Tag Archives: cranberry

A Little Piece of Calm and Zucchini, Hazelnut, and Cranberry Bread (Gluten free)

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There is much to be done. The freight train of the year is gathering speed and the scenery is flashing by. Why, it’s already the middle of March don’t you know. My little desk is gathering stacks of paper – lectures and journals to read, books to fill with assignment-worthy words, receipts and bills to be filed, story ideas to be tucked safely away until I have a moment to flesh them out more. Every day I wonder which bags I need to pack into the back of my car, which role am I acting in today? Am I the dietitian/runner/university student (Monday and Tuesday)? Am I the runner/social-media intern/writing race co-ordinator (Wednesday)? Am I the dietitian/runner (Thursday)?

I am lucky to fill my life with so many wonderful things; I am lucky that every day I get to play the role of daughter, sister, girlfriend, and pet owner. Sometimes it helps to have a moment to sit back and look at the scenery that surrounds me. Just a few minutes in the garden in the late afternoon, when the sun is slanting through the palm trees and dancing in patterns on the grass and the breeze ruffles my hair away from my face just right, there is a deep sense of privilege in affording myself a moment like that. I breathe in and all sense of stress falls away. My shoulders straighten and a smile blooms unbidden on my face. I sit on the paving stones with my feet in the grass that has become overgrown after our record rain the past few weeks. I nibble on a slice of cake and sip at my tea and just listen to the faint sounds of life gathering in the houses surrounding ours. The suburb is coming home, settling in for the afternoon, anticipating the weekend and all its pleasures. The time comes for me to return to my desk, but before I leave the garden I tuck away a little piece of the calm that has washed over me for when I need it later in the week.

 

Fresh out of the oven.

Fresh out of the oven.

Zucchini, Hazelnut, and Cranberry Bread (Gluten Free, Naturally Sweetened)

If you are gluten-able then you can use 150 grams of wholemeal plain flour in place of the buckwheat and rice flours. Don’t be tempted to replace the hazelnut meal with flour or you will miss out on the nutty, dense texture in the crumb of the cake. Also, ensure that you use real maple syrup, not maple flavoured syrup; one is a product of nature the other is a product of a lab. If you can’t get your hands on maple syrup you can use honey or agave nectar, or my fellow Aussies can use golden syrup instead (this may yield a sweeter result).

 Ingredients:

  • 100 grams buckwheat flour
  • 50 grams brown rice flour
  • 80 grams hazelnut meal
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon mixed spice
  • 1/3 cup maple syrup
  • 3/4 cup low fat milk
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tablespoons rice bran oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or extract)
  • 1 zucchini
  • 1/2 cup cranberries
  • 1/2 cup hazelnuts, toasted and chopped

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 180C (350F) and line the bottom and sides of a 9 x 5-inch loaf tin with baking paper.
  2. Prepare your zucchini by coarsely grating it using a box grater. Bundle zucchini shreds into a few paper towels and squeeze over the kitchen sink until you have removed most of the liquid. This will ensure that your dough doesn’t get sloppy. Set aside for later.
  3. In a large bowl weigh in the buckwheat flour, brown rice flour, and hazelnut meal. Measure in the salt, baking powder, and mixed spice and then whisk all the ingredients together until well incorporated.
  4. In a separate bowl combine maple syrup, milk, eggs, rice bran oil, and vanilla bean paste.
  5. Add milk mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until nearly all combined. Add zucchini, cranberries, and hazelnuts to the batter and mix until fully incorporated.
  6. Pour batter into the prepared tin and slide into the oven.
  7. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean then remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack.
  8. Allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes and then remove from the tin and cool to room temperature before slicing.

 

Sliced and ready to take to the garden.

Sliced and ready to take to the garden.

The last step in this recipe isn’t really necessary though. You can allow the cake to cool in the tin for the amount of time it takes to boil the jug for a cup of green tea, then remove it from the tin, slice yourself off a heal of bread from one end, and then pop out to the garden and enjoy the fading light of the sun. I am also planning to have a slice for breakfast in the morning. It should go perfectly well with my Saturday morning skinny cap.

Sit a while and notice the small things that make you smile.

Sit a while and notice the small things that make you smile.

So my dear readers, do you feel like you play many different roles from day to day? I know I get dizzy just thinking about how many hats my Mum wears every day (and how many more she must have worn when we were little).

Where do you take yourself for a moment of peace and gratitude (and perhaps a slice of cake)?

Cottages and Cookies

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When I was a little girl surrounded by my colouring pencils with nothing but blank white paper and empty hours to fill my afternoon I dreamed of a cottage to call my own. A dark grey pencil sketched the outline of thick stone walls. Walls that would keep me warm during the long, cold winters, which I imagined essential for a landscape where such a cottage would exist. A chimney, too essential, poked up from one end of the house with a little puff of smoke to indicate that the colouring-pencil Amy was home somewhere within and baking something delicious in the hearth. Windows with diamond panes and rounded tops. Lead glass that would colour the sunlight streaming in on my wooden floors. A red front door, always a red front door, would greet any guests who meandered up the winding cobblestone path.

Out and about in Hobart

Out and about in Hobart

Every brightly-hued pencil was recruited to create the garden of my dreams: cerulean bluebells blossomed next to spears of lavender; fuchsia peonies unfurled their baby-soft petals under swaying smiley-faced sunflowers; and tall, leafy trees surrounded the borders of the property lending shady spots perfect for summer picnics and populations of birds and squirrels.

