Seckel Pear and Cranberry Pan Dowdy

It's that time of year for all those soupy, sweet fruit crisps, slumps, buckles, and pan dowdies. This past week, SB and I harvested wild cranberries that grow in a boggy area near our home. SB put his muck boots on and I picked from the edge of the road along an old turnpike near the house. We came away with enough berries for me to make a few loaves of cranberry nut bread or some cranberry sauce or this dessert!

Apple-Cranberry Streusel Pie

My pie obsession continues to grow, as I find more tempting filling recipes for a couple of pie crusts. But wait, sometimes it's just as tasty to plop a filling into a pie shell and top the whole mess with a crunchy streusel!

... meet Apple-Cranberry Streusel Pie ...

A Burger Revelation ...

... a lightened up burger that tastes like fast food Thanksgiving ... in a good way! ...

A few years ago, my blogging friend Brenda had a cook book give away that I had the good fortune to win ... a copy of Rachael Ray's cook book called Rachael Ray's look + cook came my way and soon I was flagging recipes that looked wonderful.  I've used the cookbook a lot over the years and have never been disappointed. Usually, in fact, I really like the results of Rachael's recipes. The only thing is ... they can be pretty caloric. Rachael likes her butter and cheese and gooey sauces. This burger recipe that I found the other day is no exception, but oh, WHAT A BURGER!

Thanks Brenda!

Tomten's Christmas Adventures Part One ...

For much of the year, Tomten spent his time perched on the edge of a high shelf in the corner of his Lady's kitchen. He watched her come and go with the dogs and the cats, arrange lovely flowers into pretty little nosegays, and bake cookies that she put in the cookie jar that kept him company.  All the while, he kibbitzed with the other gentlemen who occupied his shelf.

Taming the Leftovers ... Gingerbread and Cranberry Bites

I have been such a slouch of late, as far as The Spice Garden is concerned! I apologize to those of you who drop in regularly. It's not that I've been a complete couch potato. I haven't. I've been extremely distracted with prepping the house for Thanksgiving visitors, working with the little ones in my little church's Sunday school on Advent activities, sewing and prepping a Christmas box for German friends that must be sent very soon, reading some awesome books, visiting some family and friends, and baking for my church's fellowship hour and for that cookie jar/cookies post for the Typhoon relief bake sale. It seems that my energy just ran out when it came to writing and photographing for a Spice Garden post!

Cranberry and Beer Braised Brisket

Here is a beef brisket that has been braised to the point of falling apart into a smooth candied pile of sweet onions ... melt in your mouth delicious with crusty crunchy bread slices, or mounds of whipped potatoes, or a soft and smoky polenta. However you prefer, it makes enough for three hearty eaters of two with a plan for lunch leftovers.

Curried Chicken Salad ... and a Hike

This is a healthy and lightened up version of chicken salad with a hot curry kick. It is a recipe found in a magazine called Delight- Gluten Free. I've had my eye on it for a while and was waiting for a day when I knew I'd be hungry for a substantial lunch-time sandwich. Today was the day! I started my day early, as it's really hot out. SB and I wanted to hike a piece of land over near Richmond, New Hampshire where the mountain laurel is in full bloom. We spent the morning exploring the forest trail along a small brook that feeds into Tully Brook and driving the back roads in the vicinity. By the time we got home, we were hot and hungry.

Bring on the Greens ! ... Virtual Supper Club

This time of year in New England can seem almost bleak, as one rattles the last of the garden squash around the cellar bin, yanks the last of the parsnips from the garden during a warm spell, and roasts potatoes with snippets of the rosemary brought in from the late summer herb garden. The punky potatoes get a soup treatment and then, we start to anticipate Spring fruits and vegetables. Getting fresh green vegetables involves kale and spinach, hydroponic greens and tomatoes from the area growers, and yes, buying asparagus from 'far, far, away'.

May and June seem ages away but we dream of going into the back yard and snipping our own salad greens and lopping off our own spears of asparagus (or getting them at the farmer's market). Right now, though, we begin to feel the return of a more intensely warm sun and the maples are beginning to waken. Sap is flowing and, in our hearts, we know Spring can't be far off. Still that ache for green is urgent. That is why, when asked to choose a theme for March's Virtual Supper Club, I chose "All Things Green".

Deni's Cranberry Coffee Cake

An easy and delicious use of leftover cranberry relish .... that's where this recipe started its run at the grey cottage (and before that, at the Hopkinton Homestead). My dear friend, Deni always made this for staff brunches and also as holiday coffee break treats for our little classroom staff kaffeeklatsches. She graciously shared her recipe all those years ago and I have been making it at least two times a year ever since!

Spicy Fruit Compote

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas!

 

Cranberry Nut Bread

When the winter holidays roll around, I always dig into the pile of family recipes that have been 'tried and true' over the years. One of the usual suspects is this cranberry nut bread. My mother made it every year with big old chunks of walnuts and fresh cranberries washed and cut in half. This quick bread is not an overly sweet affair ... it has fresh squeezed orange juice and orange zest that add to the tang of the cranberries and a mere three-quarters cup sugar. It is a bulky bread that slices and toasts beautifully and holds up to a slather of soft melting butter ... yum! We always have it with a cup of coffee first thing in the morning.