BREAD ON MONDAY - Cranberry Nut Bread

When I was growing up, I adored the Christmas season. With typical child-like impatience, I eagerly anticipated each and every event of the season's progression. And one thing I anticipated the most was Christmas morning breakfast! As with most parents, ours were up late putting gifts under the tree for "Santa" because we were so excited  anticipating his coming that we took forever to go to sleep. Naturally, that was the one day of the year that we popped up out of bed early, usually before the sun even came up! But Mom and Dad wanted to SLEEP!

We were allowed to open our stockings, but were weren't to touch anything else before they got up... not even TOUCH anything. But there was always something extra good waiting for us to eat for breakfast while they snoozed as long as we possibly let them snooze. Usually, it was an assortment of quick breads and fruits. My favorite, one of the things I looked of forward to Christmas morning for, was, you guessed it.... CRANBERRY NUT BREAD! I could hardly sleep not only knowing that Santa was coming, but that when I got up, that wonderful, tangy-sweet, moist bread would be waiting for me. Mmmmmm..... I can smell it even now just thinking about it.

And now, I would like to share with you the recipe for that wonderful Cranberry Nut Bread that I so looked forward to with impatient anticipation each and every Christmas season:

Cranberry Nut Bread

• 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts (I prefer pecan or walnut)
• 1 T. grated orange peel (fresh)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 T. shortening
• 3/4 cup orange juice
• 1 large egg, well beaten

Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously grease and lightly flour a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan.

In medium mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and soda; cut in shortening.

 Stir in orange juice, egg and orange peel, mixing just until moistened.

Fold in cranberries and nuts. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Be careful not to overcook, as it will make bread dry.

Cool on wire rack 15 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely.

When completely cool, wrap and store overnight before cutting to increase moistness. Makes 1 loaf. 

SOUP ON SATURDAY - Turkey Carcass Soup

 I am sure most of you have tossed your turkey bones out by now, but while thoughts of Thanksgiving and leftover turkeys still lingers on my mind, I wanted to share with you my recipe for Turkey Carcass soup. Before you think, "yuck!", look the recipe over and really consider giving it a try. It is absolutely wonderful! I missed out on getting to make it this year, as the person that brought the turkey to our Thanksgiving dinner, threw the bones out in the trash before I could intercept them. That just killed me! That lost pot of tasty soup has been on my mind so much this past week that I think I am going to have to cook me a small turkey just so I can get a good pot of soup. This works well with either a baked or smoked turkey (or fried, for that matter). So go ahead, give it a try, you will be surprised at how wonderful it is!

Turkey Carcass Soup

• 1 fresh turkey carcass (from a cooked turkey), all meat removed
• 1 cup drippings from turkey (or more to taste)
• water to fill cooking pot
• 3 fresh carrots, thinly sliced
• 3 ribs celery, thinly sliced
• 2/3 cup chopped onions
• 2-3 cups finely chopped, cooked turkey
• 1 1/2 T. dry parsley flakes (fresh is also good but use a little more)
• 2 tsp. salt (or to taste)
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper (or to taste)
• 1 (12-ounce) pkg. small noodles, cooked according to package

Pull apart the turkey carcass bones and place in a large pot with pan drippings. Cover with water. 

Bring to a boil, reduce heat and hard simmer for about an hour. 

Remove all bones with slotted spoon. When cool enough to handle, remove any remaining meat that you may still find on the bones and set aside; discard bones where pets won't be able to get them.

Add all of the turkey, carrots, celery, onion, parsley flakes, salt and pepper to the pot of now wonderful broth. 

Return to simmer and cook until vegetables are tender.

Add cooked noodles; heat through and serve. Mmmmm..... good!

Note: This recipe is very flexible. The amounts of the vegetables is easily alterable. You can also add other vegetables that you like to the pot. This is the blend that my family likes, although I sometimes like to also add canned tomatoes and corn. Enjoy!

Cooking Tip #1 - Wash Those Pumpkins!

 Many people, at this time, are canning and freezing up their bountiful harvest of pumpkins, putting up the ones they found on that wonderful super sale after Halloween and Thanksgiving were over, or just plain making up some delicious pumpkin pies. Pumpkins are so versatile and packed with nutrition, they are well worth the effort of putting them up for use all year long.

But before you begin to cut into one of those pumpkins, be sure and wash the entire outside off thoroughly with a naturally antibacterial soap. Give it a good scrubbing. Make extra sure you get into all of those creases and crevices. Weather you purchase your pumpkin at the grocer, from your local farmer's market, or grow it yourself, there is always the risk that odd, unusual and even dangerous germs could be lurking on the skin of those pumpkins. The cooler, damper climate of Fall, with fluctuating warmer days just before pumpkins are harvested, can lend to a faster growth/spread of some germs and fungi. A good scrubbing should easily take care of anything that might pose a danger and is very easy to do.

Then let your pumpkin(s) air dry. Don't get in a hurry and be tempted to dry them off with that dish towel that is setting right there at your fingertips. You will just put germs right back on your pumpkin! Especially for long term storage, you want every germ possible off of your pumpkin before you cut into it. If you don't wash them, and any unsafe germs are on the skin of your pumpkin, the moment you stick your knife into it, you push the germs right inside, where they quickly absorb into the softer flesh.

Have a happy and tasty holiday season, and watch for more great cooking tips to come!

Wordless Wednesday - 11/28

Wordless Wednesday

BREAD ON MONDAY - Puffy Dumplings

 Throughout the winter, I love to make a lot of soups and stews. Sometimes I like cornbread with them, and sometimes hot rolls, bread, or just plain crackers. But often times I especially like to mix up a batch of my Puffy Dumplings and drop on top of a steaming hot pot of soup/stew. They puff up nice and fluffy, while a just a little of the soup adheres to the bottom of the dumpling. Mmmmm..... are they good! They are also great in Chicken and Dumplings or, as many are making right now with their leftover turkey... Turkey and Dumplings. Here is my recipe.  Make sure your soup is boiling/simmering, or nearly there, before beginning. This recipe easily doubles if you are cooking a large kettle of soup.  Picture to be posted soon.

PUFFY DUMPLINGS

• 1 cup all-purpose flour (I prefer unbleached)
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup milk

In medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.

Stir in milk and mix well.

Drop large, rounded tablespoonfuls into hot, boiling/hard simmering, stew, soup, or chicken and dumplings. Give a quick, gentle stir to make sure all dumplings are coated with the hot liquid and are separated.

Cook, uncovered, 10 minutes. . . . Cover and cook for about 10 minutes more, or until dumplings do not appear doughy in center. This time could vary according to the size of your dumplings. Sometimes I like to make mine a little bigger than this (larger spoonfuls of dough).

It is VERY IMPORTANT that you do NOT open the lid during the second half of the cooking time or dumplings could become very soggy. Also do not stir during any of the cooking time.

If you want to add a little additional flavor to your dumplings you can add a little powdered seasoning (such as poultry seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, etc.) to your dry ingredients before mixing in the milk.

Serve hot, but be careful! These dumplings stay hot in the center for a very long time. Be especially careful when serving to small children.