All about cranberries

Did you have cranberries with your Thanksgiving feast? About twenty percent of all cranberries sold annually are purchased over the Thanksgiving holiday. That bright red berry is what the food industry calls a “special occasion food.”

This year, visiting my son, there was a fresh, homemade cranberry relish, brought by a friend, on the table—a bit tart but good. There was also canned, sliced, jellied cranberry sauce—both my daughters-in-law love it. Those two dishes spoke of what I see as two different food philosophies!

For me, cranberry relish at the holidays should be the way my mom fixed it—well, really it was my dad who made it. Making cranberry relish was a ritual in our household before the days of food processors. Dad hauled out the old hand grinder, fastened it to a short worn stepladder—I can see that chipped green paint in my mind yet—and began to grind, a chore he did because, he said, it took too much strength for Mom to do it. I think they both enjoyed the shared work.

Thanks to his effort, a bag of cranberries, washed and sorted, an orange, peel and all, a sweet apple like a Red Delicious, also unpeeled, went into a bowl. Mom added sugar sparingly, getting it just right because we didn’t want it too tart or too sweet. You can find precise recipesfor raw cranberry relish should you need them on the internet, I’d suggest you use less sugar than recommended and then taste, sweetening to your personal palate.

Some people use honey instead of sugar. Others add a small can of crushed pineapple or some chopped pecans. It’s a flexible dish, that cranberry relish.[

The thing about cranberries is that they are an overlooked health food, as good for you as blueberries. They are naturally low in sugar, though they require sweetening to be palatable; they are rich in antioxidants which promote cardiovascular health. Cranberry juice is often recommended for treatment of urinary tract infections.

When you think of cranberries at the holidays, you probably think of fresh berries—they only seem to appear in markets in November and December. Truth is only five percent of cranberries are sold fresh—most are processed into juice, that abominable canned relish, or craisins—those delightful substitutes for raisins which are great in everything from salads to oatmeal.

Thanks to a neighbor, I discovered a new cranberry recipe this past Thanksgiving. Easy and quick, it’s officially called crustless cranberry pie. To me, it’s like cake and great for dessert—but shh! Don’t tell. I’ve been eating cake for breakfast.

Crustless cranberry pie

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup white sugar

¼ tsp. salt

2 cups cranberries

½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans (I’m not always a fan of nuts, and I left them out)

½ cup butter, melted

2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp. almond extract

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350^o. Grease 9-inch pie pan.

Combine flour, sugar, and salt. Stir in cranberries and nuts; toss to coat. Stir in butter, beaten eggs, and almond extract. Spread batter into prepared pan.

Bake at 350^o for 40 minutes or until wooden pick inserted near center comes out clean. Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream.

Don’t overlook cabbage

My relationship with cabbage has been one of a slow progression from cole slaw to main dishes. I’ve always liked the crispness and slight tang of cabbage, but for years I didn’t know much to do with it except cole slaw and occasional shredded red cabbage to brighten up a green salad. Hard to use up a whole head that way, and I found we often tired of it with half a head still in the fridge.

Somewhere years ago one of my sons decided he liked cabbage sautéed in butter, and then we got adventuresome and added sour cream. But it still was not something I cooked often. For one thing, the rest of the family didn’t like it.

Then along came grilled cabbage, which like its cauliflower counterpart, became a trend. You can do it on the grill (where it has a tendency to fall apart) or in the oven on an oiled cookie sheet (my preferred method).

Simply cut “steaks” – pieces about an inch wide—from the center of the cabbage. Maybe simply is the wrong word to use—I find slicing raw cabbage is a feat of strength. Be sure to core the head before you slice, and then be careful to keep the slices together. Brush both sides with olive oil and dot with garlic or let a garlic clove sit in a Tbsp of olive oil for a bit to flavor the oil. I’ve also heard of cooks using a vinaigrette dressing to brush the cabbage.

Bake at 450^o until the edges just begin to brown. If you roast too long, it can become bitter. Serve with salt and pepper, and it’s hearty enough to be the entrée for a light supper. But wait! There’s more.

