Savory Cranberry Pomegranate Red Wine Sauce

Oh cranberries. You so photogenic.

I love homemade cranberry sauce for so many reasons, not the least of which is the fact that I never make it the same way twice.  

The basic formula is a 12-oz bag cranberries to 1/2 cup liquid to 1 cup sugar; however you can use any sweetener and any liquid you'd like. Cranberry Orange with a splash of Grand Marnier? Yup. Cranberry Raspberry? Cranberry Apple Walnut Celery? Yup yup and yup. I like to remember to add something sweet, salty, chewy, and crunchy to my cranberry sauces for a perfect balance of flavors. I also like my cranberry sauce much less sweet than the formula above and generally cut the sugar in half or more. Just taste a little bit when it's done cooking and adjust for sweetness if you'd like. Enjoy and have fun with it!

This one uses pomegranate seeds for some lovely texture, crunch and sweetness.

This particular cranberry sauce is very savory and not very sweet; it would be a great accompaniment to ham, pork, or turkey and an even better spread for the day-after sandwich. The maple syrup and dijon is a great one-two punch of sweet and pungent that makes for a lovely balanced sauce. 

Savory Cranberry Pomegranate Red Wine Sauce

• 2 cups raw cranberries
• 1 cup dry red wine (I used Tempranillo)
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1/2 cup raw pomegranate arils

1. Cut the pomegranate in half and submerge the halves in a bowl of cold water. Using your hands, dig the pomegranate arils out of the pomegranate. When all the arils are free, pour the arils and water through a colander and pick out any pieces of pomegranate membrane still remaining. 

2. Combine the cranberries, red wine, sugar, salt and pepper in a saucepan.

3. Cook over medium heat for 10-15 minutes, until thickened. The cranberries will start to swell and pop and will then continue cooking until the whole sauce is a gorgeous uniform garnet color. 

Cooking...

Still cooking...

Voila! Cranberry Sauce!

4. Stir in the maple syrup and dijon mustard.

5. Stir in the pomegranate arils.

Note: The cranberry sauce will thicken a lot in the refrigerator as it cools. Makes my mouth water just looking at it!

Enjoy and HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Spinach and White Bean Lasagna with Pumpkin Cashew Cream (Vegan, Soy and Gluten Free)

I made a glorious discovery this weekend with the creation of this equally glorious lasagna: cashew cream. It's something I've read about but put in the "I'm not treehugger enough box" along with turning off the shower when I shave my legs and making my own organic yogurt.  But cashew cream, as it turns out, is super easy!  Literally throw some cashews and a water in a blender and let 'er fly.  5 minutes later there's this wondrous, slightly sweet substance that acts suspiciously like flour, butter, and dairy-laden bechamel in this lasagna worthy of the Thanksgiving table.  

Wondrous stuff...it is actually creamy and slightly sweet

This is with the pumpkin added in as well..thick enough to stand up a spoon!

I love serving this at events where folks are low-FODMAP (just leave out the beans, garlic, and onions), vegan, gluten-free, soy-free, or all of the above. It's nice to actually be able to eat at a party or holiday event! Even if you have no dietary restrictions at all, this lasagna is the bomb and perfect for chilly weather. It also holds up extremely well wrapped up in the fridge, baked or unbaked, so you can make it ahead of time and save it for a busy weeknight.

Spinach and White Bean Lasagna with Pumpkin Cashew Cream 
(Vegan and Soy and Gluten Free)

For the Cashew Cream:

• 3/4 cup raw, unsalted cashews
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree

For the Spinach filling:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 onion, chopped fine
• 1 carrot, chopped fine
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 10-ounce box frozen spinach (defrosted or not, won't matter because you'll cook it in the pan)
• 1 can cannellini beans or other small white beans

For assembly:

• 1 box gluten-free lasagna noodles (I ordered mine online; I haven't been able to find gluten free lasagna noodles in stores)
• Note: if using gluten-free lasagna noodles, there is no need to cook the noodles ahead of time, they will soften fine in the oven. If using regular or whole wheat lasagna noodles, cook the whole box for 1-2 minutes less than the box says before assembling the lasagna.

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Put cashews and water in food processor or blender.

3. Blend on high for 3-5 minutes, until smooth, thick, and creamy.

4. Scrape down the sides of the blender or food processor to blend well

5. Add the minced garlic, nutmeg, and black pepper and pulse to blend.

6. Add the pumpkin and process until fully blended.

7. Meanwhile,  heat the olive oil in a nonstick skillet until shimmering. Add the chopped onion and carrot and cook over medium-low heat until the onion is translucent.
8. Add the salt, pepper, and minced garlic and cook until the garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds more.
9. Remove from heat. 

10. Spray a 2 quart casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray. Lay 3 lasagna noodles, slightly overlapping, in the bottom of the casserole dish. 

11. Cover the lasagna noodles with half of the spinach mixture.

12. Cover the spinach mixture with one-third of the pumpkin cashew cream mixture in an even layer.

I got a notion to add some dried sage at this point. So I did.

13. Add another layer of lasagna noodles, spinach mixture, and one-third of the pumpkin cashew cream sauce.

14. Add a final layer of lasagna noodles.

15. Cover the lasagna noodles completely with a layer of the pumpkin cashew cream sauce. You want to make sure the noodles are completely covered or they won't cook sufficiently in the oven.

Ready for the oven!

