Cranberry Pumpkin Bread

I received a mini loaf of homemade pumpkin bread recently.  As i bit into its super soft squishy yumminess, I realized that with making pumpkin caramels and trying out new pumpkin recipes, I'd completely neglected to make just a basic pumpkin bread this season.  There's a lot to be said for those seasonal "must-makes" and cranberry pumpkin bread is one of mine.  

I been experimenting with replacing veggie oils and especially shortening with coconut oil in baking recently and decided to make this loaf with organic coconut oil.  I couldn't tell the difference honestly and since this recipe originally used shortening I was quite pleased that the coconut oil worked so well.

I love the fresh tart bursting cranberries, but of course when it comes to quick breads, nuts, berries and chips are usually optional and interchangeable.  You could even opt for dried cranberries if fresh cranberries are too tart. 

Cranberry Pumpkin Bread 

1 cups all purpose flour plus 2 tsps to coat cranberries
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup coconut oil

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 cups canned pumpkin 

1 tsp vanilla

2 large eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk

1.5 cups cranberries 

Sugar in the raw for topping loaf (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF, grease and flour 8x5 loaf pan. 
2. Whisk together flours, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt. 
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle, combine coconut oil and sugars and beat well.  Add pumpkin, eggs and vanilla and mix until fully incorporated. 
4. With the mixer on low, add the flour in two batches, alternating with the buttermilk, and mix until just combined.
5. Wash cranberries, reserve a small handful for topping loaf, and toss remaining with 2 tsps of flour. Shake of excess flour and gently stir flour coated cranberries into pumpkin bread batter. 
6. Pour into prepared pan and top with reserved cranberries and a sprinkling of Sugar in the Raw if desired.
7. Bake for about an hour or until tester should come out clean. 
8. Cool pan on a rack for ten minutes, remove loaf from pan and cool completely.

Persimmon and Pomegranate Fruit Salad

I have a thing for persimmons.  A love affair really.  If I lived far from an asian grocer, I'd probably have less of a love affair...I've seen persimmons at $1.50-2.00 EACH at the grocery store during the fall months.  What kills me about that is that in the fall these same persimmons can be purchased at the asian grocery for $ 1....a pound.  That's just crazy pricing difference.

Persimmons are hard to explain if you've never had one.  I like the round tomato shaped ones because they are ready to eat when crisp and then ripen into some even sweeter treat.  They never seem to last to the super soft sweet phase in my house though regardless of how much I buy because I eat them nonstop-- a shame really because I have tons of recipes that call for fully ripened persimmons.

And while I was picking up my weekly persimmon stash I came across some pomegranates at the asian grocer for $.69 a lb.  Crazy right?  So fully stocked on pomegranates and persimmons, I decided to throw together a fruit salad unlike regular 'ole fruit salads.  

Not really a recipe I know, but fruit sure is fantastic to look at.  Is there anything sexier than fresh produce?  

Persimmon and Pomegranate Fruit Salad

3 crisp persimmons

1 half small papaya

1 pomegranate

1 small banana

1 cup orange juice

1/2 lime

1. Cook OJ over medium high heat until reduced by half (could probably use concentrate really but I never have that around)  Add juice of half a lime.  Allow to cool.  If you like your food sweeter, you could add some honey as well.

2.  Dice banana and add to OJ and coat to prevent bananas from browning

3. Dice remaining fruit, pour bananas and OJ over and toss

Pad See Ew

Pad see ew is a thai noodle dish that is often overshadowed by her more popular sister, pad thai.  For those who are willing to branch out from ordering pad thai in restaurants, I think you'll find that pad see ew is a surprisingly great alternate noodle dish.  While it shares  rice noodles as a base, pad see ew noodles acutally tend to be the big fat noodles and uses a sweet soy sauce to get its distinctive flavor.  I love using fresh noodles for this dish and while I had some in my fridge to make this dish, it seems I had them in my fridge for too long to make this dish.  I threw out the molded fresh noodles and grabbed a bag of dried rice noodles.  These are the skinnier ones that I use for pad thai, but aside from that similarity, the flavors are all pad see ew.

