Our Veggie Kitchen

I've started featuring some of my favorite blogs each month. And as a part of that, I'll help promote new bloggers, something I found valuable when I first started. This month, I'm featuring Alexandra Caspero of Delicious Knowledge. She's a dietitian and posts a mix of nutrition & exercise and a variety of recipes.

Also, If you've got a new (at least 3 months old) blog, send me a message. If I feature your blog, it'll be on my featured list for a month, on my blog roll for another month, and I'll post and review one of your recipes.



Cranberry Orange Bread

I was set to cook something else from her blog, until she posted this Cranberry Orange Bread. I made it today and I'm glad I changed my mind. This recipe is a keeper. It's quite different from most sweet breads. It is more savory, not as sweet and the mix of cranberries and oranges (always a winner) were perfect complements.

The dough has a consistency more like cookie dough than, say, banana bread, but it baked up fine.  I used half white & half whole wheat.  Next time I think I'll stick with white.  Also, I used pistachios instead of walnuts because I hate walnuts.

I hate canned cranberry sauce. It jiggles unnaturally, tastes tinny and it's got to have something awful in it, like gelatin or, maybe cement. The stuff is so nasty that it turned me off on all cranberry sauce. This year, I decided to give cranberry sauce another shot. And I'm glad I did. This sauce is a little sweet, plenty tart and, when chilled, it firms up just enough, perfect for a faux-turkey sandwich.



Cranberry Sauce
12 oz cranberries, picked over
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup Marsala Wine
1 tsp orange zest (about 1 orange)
1 cup sugar
3 cinnamon sticks
5 whole cloves

Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil and simmer, stirring occasionally, until most of the cranberries have burst, about 20 minutes. Fish out the cinnamon sticks and whole cloves (if you can find them). Serve warm or chill for later. Makes about 3 cups.

I couldn't find the cloves at all. I don't know if they broke apart, dissolved, or if someone ate a clove without noticing. Can you do that??

6 Servings: 167 cal (0g fat, 39g carbs, 0g protein)