Cranberry Orange Mini Scones

Recipe by Robin

You say teatime, I say scones. Tea with scones is the perfect pick-me-up combination: slightly sweet, lightly fruity, and caffeinated. Both festive and easy to make, scones can be created in endless varieties. You can freeze them either before or after baking, and they taste perfect after a short time in the oven. I’ve blogged Classic Currant Scones and Chocolate Chip Orange Scones. For our recent Virtual Tea I wanted smaller scones to match the scale of the other foods, plus a richer flavor. So I made cream scones using heavy cream and egg, and divided the dough into 16 scones instead of 8. More scones, more treats for later.

How to (Virtual) Tea

by Robin

The Black Hat Tea must go on, even during Pandemic times! Created by my friend Rox and scheduled in mid-October, it’s our annual way of getting together with friends for tea, traditional noshes, and celebration before the holiday commitments start pulling us in separate directions. Previously hosted in tearooms owned by friends Cindy and Danny, with a gap during 2020, in 2021 Rox scheduled a Zoom tea. Of course, this meant guests were responsible for their own tea and goodies. I can do this, if I work methodically, I hope. Challenge accepted!

Cranberry Pistachio Dark Chocolate Bark

Simply Chocolate, Nuts, and Fruit

Recipe adapted from Kaiser Permanente

It’s Bark!! And according to Kaiser, my health care provider, it’s “food for health.” They’re the experts, right? They offered a version of this healthy-ish treat on their website this holiday season. I tweaked their recipe a bit, by simplifying the process and upping the proportion of chocolate. While it’s not entirely keto-friendly, it is vegan and gluten-free. So it’s a reasonable (and fast!) choice for potlucks. Plus, it’s chocolate!

Simple Cranberry Apple Slaw

Simple and Colorful Winter Salad

Recipe adapted from Paleo Approach Cookbook

In prepping for a recent dinner party I was challenged by a recipe that took a lot of space, time, and effort: Carbonada en Zapallon. Like many holiday recipes, it requires the entire kitchen for a prolonged period of time. I discovered this simple side dish to add a fresh, seasonal crunch to an otherwise meaty, stick-to-the-ribs menu. Bonuses: only 4 ingredients plus salt and pepper, and it keeps well and can be served with leftovers.  A green salad just can’t compete.

Cranberry Orange Honey Muffins

Epiphany Muffins for Two

Recipe Adapted from 250 Best Muffin Recipes

Today is the Feast of the Epiphany, also known as Twelfth Night, Three Kings Day, and the Twelfth Day of Christmas. The word Epiphany comes from Greek and means to reveal or show. It celebrates the arrival of the Wise Men in Bethlehem, and symbolizes the revealing of Jesus to the world. These days, Twelfth Night cake is served at big parties. It contains a dry bean or trinket, and whoever receives this in their slice is designated king or queen of the party. At my house, we’re short on trinkets and revelers, but still well-stocked with cranberries. Celebrating with cranberry muffins seems perfect.

Cranberry Apple Crisp with Gluten Free Option

With Optional Pecans and Cream

Recipe adapted from Simply in Season

 

Crisps are a perfect destination for not-perfect fruit. This year our tree produced many apples, as usual, but due to drought they were small, hard, dry, and a bit sour. Not pleasant for snacks, but cut up and mixed with traditional green baking apples and seasonal cranberries, they cooked up into a blog-worthy dessert. Crisps have three other benefits: they’re relatively healthy, they’re easily adaptable to accommodate gluten-free guests and on-hand topping ingredients, and they’re simple to make. Plus, everyone seems to love them.

Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins

Seasonal Deliciousness

Recipe by Robin

Can you think of two more iconic late fall seasonal harvests than pumpkins and cranberries? At first I thought it was an odd idea to combine them, even though I wanted to. Then I experimented with Pumpkin-Cranberry Bars last year and the flavors blended harmoniously, enhanced by a few spices. This year I’m going for the muffins. The recipe is based upon my Raisin Date Persimmon Muffins or Cake, another fall/winter-friendly seasonal recipe. Pumpkin seeds add an unexpected flavor, irresistible crunch, and make this recipe appropriate for groups in which someone might have nut allergies.

Ginger Spiced Cranberry Sauce

Classic Ginger Maple Cranberry Sauce

Recipe by Yankee Magazine

Ever notice how the leftover cranberry sauce runs out before the turkey? Here’s a zippy recipe that’s perfect for Christmas leftovers. Quick and easy to prepare, it’s surprisingly zingy and creates a fresh new cranberry sauce experience. Maybe you’ll like this so well that you’ll serve it as your standard cranberry sauce next year.

Pumpkin Cranberry Bars

Pumpkin Cranberry Bar Closeup

Adapted from Weight Watchers Recipe

December, one of my favorite months, is here to conclude 2011. Late fall turns to winter, and the darkest day of the year arrives along with celebrations of family, food, and return of the light to the world--in the northern hemisphere. Our friends in Australia and Africa celebrate quite differently as daylight approaches its yearly maximum. It can be hard for those of us in darkness to imagine the light, nor should we try. Short, dark days have a beauty of their own as we retreat indoors, rest more, and find sustenance in light from within.

Cranberry Sauce with Wine & Spice

Cranberry-Cabernet Sauce

Recipe by Robin

“This is the worst cranberry sauce I’ve ever eaten in my life!” exclaimed my (former) brother-in-law about the first cranberry sauce I ever made. “Dear, we MADE that!” said my sister, using “we” diplomatically even though it was my idea, my recipe, my cooking. He made it clear that he preferred the canned jelly pillar to anything involving whole cranberries and oranges. He'd thought my sauce was store-bought because I had served it out of a recycled brown Ovaltine jar. I never got too creative with cranberry sauce again…until now.

Cranberry Orange Relish

Three Ingredients, Simple Preparation

Recipe Discovered by Carol

Quite a few years back I worked as a production jeweler for various small and even smaller businesses, meeting many talented and eccentric individuals in the process. One of my favorite such individuals is my friend Carol, for whom I worked on two different occasions throughout the years. An avid reader with an interest in just about everything, she would have been an excellent researcher if art hadn’t been her primary obsession. She also was quite creative in the kitchen, often cooking large quantities and bringing delicious leftovers to work to share.

Cornish Hens with Cranberry-Orange Sauce

Hen with Cranberry-Orange Sauce

Recipe adapted from Meals for One or Two

It’s a perfect fall day here in northern California. The locust tree in my neighbor’s year is dropping golden leaves so poetically that I don’t mind them fluttering into my yard. It’s sunny, cool, and a bit breezy. Yellow and white chrysanthemums bloom in the garden. A pot of rustic applesauce bubbles on the stove. Thinking of my east coast friends, who are still cleaning up the aftermath of an unbelievably early snowstorm, I feel extremely lucky to have this beautiful day, not to mention power and lights. Best wishes to east coasters, may you be warm and lit again soon.

Apple Cranberry Crisp

Fruits of the Season

Recipe from Cooking by the Seasons

Happy Halloween All! It is said that at this time of year the veil between the living and the dead grows thinner. Christians are preparing to celebrate All Saints and All Souls day to honor the dead and pray for their safe journey to heaven. In Mexico, folks will be celebrating Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos) by building altars to honor the dead, decorating graveyards with flowers, and inviting spirits of those passed to join the celebratory gathering of family and friends. Participants cast an eye towards the living as well, acknowledging the fact that we will all pass into spirit someday. Similar celebrations occur in Brazil, Spain, and parts of Asia and Africa. I’m building a memorial altar to honor my dear friend Joy and my father, who both passed away this year.