I will say that if you've had pad see ew in a restaurant or from a street vendor in Thailand, there is a flavor that is almost impossible for the home cook to replicate unless you are super duper brave or don't have an entire assortment of smoke detectors ready to go off at the slightest hint of smoke.  When they make this in restuarants there is a slight charred flavor that is so absolutely yummy that I watched a street vendor carefully to see what it was.  She actually set the entire pan of noodles on fire for a minute.  I would like to go on record stating that I don't advocate anyone set anything on fire in their kitchen.  But oh how pad see ew loves to be set on fire.  Yum.

Pad see ew traditionally uses chinese broccoli as a veggie.  I happen to always pick this up at the asian market when  I know I want to make this, but my mom used an alternative leafy green (collard greens?) from the regular grocery store when she was in a pinch.

Chinese broccoli...

The other key ingredient is this sweet soy sauce available at any southeast asian grocers.  I found out recently, that it was not at my local Korean grocer.   This brand comes in a couple of options...I always grab the bottle with the blue top.  The ingredient lists soy sauce and sugar, so it could probably be made at home. 

I had some lighting issues with the preparation photos unfortunately, but it's very similar in process to many stir fries....make a sauce, cook chicken over high heat until browned, remove from pan, cook veggie, then egg, return meat to pan and add noodles and sauce. While it's missing the slight charred flavor, the sauce makes it rather close to the restaurant style noodle dish.

Not sure why it cracks me up each time I look over to see this whenever I'm cooking, but this one LOVES to sit at the table.  All the time.  I think she likes to read on the computer which is why I got her a NOOK for Christmas.  And really I love to write things like that just so my father's eyes will roll back each time he reads things like that. I think the response that goes with it is "I wouldn't doubt it Mary."  C'mon dad--you know you just said that.

It's nature and not nurture that has her believing she's human I'm sure. 

Pad See Ew

8 ounces fresh wide, flat rice noodles (or half a bag of dried noodles)
coconut oil
3 garlic cloves chopped
1 chicken breast, sliced thinly
1 lb coarsely chopped chinese broccoli
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup sweet dark soy sauce
3 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 teaspoons low sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons vinegar

1. If using dried noodles soak for 15 minutes in hot tap water and then drain.  In large pan, boil  water and cook drained noodles for 4-5 minutes until tender but al dente.   Drain and rinse well with cold water and set aside.  If using fresh noodles, add to bowl of warm water to separate noodles, drain and set aside.
2. Heat 1 tsp coconut oil and 1 clove of minced garlic in wok until garlic begins to sizzle.  Add chicken and cook until chicken is cooked through.  Remove from pan and set aside.
3. Make suace by whisking together sweet soy sauce, oyster sauce, low sodium soy sauce and vinegar
4. Add 1 tsp of coconut oil and another glove of minced garlic until hot and add chinese broccoli.  Cook for 4-5 minutes until stalks are tender crisp (I know it's not traditional but I sometimes add a few tbsp of hot water periodically if it seems the pan is gettiing so hot it begins to smoke my poor little smoke detector infested kitchen) 
5. Push to side of walk, add one 1tsp of coconut oil and last clove of garlic and let cook until garlic is light golden brown.  Add lightly beaten egg and scramble in pan
6. Return chicken to pan, add noodles and sauce and toss, continuing to cook until all items are heated through (about 2-3 minutes). 

Peppermint Patty Brownies

I'd say it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, but then you might think I'm one of THOSE  people that can't wait.  Which I am of course.  Unashamedly...give me lights and carols as soon as possible please.  

Thinking about Christmas had me craving a little peppermint flavor and what goes better with mint than chocolate(except maybe rum and lime)?  I have this recipe for peppermint patties/junior mints that taste identical to the store bought kind, so identical that it seems like too much work to create something that I can easily purchase.  I adapted the peppermint patty recipe to top a brownie instead and have to say I love the combo.  LOVE it. 