I saw a suggestion recently for garnishing the roasted slices, so I tried it but added some touches of my own, sprinkling the steaks with crumbled bacon, chopped tomatoes, diced green onions, and crumbled blue cheese. (Note: think about adding blue cheese the next time you make cole slaw.) Then I drizzled with good, homemade ranch dressing (I avoid commercial brands of ranch which have a tinny, preservative taste to me).

These decorated slices were a little difficult to eat—knife and fork needed, and the cabbage falls apart if you’re not careful. But the taste is wonderful. 

Or make a cabbage wrap instead of a lettuce wrap. I served this to a friend recently, and it met with raves. Peel and discard outer layer of leaves from a head of cabbage. Then carefully peel away large leaves, keeping them intact if you can. Start by slicing at core end where leaf attaches to the head, and then starting at the top, gently peel.

Bring a pot of water to boil and, using tongs, submerge the leaves for twenty to thirty seconds, just long enough to soften. Lay leaves flat on work surface, put some sauerkraut down the middle, and top with a cooked piece of kielbasa or Polish sausage. Mustard optional.

You can eat as is or, with toothpicks holding the wrap together, grill just enough to heat but be careful to avoid burning the cabbage. It might be one of those cases where you put the heat at one end of the grill and the food at the other.

Cabbage is a nutritional winner, high in protein and fiber density, low to none in fat content, and low in sugar. We all ought to make better use of it, and I hope these suggestions will help you combine a tasty meal with healthful eating.

For your sweet tooth—easy appetizers with honey

For years I thought I didn’t like honey—too sweet, cloying. But a couple of years ago, something changed. I had a case of the flu or that dreaded flu-that-is-not-the-flu, and coffee just tasted awful to me. So I began to drink tea, and then, because I heard it was better for you, I moved on to green tea. But it needed something, so I began to add a scant teaspoon of honey every morning. Voila! I had found my drink of choice. Now I start every day with a mug of green tea sweetened with honey.

We’ve all heard and seen the dire warnings about bees disappearing form our planet and subsequently taking with them many of the foods we love, foods that they pollinate. For some reason, coffee and avocados come to mind, but there are many others. So I’m a fervent opponent of toxic pesticides that kill bees and a proponent of planting bee-friendly gardens. Bee-friendly plants include daisies, marigolds, zinnias, crocus, hyacinth, foxglove, hosta, and many others. You can find lists and directions for a bee garden online.

But there’s another concern about honey. Most of what we buy in the grocery has been adulterated—mixed with other substances to change the color, flavor, thickness—and above all, the cost. So when you think you’re buying honey, you may be buying mostly corn syrup, a cheap imitation which has none of honey’s healthful or medicinal powers—or its pure taste.

You can buy pasteurized honey, filtered honey, raw honey. Filtered takes out the bits of pollen and beeswax that maybe found in raw honey; pasteurization sterilizes it but may well remove some of the natural benefits. I prefer the raw, mostly because I trust it to be purer and less adulterated. Best choice? Buy at a farmers’ market from a beekeeper.

They say it’s best to buy honey that is produced within 30 miles or something of your home, because it contains antidotes to local allergens. When I can’t get to a farmers’ market or when they don’t have honey, I try to buy Texas honey and avoid some that I suspect come from China. I looked on the label of the jar currently in my cupboard, and the only warning was that you should not give honey to infants under a year of age.

Raw honey sometimes crystallizes. Just remove the cap and set the jar in a pan of really hot water. It will go back to being liquid. If honey doesn’t crystallize, it’s probably been adulterated.

Did your grandmother ever put a teaspoon of honey in a cup of hot tea to soothe a cough or a sore throat (with maybe also a teaspoon of bourbon)? Honey has lots of medicinal uses as well as cooking uses. We find it frequently in marinades (often to balance soy sauce) and in salad dressings. Honey mustard is a classic dressing. But have you ever thought of using honey to create appetizers? It pairs well with cheese and fruit both.

