Well, today it is officially back to reality and I am completely in denial. Luckily, on this first
Tasty Tuesday of 2011, I have a few taste treats to share with you.
First off, below you will find the darling and talented of Stephanie of
stepmodo's mouth watering answer to the question
How Do You Hibernate?
And then, if you're still hungry for more, you
can head over to the Rue Blog, where I feel incredibly privileged to join the dazzling group making up the Rue blogging team. You can check out my debut post here!Finally, if you haven't entered
our Happy New Year giveaway, there's still time (but the clock is ticking!).
How Do You Hibernate? {stephmodo}Right now hibernating sounds like a lot of fun...and with the holiday season now behind us, I'll be participating more actively in this alluring activity :)
I think most people like to curl up to a great book and I admit, I love that too. Or a great magazine...like the latest Donna Hay or Sunset. However, I find that I'm more prone to baking and cooking when it's cold, windy and gray outside. Making great food and yummy treats puts a smile on everyone's face, despite the gloomy weather, and this encourages me to put forth the effort and stay active in the kitchen. Below is a recipe for one of my winter favorites -
Cranberry Orange Bread.
all images by stephanieI also enjoy decorating and finishing up
home projects during the winter.
The dismal weather presents an excellent opportunity to stay inside and analyze what you love surrounding yourself with. I'm a proponent of surrounding yourself with pieces you love, while considering budgetary limitations. Cozying up to Craigslist on a winter day is my idea of a good time too :) You can check out a recent tour of our home
here.
Stephmodo's Cranberry Orange Breadmakes 1 large loaf or 4 mini-loaves2 cups all-purpose flour1 cup sugar1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder1/2 teaspoon baking soda1 teaspoon good salt3 Tablespoons unsalted butter3/4 cup fresh-squeezed orange juice (about 3 oranges)zest of 3 large oranges (about 1 Tablespoon, packed)1 egg1 cup chopped fresh cranberries1/3 cup chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 350°. Sift all dry ingredients together. Cut in butter until the mixtures resembles coarse meal. Over a plate or parchment paper, zest the oranges using a microplane zester. Set aside. Cut the oranges in half and juice. In another small bowl, combine the fresh orange juice, zest, and egg with a whisk. Add the orange juice mixture to the dry ingredients all at once. Mix until just combined. Fold in the chopped cranberries and nuts. Spoon the mixture into one greased loaf pan or into four greased mini-loaf pans. If you make one large loaf, cook the bread for 1 hour. If you are making the mini-loaves, set your timer to about 30 minutes (you’ll want to start watching it at 25 minutes as ovens are all different). Once out of the oven, cook the loaf pans on a wire rack for ten minutes. When the bread is slightly cooled you can tap the loaf/loaves out of the pans carefully and place them on the wire rack for additional cooling. Enjoy!A huge thank you to Stephanie for joining the
How Do You Hibernate series! My stomach is now growling.
Ok, maybe getting back on this horse isn't so bad :)
Cheers luvies!
*Mrs. E
