir until sugar is dissolved.  Let sit for at least a week. When the week is up strain the vodka through a sieve and pour it back into the original bottle.  I am going to keep mine in the fridge until Christmas.  
Before the week was up  I decided to opened the jar and squish some of the cranberries against the side of the jar with a large wooden spoon.  Squishing the cranberries really deepen the color of the vodka.  Enjoy!     

Harvest Time at the Cranberry Bog...

How exciting it was to watch the cranberry harvest in full swing this afternoon.  Some of you might remember that I live just a few minutes away from a gorgeous cranberry bog.  Here in Massachusetts our cranberries are usually harvested around this time of year.  The most common way to harvest cranberries is to water harvest them. The cranberry beds are flooded and the cranberry is beaten off the vine using a specialized harvester. The floating cranberries are then corralled and loaded onto trucks for delivery to where ever they go to be processed.  Wet harvested cranberries are used only for processed cranberry products like sauce and juice. Dry harvested fruit is combed from the vines using a mechanized picking machine.  There is no water  involved during this process. The dry cranberries are loaded into huge bins, washed and then packaged.

Here they are with a section of the corralled cranberries.  As you can see from my photos, I was fortunate enough to watch the wet harvest this afternoon.  I seem to always miss the dry harvest.

 Look at the size of the truck they just loaded.  That's a lot of cranberry sauce, wouldn't you say.

Take a look at how beautiful they are floating in their beds.  I had all I could do not to jump in and help.  The workers made it look so easy and fun.    I will be patient and wait to purchase my dry harvest bag of cranberries across the street at Great Brook Farm.  

Maple Salmon with Cider Glazed Onions

 
Another easy salmon recipe. The hardest part was waiting for it to finish cooking on the grill.
Slice a red onion and saute for five minutes in a little olive oil, salt and pepper.  Add one cup apple cider to the onions and cook until the cider has evaporated. While the onions are cooking, salt and pepper you salmon fillets and pour one tablespoon of maple syrup over each fillet. Wrap the fillets in a double layer of aluminum foil and grill for ten minutes.  When ready to serve, top the salmon with the cider glazed onions.

I served the maple salmon with a fall inspired brown rice.  Dried cranberries, chopped broccoli and slivered toasted almonds were added into the pot of cooked brown rice.  Delicious!

Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies.....

I purchased another three pound bag of cranberries from the local bog and I'm working my way through them slowly but surely. To make these delicious cookies I took some of  the ingredients from one recipe and then a little more from another.  I'm thrilled they came out so well. They turned out chewy and delicious.  Here's the recipe.  Enjoy!
Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp.vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tbsp. orange zest
• 2 cups quick cooking oats
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 cup chopped fresh cranberries
• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar.  Add eggs, one at a time.  Mix in the vanilla.  Combine flour, baking soda and salt, stir in oats, raisins, cranberries, orange zest,walnuts and white chocolate chips.

Drop by heaping teaspoons two inches apart on a baking sheet.  Bake for 15 to 17 minutes.  Cool the cookies on a wire rack.

Cranberry Salsa......

 
With cranberry season in full swing, New Englander's will use these tart gems in just about any recipe they can. This is not your ordinary salsa and you are absolutely right, the color is a little different, but the flavor is spot on.  This was a cinch to make and a great success at my mother's birthday party this weekend. Here is the recipe.

• 12 ounces fresh cranberries
• 1 bunch cilantro
• 1 bunch scallions
• 2 jalapenos pepper
• juice of two limes
• 2 tbsp. Grand Marnier
• 1/2 cup sugar (I used cranberry honey produced by the bees at my local bog)

Throw it all in the food processor, blend and let sit over night in the fridge so that the flavor will deepen.  Serve with tortilla chips.

Cranberry Nut Pie

 
What a delicious pie!  Perfect for the holidays and a wonderful use of my local cranberries from the bog in Carlisle.  I doctored up the ingredients slightly by adding a bottom crust and adding a tiny cap full of my orange oil ( King Arthur Store) to the batter.  Here's the recipe from Ocean Spray Recipes!
INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/4 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/3 cup butter

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Grease a 9 inch pie plate.  ( I used a bottom crust so I didn't grease the plate)
2. Layer cranberries on bottom of the crust or pie plate.  Sprinkle with brown sugar and walnuts.  Beat egg in a medium bowl until thick.  Gradually add sugar, beating until thoroughly blended.  Stir in flour and melted butter, blend well.  This is where I added the orange oil.  Orange zest would be perfect in the batter as well.   Pour over cranberries. 
3. Bake 45 minutes.  Cut into wedges.  YUM!

Cranberry Apple Marsala....

