Tuesday, January 31, 2012

CRANBERRY-ORANGE BREAD


Here’s another delicious bread that can serve as breakfast or even as a gift for a neighbor.  It can be made into muffins or a loaf but my favorite form is to bake it in a bundt cake pan.   Wonderful!

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 and ½ t. baking powder
½ t. salt
½ t. baking soda
2 t. orange zest
Juice from 1 or 2 oranges
2 T. butter, softened
1 egg
1 t. vanilla
1 cup fresh cranberries (I buy them fresh and pop them in the freezer so that I always have them on hand)
1 cup walnuts, chopped

Instructions:
*Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and soda in a mixing bowl.
*Using a measuring cup, combine the orange zest, orange juice and the softened butter.  Then add enough boiling water to the mixture to equal ¾ cup.
*Add egg, vanilla and water mixture to the flour mixture.
*Stir cranberries and walnuts in to batter.
*Place batter into lined muffin tins or desired baking pan.
*Bake at 325 degrees until done.

Monday, January 30, 2012

RICE, BARLEY AND BEAN MEDLEY

                  

I came up with this recipe for sprouted brown rice, pearl barley and beans after I bought a huge bag of sprouted brown rice at Costco.  It’s amazing what you’ll buy when you’re hungry.  Anyway, we like the rice very much—even by itself.  However the addition of the barley and beans really deepens the flavor and provides a great serving or two of fiber.  Try it out with your family.  Following are the ingredients I used but be sure to add your favorite additions.  This rice dish is great when served with Salmon or even chicken.  This recipe makes a lot so cut the amounts in half if you don’t need as much.

Ingredients:
3 cups cooked sprouted brown rice (follow cooking directions on the bag)
2 cups cooked pearl barley (follow cooking directions on the bag)
2 t. butter or olive oil
Kosher salt to taste
½ cup black cooked black beans (I used canned)
½ cup cooked bean assortment (I used a canned bean medley of red kidney beans, black eye peas,  black beans and pinto beans)
½ cup cooked and shelled edamame  (I used frozen)

Instructions:
*Combine all ingredients heat through.