I always buy this Simply Organic peppermint flavoring oil and it is crazy strong--like clear your sinuses strong.  I'd start with 1/2 of a tsp and adjust to taste if you are using another brand. 

Love these.  Just in case I wasn't adamant enough above.  So much so that I already packed them up for the office so I don't end up eating them myself.

Love this schmoo too. 

Peppermint Patty Brownies

Ingredients

• 2 sticks unsalted butter
• 1 12 oz bag semisweet chocolate chips for brownies and additional half bag for topping
• 3 oz unsweetened chocolate
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon instant espresso
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
• 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tsp shortening

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 8x8inch baking.
2. Melt together the butter, 1 bag chocolate chips, and unsweetened chocolate in a double boiler or bowl over simmering water. Allow to cool slightly. In a large bowl, stir together the eggs, coffee granules, vanilla, and sugar. Stir the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and allow to cool to room temperature.
3. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt and then add to chocolate mixture and stir gently, taking care not to over mix. Pour into prepared pan
4. Bake for 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely
5. Add sweetened condensed milk to a medium bowl and stir in peppermint extract.  
6. Stir in powdered sugar and mix well
7. Spread across top of cooled brownies gently (no worries if some brownie crumbs get mixed in, the chocolate topping will cover this)
8. Melt together half bag of chocolate chips with shortening in microwave by placing ingredients in microwave safe bowl and microwaving at 50% for 30 seconds.  Remove from microwave and stir.  Repeat microwave 30 secs and stir steps until chocolate is melted.
9. Pour over peppermint layer and allow to cool at room temp.  Refrigerate brownies for 2 hrs before cutting.

Random Ramblings

I know it's been awhile.  Sometimes I get on these rolls with work and projects and everything else is cast aside for a bit. Just a warning that the remainder of the post will be just rambling without any cohesive theme or topic.  

There has been a little extra TLC for certain little peanut in the house...thanks for the comments and e-mails.  Brooklyn is doing okay now--or as okay as she can be considering that an entire series of tests couldn't diagnose exactly why she had a seizure.  

Yes, my  one and half year old peanut had what the vet called a seizure.  I would have diagnosed it officially as "freaky crazy scary paralysis weirdness" which may be why I don't make my living as a vet.  Girlfriend froze halfway up the stairs one morning, fell over on her side and slid all the way back down the stairs. Since the vet (and board certified radiologist the final bill told me) didn't find anything in any of the tests, we were told it was either a one-off inexplicable seizure, or the first in what could become epilepsy.  Breaks my heart.  It's just a waiting game now so hoping for no recurrences.  

Seizures are exhausting.  

In my defense, I did this to her before her seizure.  Why she hates costumes so much I'll never know.  Knowing how much she's hated them the past two years probably won't stop me from doing it again next year.

I am that mean to her.

There's been a bit of baking.  I usually try not to indulge in the little one-use-wonders in the kitchen but there is a Williams Sonoma outlet about 30 mins from Las Vegas.  For reals people.  When the adorable little apple pie molds are a few dollars, it's hard to pass on.  Pretty stinkin cute molds.

Tons of leftover Halloween candy means trying to incorporate it into baking.  For the record, banana bread + Reeses Pieces = yum.

Spent a little time with a sweet little Chipmunk over the weekend.  

Had a wonderful opportunity to volunteer photography services for a charity event last week.  Never thought I was a cowboy-loving kind of girl.  

I'd say I'm a cowboy-loving kind of girl now. 

I'll admit that a  little snowy mountain scene was not something I expected to see in Las Vegas. 

And of course, the end of daylight savings.  While sad to leave the office when it's dark, each night when I leave the office and walk out to the parking garage I'm greeted with this scene.  Can't wait to see how Vegas does Christmas lights.