The cranberries are exceptional this year.  There is such a distinct flavor difference between the bagged super market cranberries and the locally grown berries. It's almost as if they had a little bit of a sparkle to them. Anyway, with three pounds to use I went straight to the cranberry experts,  Ocean Spray Cranberry.  This recipe sounded delicious and easy.  I did however make quite a few modifications to the Ocean Spray recipe.  I used floured pork instead of plain chicken, fresh cranberries rather than dried, apple cider because I forgot to buy apple jelly and then took it upon myself to add the mustard and raw sugar.  Everyone loved it.


INGREDIENTS

• 4 boneless, center cut pork chops sliced in half as if your were making cutlets.  So tip to tail.. 
• 1 cup flour 
• salt and pepper
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup Marsala wine
• 1/3 cup apple cider
• 2 tbsp. Dijon Mustard
• 1 tbsp. raw sugar
• 3 apples, peeled and cut into 1/4 slices (any variety will do)
• 1 cup fresh cranberries

DIRECTIONS

1. Season the flour with salt and pepper.  Dredge the pork cutlets lightly in the flour. Melt the butter along with the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat.  Add the pork and cook 3 or 4 minutes per side.  Remove to a warm platter in the oven to keep warm.  I put my oven on 190 degrees.
2. Stir in wine, cider, mustard, apples, raw sugar and fresh cranberries.  Bring to a boil all the while scraping any brown bits of the bottom of the pan.  Reduce heat and return pork to the pan for 2 or 3 minutes to finish cooking.  Here is my version.  Enjoy!

 I was so busy taking the photo I forgot to pour the delicious sauce over the top. That's the best part!!

Carlisle Cranberries....

  
These ruby beauties are local cranberries from the bog ten minutes up the road from my house.  They are bigger, fresher and tastier than the fresh variety you find at the supermarket and I LOVE THEM.  I have a few new recipes I want to try out so stayed tuned.  Until then have, here are some facts about these antioxidant rich yummies.

• The first cranberry crop was harvested in 1816 in my home state of Massachusetts.
• The cranberry was made the official state berry of Massachusetts in 1994. 
• Cranberry juice contains a chemical that block pathogens that cause tooth decay.
• Honeybees are often used to pollinate cranberry crops, and are in fact more valuable in the performance of this task than they are in the production of honey.
• Cranberries are rich in fiber, vitamin C, flavonoids, phenols and other substances that help protect against health problems like urinary tract infections, and chronic diseases like cancer and heart disease.
• A six quart pail has been used as the standard picking measurement since 1870.
• There are roughly 200 cranberries used in a can of cranberry sauce.
• A twelve ounce bag yields 3 cups whole or 2 1/2 cups chopped cranberries.

I better get making my list for the market tomorrow .  There is one particular recipe I'm dying to try.

Cranberry Nut Bread

We love our cranberries here in New England and will bake and cook with them all through the holidays and beyond.  Cranberry Nut Bread is a fall favorite.  It is quick, simple and delicious.  Try it and I'm sure it will become one of your fall favorite's too. Here is the recipe.

• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup orange juice
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon grated orange peel
• 1 egg well beaten
• 1 1/2 cups cranberries coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease a 9 by 12 inch loaf pan.  Mix together flour,sugar,baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium mixing bowl.  Stir in orange juice, oil, orange peel and egg.  Mix until well blended.  Stir in cranberries and nuts.  Spread evenly in loaf pan.  Bake for 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool on a rack for 15 minutes.  Remove from pan and cool completely.  This is an Ocean Spray Cranberry recipe.  Go here for more cranberry recipes.http://www.oceanspray.com

Congratulations to Postcards From the P.P. on winning the Dedham Pottery flower vase.  Please email  me and let me know where I should ship your thank you gift.

Cranberry and Orange Chutney

My sister-in-law made this delicious chutney years ago as Christmas gifts for the family.  If memory serves me well,  I believe she also made beer bread to go along with the chutney.  We all loved it and I have been making it every year since.  This cranberry and orange concoction is delicious served with your Thanksgiving Day meal and  then spread on your left over turkey sandwiches. I think it screams holiday! Here is the recipe.  Enjoy!!

• 3 small oranges, seeded, coarsely chopped, peel and all
• 4 cups cranberries
• 1 cup chopped tart apple, not peeled
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup orange juice or apple cider
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 tbsp. cider vinegar
• 3/4 tsp. ground ginger
• 3/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp. ground clove
• 1/2 cup bourbon (optional) I always use it 

Mix all the above ingredients in a heavy pan, simmer until cranberries pop.  About 20 minutes.   The mixture should look like jam.