Cranberry tomato curry

While procrastinating on thesis work, I was looking for some "healthy" recipes to use up more of the fresh cranberries I had bought.  I came across an Eating Well recipe for curried chicken with fresh and dried cranberries.  This sounded great.  Not only yummy, but also practical, as I'm trying to work with foods that I have on hand in my freezer or pantry, without having to buy much for added ingredients.  Here's my spin on this yummy recipe which smells great while cooking, and tastes even better!

Cranberry tomato curry
2 tsp olive oil
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 Tbsp hot curry powder
1 Tbsp Maharajah curry powder (a yummy blend from Penzeys spices that has tumeric, coriander, cumin, cardamom, fenugreek, ginger, nutmeg, fennel, cinnamon, black and white pepper, cloves, saffron, and cayenne pepper)
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp yellow mustard seeds
1 onion, chopped
generous 1/4 tsp cardamom
1 can diced tomatoes (15 oz)
2 cups chicken broth (I used my homemade stock... yummy!)
1/2 c sweetened dried cranberries
1 cup fresh cranberries
1 Tbsp minced fresh ginger
1/2 tsp salt

1. Heat the oil in a dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add the chicken and coat both sides with the Maharaja curry powder.  Cook until the chicken is beginning to brown.  Transfer to a cutting board, allow to cool, then cut into 1 inch pieces.
2. Add butter, onion, and mustard seeds to the pot.  Cook for approximately 4 minutes.  Return the chicken and any juices from the chicken, to the pot.  Sprinkle with the hot curry powder and cardamom and stir to coat chicken with the spices.  Cook, stirring for 1 minute.  Add tomatoes, broth, cranberries, ginger and salt.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook uncovered for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the mixture reduces slightly and the chicken is cooked through.  Serve over rice.

Gluten-free Swedish ginger cookies

This recipe is my first attempt at modifying a family recipe for ginger snaps that I used to LOVE.  I am pretty happy with the outcome, but might tweak a few things in the future.  I was aiming for making these cookies gluten free, and reducing the fat by replacing some butter with ground flaxseed.

Gluten-free Swedish Ginger cookies
2/3 cup sorghum flour
2/3 cups potato starch
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/4 cup almond flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 c butter
3/4 c ground flaxseed
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c white sugar
1 egg
1/4 c molasses

1. Sift together flours, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves and set aside.
2. Cream butter, flaxseed, and sugars
3. Beat the egg with the molasses and combine with butter mixture.
4. Add flour mixture and mix until combined
5. Roll into balls and then roll in a bowl of pearl sugar.
6. Cook at 350 for 10 minutes.  Cookies will flatten out (which is how I like these), so leave plenty of space on the pan between doughballs. 
7. Allow cookies to cool for a couple of minutes on the pan before removing.

Healthy gluten-free cranberry orange muffins

I bought a couple of bags of fresh cranberries since you don't find those year-round in the grocery store.  I wanted to try making something sweet with them, but also somewhat healthy, so I decided to make gluten-free cranberry orange muffins.  They are relatively "healthy" and very flavorful.  I decided that I might like to have a little bit of a glaze on top, so I later added an orange glaze to some, but think that they are best enjoyed without the added sweetness of the frosting.  The cranberries make them really pretty!  (Note that the flours are measured out in ounces.  The best way to cook gluten-free is to use a scale and measure your flours, since the lack of gluten can make things tricky to get the right texture.  Actually, it's a good idea to use a scale when baking in general for precision!)

Gluten-free cranberry orange muffins
3 oz white rice flour
1 oz brown rice flour
0.4 oz potato starch
2.1 oz tapioca starch
1.5 oz soy flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 c butter
6 oz (3/4 cup sugar)
pinch salt
1/4 c buttermilk
1/4 c ground flaxseed
1 egg
2 egg whites
3 Tbsp fresh squeezed orange juice (approx 1 orange)
zest from 2 oranges
4 oz fresh cranberries, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350 and line muffin tins with paper muffin cups.
2. Sift flour and baking powder and set aside.
3. Cream butter, sugar, and salt on medium speed.  Blend in buttermilk.
4. Add flour mixture and mix on low just until combined.
5. Mix zest and cranberries together then add to the batter and mix until combined, but don't overmix.
6. Scoop into muffin cups and bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown.

In case you are curious about a simple glaze, here you go:

Orange glaze

1 Tbsp butter, melted

2 tsp orange zest

3 Tbsp orange juice (more or less to taste)

Powdered sugar

1. Melt butter and add orange juice and zest.
2. Add powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached.

New Year's good luck with Black-eyed pea soup

So, I'm guilty of being a member of multiple email listservs that send messages with various recipes daily, which often results in two things:  1.  making me hungry, and 2. giving me ideas for things to make.  Last week I got a message for a slow cooker black-eyed pea soup, which, when I read the description, claimed to be something you are supposed to eat on the 1st of the year for good luck for the rest of the year.  So... I took a stab at a version of a black-eyed pea soup with stock and meat I had on hand in my freezer.  I decided to use pork stock a friend of mine made as well as some pulled pork.  Every year the college I am in (Natural Resources) puts on a big pig roast in the fall, I normally participate in helping to plan and bake for the event, so I had some leftover frozen pork, and the stock and thought that might give some good flavor to the peas.  Lucky or not, this soup was yummy, with a nice kick to it!

Pulled pork and black-eyed pea soup
1 lb dry black-eyed peas sorted and soaked in 6 cups water overnight and drained
2 cups pork stock (could easily use chicken)
1 1b pulled pork (could use shredded chicken or turkey)
6 cups water (may need less depending on type of stock you use)
4 cloves garlic
1 med onion
2 peppers
3 spicier peppers (depending on your heat tolerance)
3 tsp cumin
1.5 tsp cayenne pepper
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste

1. Saute onion, garlic, and peppers in oil until tender.  Add the cumin and cayenne pepper to the pan while sauteing.
2. Combine remaining ingredients in large crockpot and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.
3. Add more salt and pepper to taste.