Cranberry Salsa

My friend Mary Beth reminds me of this tasty recipe that I sent her last year.  It's adapted from a recipe from Julie Haugland, owner of Vintages, a wine store in Galesburg that often has tastings.  This salsa is great as an appetizer with chips, as well as served with your turkey.

Cranberry Salsa

adapted from a recipe from Julie Haugland

1 package fresh cranberries, rinsed

1 cup crushed pineapple in juice (drain the juice, adding some if needed for consistency)

1/3 cup cilantro, chopped

1 seeded jalapeno, finely chopped (use less if you don't like the heat)

1/4 cup onion, finely chopped

1/4 cup green pepper, finely chopped

1 t. salt

1/2 cup sugar (or more if you want sweeter)

juice of 1/2  lime

Process in a food processor in this order:  Put in the jalapeno and chop finely.  Then put in the cranberries, roughly chopped cilantro, chunks of onion and green pepper and process until finely chopped.  Add drained pineapple, salt, sugar, and lime juice and process a bit further.  Add some pineapple juice if needed for consistency.

Great for Thanksgiving--or any time.  Enjoy!

Low-Fat Granola

I like the taste of granola, but I never used to buy or make it because of the high calorie/fat content.  Then a friend told me it could be made with very little oil.  I did a Google search on "low-fat granola" and sure enough, it can be done!  This recipe is now a staple in our kitchen.

LOW-FAT GRANOLA

makes nine half-cup servings

 adapted from

http://www.cooksrecipes.com/breakfast/homemade_low-fat_granola_recipe.html

4-1/2 c. old fashioned oatmeal, uncooked

1/3 c. sliced almonds

2 t. ground cinnamon

1/2 t. salt

1/4 cup maple syrup (or honey)

1/4 c. apple juice (or orange juice)

1 T. vegetable oil

1 cup mixed dried fruit (e.g., raisins, cranberries, cherries, blueberries)

Preheat oven to 350.

Stir together oatmeal, almonds, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, whisk maple syrup, juice, and oil; pour over oatmeal mixture and stir to coat thoroughly.

Spread mixture in an even layer onto a 15x12 baking pan.  Bake for 25 minutes, stirring twice during baking time.

Cool mixture in pan before adding dried fruit.  Store in airtight container.

My one original recipe

Inspired by Kathy Loomis, who has started a second blog about cooking, in addition to her blog about quilting, I've decided to do the same. I enjoy sharing recipes, so I'll try this out as another way of sending out recipes I've enjoyed.  I would be delighted to receive your recipes too. 

Here's the one recipe that is totally my own. I made it up one day from what I had in the vegetable bin. It's really tasty.

CABBAGE AND VEGETABLE SALAD

1/2 lb. cabbage (about 1/3 of a head), sliced and cut into confetti-like shapes (that is, like dicing, but flat)

1/2 lb. carrots (about 4), chopped small or grated in the food processor

4 scallions, sliced (or about 1/3 cup red onion, diced)

1 red pepper, diced

1/3 c. currants

3/8 c. lemon juice (I squeezed one lemon, and topped up with bottled; all bottled is fine too)

1 T. sugar

1 T. sesame oil

Mix everything together and enjoy!

To copy the recipe for yourself, the simplest thing to do is to select the text of the recipe, copy, and then paste it into a Word document.

I won't usually be including photos in this blog, but I was so happy with this recipe that I took a few snapshots some months back.