16. Cover tightly with a double layer of aluminum foil (the steam produced by the rest of the lasagna in the oven is what cooks the lasagna noodles!)

17. Bake covered for 45-50 minutes, until piping hot and wonderfully fragrant.

That's a mighty good-lookin' lasagna.

Vegan Peppermint Mocha for One

The next time I'm in an organized group activity and am asked *groan* what my superpower would be, I will finally have an answer: I wish I had powers to make lattes magically appear bedside without ever having to shower or find the car keys on what should be a lazy Saturday.

Enter this beauty I discovered at Whole Foods this morning (which, by the way, is on sale for $2.00 this week and there's a $1.00 coupon on the box, so this box of dairy-free deliciousness could be yours for $1!)

Once home I immediately used it to whip together a delicious cup of joe that scratches my Peppermint Mocha craving. I love a good Peppermint Mocha as much as the next gal, but my problem is often that they are so darn rich between the chocolate sauce and the peppermint syrup and the whipped cream, there's rarely a time of day where I can drink one and not feel like I need to take a nap despite multiple espresso shots.

This guy, on the other hand, I mixed just to my preferences, meaning it tastes strongly of coffee and is none too sweet.  The Chocolate Peppermint Stick is pretty sweet on its own so I actually cut it with some plain soymilk but if you like your coffee pretty sweet there's no need to do that. Most importantly, it comes together in the time it takes to make a cup of tea.

Vegan Peppermint Mocha for One

• 1/2 cup Chocolate Peppermint Stick soymilk (I used West Soy brand)
• 1 cup plain soymilk
• 1 serving instant coffee (I used Starbucks VIA)

1.  Combine the two soymilks in a microwaveable-safe mug. Heat until warm but not boiling; I used the "beverage reheat" function on my microwave. Otherwise I would have heated it about 90 seconds.
2. Add the instant coffee and stir well to combine. I find a fork works better than a spoon here.
3.  Enjoy!

Cook once, eat for 2 weeks, or How to eat at home while leading a normal life

I am always intrigued and inspired/discouraged by those "30 days of freezer meals" posts on Pinterest. For one thing, obviously that sounds awesome, but on the other hand who has time for that? Or the freezer space? My freezer is currently filled with half empty boxes of veggie burgers, ice cream, and about 5 half-bags of bread. (My husband and I don't really eat bread but because I was raised with the idea that you have to have bread with every meal I buy some every time we have folks over. Then because I feel bad serving anyone month-old freezer-bread, I buy more bread every time we have someone over and the cycle continues) All that to say: I really can't see "filing" away gallon bags of tasty home-cooked meals any time soon. Besides, in my experience, many freezer meals rely on canned soup and other halfway-homemade ingredients that are absolutely glorious time savers but ingredients I prefer to avoid if possible in favor of whole foods (brown rice vs. Rice a Roni, for instance). 

Last Sunday, I cooked for 3 hours and cleaned and put away for another 1.5 hours, but after all that I was left with about 2 weeks worth of meals. Totally worth it.

The loot:

• Kale, eggplant, and squash lasagna (gluten free and could easily be vegan with tofu instead of cottage cheese in the filling)
• Pot roast (consumed with lots of red wine while watching The Godfather II.  Doesn't get much better than that...)
• Slow cooker pork barbecue (could have used a little more "backbone" and spice but you can't really go wrong with 10 lbs. of pork butt)
• Brunswick Stew (made with beans instead of potatoes and frozen veggie mix instead of okra, green beans, and corn. And it was delicious)
• Apple Crisp with the rest of our 1/2 bushel of apples left over from apple-picking weekend

I would say successfully executing any type of "cook once, eat a bunch" plan means boning up on the week's sales by visiting some great coupon blogs (my favorites are Homemaking Mom and For the Mommas.) before you hit the stores and just don't worry about trying to cook the same day you shop.  That would be...a lot. Finally, while you're doing the actual cooking, plan in general to start the things that take the longest amount of time to cook first. That way you can be cooking other things while they cook. Love me some efficiency!

For this batch this was my general cooking order:

1. Throw the pork butt into the slow cooker. Cover with barbecue sauce. Turn on low. (That's pretty much the recipe and it turns out fantastic!)

2. Sear the pot roast. Follow the recipe through to the simmering phase. While the pot roast is simmering:

3. Preheat the oven. Cut up the vegetables for the lasagna. Roast the vegetables. Set aside to cool.

4. While the vegetables are cooking, sear the meat and saute the vegetables for the Brunswick Stew.

5. After the vegetables are cool, assemble the vegetable lasagna. Cover tightly with foil and bake.

6. Finish assembling the Brunswick Stew and finish cooking.

7. Assemble and bake the Apple Crisp.

8. Set the lasagna aside to cool before wrapping with plastic wrap and saving in the fridge.

9. When the Brunswick Stew is finished cooking, set aside to cool before refrigerating.

10. When the pot roast is done, consume out of the dutch oven with one hand and wash down with red wine in the other hand. You probably don't have to do that but that's what I did and it was lots of fun.

11. When the pot roast is done cooking, set aside to cool before refrigerating. After refrigerating you'll be able to skim off the excess fat.

12. Enjoy the fruits of your labors alllll week (or weeks!) long!

I'll post the recipes and totally do-able game plan later this week. Have you ever done big-batch cooking? Do you eat the leftovers for lunch or just eat the same thing for dinner several nights in a row?