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.

Happy Halloween ... From Sleepy Hollow Cemetery

Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord Massachusetts isn't the least bit frightening.  I have visited several times and find the historical graves rather interesting.  Here in this modest grave rests the famous Harvard graduate, American  author, philosopher and poet Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862).  Many of you will remember him for his book Walden or from some of his famous quotes. "Be true to your work, your word, and your friends."
Buried nearby on Authors ridge is Thoreau's friend Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)  another Harvard graduate was a prominent member of the Transcendentalist Movement.  Emerson's final resting place is more ornate than the other authors on the ridge, yet still rather simple by today's standards.  Most of Emerson famous essays were written for the 1500 lectures he gave. "Do not go where the path may lead, instead go where there is no path and leave a trail."  I have always loved that quote.

Is there a girl out there who hasn't read Little Women written by Louisa May Alcott ?  (1832-1888) The novel is based loosely on her life with her sisters in their home in Concord MA..  Louisa was also a feminist and was the first women to vote in a school election in Concord.   Her father was Bronson Alcott another famous member of the Transcendentalist Club and who was also the founder of the Utopian Fruitlands in Harvard Ma.   You might remember from an earlier post, I visit there quite often.  Louisa has so many notable quotes it is hard to choose just one,  so I will choose two that have been meaningful to me.  "Stay is a charming word in a friends vocabulary." the other "Far away in the sunshine are my aspirations, I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead."



Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) is another famous author and friend of Emerson and Thoreau.  The  Scarlett Letter and The House of Seven Gables  are two of the more notable books written by Hawthorne. I can remember reading The Scarlett Letter in high school and my heart aching for Hester Prynne. Great book!!    One more inspirational quote.  "Happiness is like a butterfly, which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you."

I hope you  have enjoyed your Halloween visit to Authors Ridge at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.

Baked Apple Oatmeal.....

 
There is a reason I only buy Macintosh scented candles and if you've ever walked through an apple orchard when its harvest time,  you'll understand why that is.  The fragrance of the orchard is intoxicating.  I made my annual fall trek to the orchards with Kerry the lovely, my oldest sons girlfriend.  Kerry was kind enough to come home from school for the weekend and accompany me to Brookdale Farms.  This is our third season going together and do we ever have fun. We always pick huge bags of apples so there is always plenty to eat and plenty to bake with.  Soooo....instead of baking up a dessert storm,  I thought for a change of pace, I might try this baked breakfast masterpiece.  This delicious, filling oatmeal treat is why I love to cook.  You can take the most ordinary ingredients throw it all in a casserole and the results are extraordinary. Baked Apple Oatmeal is very close to a deconstructed Apple Crisp, but healthier.

If you are a fan of oatmeal you will absolutely love this easy to make breakfast delight. Oatmeal, brown sugar, dried cranberries, nuts, apples and cinnamon baked along with a few cups of milk.  Wow!!!   

Baked Apple Oatmeal is from a lovely blog I follow called    rita-may-recipes.blogspot.com . Pop over and visit Rita's blog for her recipe.  You will be so glad you did!!  Thank you Rita,  it exceeded my expectations.

Pumpkin Muffins....

 
This is one of the easiest recipes you will ever make.  You need one box of spice cake mix and one 15 oz. can of plain pumpkin.  Mix together the dry spice cake mix with the canned pumpkin.   No oil, no eggs, no water.  Just the dry cake mix and the canned pumpkin.  Scoop into a muffin tin and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. I sprinkled diced walnuts and raw sugar on top.  Could it get any easier?  These muffins are super moist and packed with flavor. Makes one dozen spiced pumpkin muffins.  Recipe courtesy of my sister Ann.

In Pursuit of Happiness..... .

I love this old red New England barn.
I want to work on the farm that owns this barn.
I want the farm to have a large flock of chickens.
I want to be in charge of gathering the eggs from the chickens.
I want to experience all the growing seasons first hand and up close.
I want to go to work early while there is morning dew still clinging to the vegetables plants.
I want to hear the rattle and clunk of the old farm tractor as it heads up the road.

 I want to lovingly arrange all the fresh produce in wooden bins for the customers who come to visit.
 I want to marvel at the magic of the farmers bounty.

 I want to walk through the orchard and smell the sweet fragrance of the apples.

 Next summer if there is a farm stand position I think I might just apply.  Talk about being in heaven!!!

 

"Agriculture is our wisest pursuit, because it will in the end contribute most to real wealth, good morals, and happiness."  

Letter from Thomas Jefferson to George Washington (1787