Cranberry Orange Crumb Cake

I know you’ve probably had your fill of carbs by now from all the holiday baking but I felt the need to post one last recipe just in case you still have a house guests or need a New Years Day brunch idea.  I adapted this recipe from a blueberry coffee cake that Cook’s Illustrated did a few years back.  Blueberries are not in season so rather than pay a fortune for sub par fruit that’s traveled from great distances, I’d rather go with ones that are in season.  I thought cranberries and oranges would be a wonderful combination, perfect for the season, and it was.

Happy Holidays

In the spirit of saving trees, we hung our ornaments in the front window.  Hope you have a wonderful holiday season with family and friends!

Snickerdoodles - 3 Ways

I’ve said it before, cookies make an excellent holiday gift.  They’re inexpensive and easy to make and almost everyone loves them.  This year I made snickerdoodles, three ways, for the people I work with.  I started by adapting a Mexican Hot Chocolate Snickerdoodle recipe by Isa  Chandra, and eliminated the cinnamon and cayenne pepper.

Chickpea, Chard and (Soy) Sausage Soup

When the weather goes from unseasonable warm and windy to freezing overnight like it did last week, it’s time for soup.  Soup is one of the best comfort foods.  It’s good for you and inexpensive to make.  Packed full of beans and greens, and garnished with some Tofurky Beer Brats, this soup is the perfect end to a very cold winter day.  I love to make big pots of soup so I can eat the leftovers for lunch.  

Growing Pomegranates

Two years ago we bought a pomegranate tree.  We chose the “Wonderful” variety because of it’s size, soft seeds, high water content and excellent flavor.  It thrives in a variety of well drained soils and grows best in full sun.  It will tolerate cold temperatures during winter down to 20° F.  Pomegranates are self-pollinating and typically ripen in the late fall in California.

Daring Bakers' Challenge: Filipino Desserts

Catherine of Munchie Musings was our November Daring Bakers’ host and she challenged us to make a tradition Filipino dessert - the delicious Sans Rival cake!  And for those of us who wanted to try an additional Filipino dessert, Catherine also gave us a bonus recipe for Bibingka which comes from her friend Jun of Jun-blog.  

Hasselback Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes are a staple on our Thanksgiving table, candied sweet potatoes to be exact.  But this year I wanted to try something different.  I’ve been experimenting some stuffed Hasselback sweet potatoes.  A Hasselback potato is one that’s thinly sliced, topped with bread crumbs and herbs, and then roasted.  Traditionally, it made with russet potatoes but I’m fond of tweaking tradition a little so I went with sweet potatoes instead.  Sweet potatoes are one of my favorite foods and considered to be a “superfood” on all of those “foods you should eat” lists. Then, there’s also the fact that I’m allergic to all other potatoes.  I was curious about the origins of the name and from what I’ve read, Hasselback potatoes came from the restaurant of the Hasselbacken Hotel in Stockholm Sweden some time in the 1940’s.