A young friend who occasionally comes for happy hour taught me to put a drop of honey on a hunk of blue cheese served on a cracker or an apple slice or whatever. Here are some other ways to use honey for appetizers:

--bake pear slices with butter until just barely soft, top with goat cheese and drizzle with honey

--stuff figs with cream cheese softened with port, peppercorns, and honey, and bake briefly

--grill peach halves, top with a basil leaf and a drizzle of honey

--mix equal parts of a good blue cheese and cream cheese and serve with honey

--bake a block of good feta in a dish brushed with olive oil; top the cheese with more olive oil and a drizzle of honey; bake until top of cheese is caramelized; sprinkle with fresh thyme, and drizzle a bit more honey if you wish

--bake a wedge of brie; drizzle with honey, and use wedges of apples and pear to dip into the molten cheese

--fry thick slices of firm banana in olive oil until lightly browned on each side; remove from skillet and top each slice with a drop of honey and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Of course, you need a good crisp white wine with these nibbles.

Baked potatoes and poached pears--not together

We're alway told how important girlfriends are, and no one has to convince me. I value my girlfriends, and this week I've sort of had a mini-celebration of them, entertaining one night a woman who lost her husband three years ago and, on Valentine's Day, a brand new widow. I loved cooking for them and loved devising new dishes.
Last night, I fixed baked potatoes topped with roasted cherry tomatoes, spinach, a fried egg, and feta (it doesn't look as pretty as it really was).

Baked potatoes with vegetables

2 baking potatoes
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes
1-1/2 c. fresh spinach, stemmed, washed and torn into medium size pieces
2 eggs
Feta cheese, crumbled

Bake potatoes--I prick them all over with a fork and rub olive them with olive oil to get nice, crispy skins. About 45 minutes before potatoes are done and you're ready to serve, put cherry tomatoes on a cookie sheet and roast in same oven. I put foil, thinking it would be easier; it wasn't, and I had to pick pieces of foil out of the tomatoes; next time I'll spray the pan. Roast until tomatoes collapse on themselves, checking frequently. About ten minutes before removing from oven, put spinach on top of the tomatoes.
Meanwhlle fry eggs sunny side up (a talent I don't have--my guest did a beautiful job). I recommend leaving them slightly runny so they mix with the potato.
Split potatoes and spread open; top with the fried egg and then cherry tomatoes and spinach (in the picture above, we did it the opposite order and while it tastes the same, I think it would look prettier with the tomatoes on top). Finally toss with crumbled feta.
Serves two; a hearty, filling dish. We didn't eat the salad I had fixed.

On Valentine's Night, my guests brought a wonderful chunky pea soup, and I provided an appetizer--hummus--and salad, which could double for dessert.

Here's what you need for two (easily doubled):

1 Bosque pear
Red wine sauce
Bibb lettuce
sliced blue cheese--whatever kind you like best (I usually use Maytag but used Amish for this)
Raspberries

Slice the pear but do not peel (not necessary with Bosque as it is with other kinds of pears)
Simmer pears in red wine sauce (below) or in plain red wine with seasonings 10-15 minutes, turning often so slices soak up the good sauce (and don't splash on the shirt you're wearing as I did.)  Do ahead and let pears cool in the cooking liquid.
Line salad plates with Bibb lettuce. Top with sliced pears--I used four slices per plate.
Top with three or four slices of blue cheese--admittedly it's hard to slice neatly and you may end up crumbling it.
Top with six or seven raspberries apiece.
This makes a beautiful dish, and I'm sorry I didn't get a picture.
For the recipe I played with, see Mystery Lovers Kitchen (http://www.mysteryloverskitchen.com/), my favorite food blog, for February 13, 2013. There's a lovely picture of it with the recipe. This recipe came from Avery Aames, author of a cheesmaker's mystery series; her brand new titles is To Brie or Not to Brie. Check it out--her books are as good as her recipes.

Red wine sauce for two:
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. water
1/4 cup dry red wine
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg

Bring to boil, add pear slices, and simmer.

If your guest doesn't eaten sugar, like one of mine, I think you could do this without the sugar, water and lemon joice.