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Bright flowers on a dreary morning

I imagined that I would tread the boards of this house with an apron tied over floral skirts that would swish about my knees as I crept barefoot out to my vegetable garden to harvest produce for dinner. I would spend long afternoons walking over the emerald green hills and down to the ocean that always appeared in the background of my imaginary home. Evenings would be spent curled up in my favourite red tapestry wingback chair with a book in one hand, and a cup of tea balanced beside a pile of volumes yet to be read. I would fall asleep in my white-curtained canopy bed listening to gentle rains fall down to nourish my garden.

Friends would be always welcome to my scarlet door, and there would be tea parties galore. Especially in the heady days of late summer when all you ever really want to do is wear a big hat, lie in the garden, and sip iced tea while nibbling on dainty treats.

While I don’t have the cottage quite yet, I do have the perfect sweet treat to whisk me off to colouring pencil dreams again.

I couldn't resist a bite before I took the shot...

I couldn’t resist a bite before I took the shot…

 

Cranberry, Orange and Poppy Seed Cookies (gluten free)

If you aren’t catering for a gluten-free diet you can of course replace the gluten-free flour with 300 grams of ordinary plain flour.

Ingredients:

  • 150 grams butter, softened
  • 150 grams caster sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
  • Zest of one orange
  • 1 large egg
  • 300 grams gluten-free plain flour (I used Orgran brand)
  • 1 teaspoon gluten-free baking powder
  • 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 180C (350F) and line two cookie sheets with baking paper.
  2. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, poppy seeds, and salt. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl cream butter, sugar, vanilla, and orange zest until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat to combine.
  4. Add flour mixture and cranberries to the batter and mix until completely incorporated.
  5. Pinch off tablespoons of mixture and roll into balls. Place on lined cookie sheets and press down gently with your fingertips to flatten slightly. Leave a few centimeters between cookies because they will spread a little during baking.
  6. Place in preheated oven and bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden. The tops may crackle a little.
  7. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely on cookie sheets before storing in an airtight container.

 

Davey Street, Hobart

Davey Street, Hobart

Tell me dear reader, where did you dream yourself away to as a child? Any treats that bring back tea party memories?

Angel in the Office: Almond, White Chocolate, and Cranberry Biscotti

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Every Thursday I make my way into the office, and although the traffic might for some inexplicable reason mean that my commute takes over an hour and a half, I smile, because Thursdays mean one of my favourite things: coffee with Jenny.

I am one of the lucky people who has fallen into a job that she enjoys, and even luckier because I am surrounded by an office of women who really care about the work we are doing, and the people we are working with.

There is a feeling of camaraderie and dedication and hope in the halls of our office, and I am honoured to work with every single one of the inspirational women in our research centre.

Lunch time view

Lunch time view

My office mate, my friend, my wonderful work-mama is Jenny. Through all the ups and downs of the past two years Jenny has been a calming influence, a shoulder to cry on, a partner in excitement, and a willing ear. Thank you, Jenny: for telling me tales of the sea and encouraging me to go out and see the world, for all the lunch times under the sunshine, for trips to the writer’s festival (are you free next year?) or yoga studio, for the coffee dates on a Thursday morning, and for being my angel in the office.

These are for you.

(P.S. You don’t have to share with the boys if you don’t want too…)

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Almond, White Chocolate, and Cranberry Biscotti

*To toast the almonds, spread out in a single layer on a baking tray and bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes. Allow to cool before chopping. You can store the toasted nuts for later use if you make a larger batch. Alternately, you can buy pre-toasted nuts in most supermarkets.

*Feedback from my last biscotti indicated that they were sliced a little too thick for some. This is completely personal preference. Me? I like ‘em chunky but really, it’s up to you.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup plain flour
  • 1 cup wholemeal plain flour
  • 1/2 cup almond meal
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 80 grams butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup caster sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla essence
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond essence
  • 2/3 cup white chocolate chips (or chopped white chocolate)
  • 1/2 cup toasted almonds, chopped (see head note)
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  • 2/3 cup white chocolate, extra

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 180C (350F) and line two cookie trays with baking paper.
  2. In a medium sized bowl whisk together the flours, almond meal, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, using a hand held mixer (or in the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle blades) cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and mix until well incorporated.
  4. Stir in vanilla essence and almond essence.
  5. Set mixer to low speed and add reserved flour mixture in three parts. The batter will start to come together into a thick dough and you may need to mix in the last addition with a wooden spoon.
  6. Using a wooden spoon mix in the chocolate chips, almonds, and cranberries.
  7. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured bench and flour your hands lightly too as the dough may be a little sticky.
  8. Divide dough into two balls and place one on each tray. Pat out each ball into a log about 24cm (11inch) by 10cm (4inch).
  9. Bake in the oven for about 25-30 minutes or until firm to the touch. The surfaces may crack a little, but that is fine.
  10. Remove baked logs from the oven, turn the oven off, and allow the logs to cool completely (about an hour).
  11. Once logs are completely cool preheat the oven to 140C (280F). Slice each log across ways into pieces about 1cm thick (see head note) and stand each slice up on the baking tray. After you have sliced both logs, place the biscotti back into the oven and bake for about 10-12 minutes.
  12. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
  13. After biscotti are completely cool, melt the extra chocolate and spread a little across one end of the biscuit. The easiest way to melt the chocolate is to place it into a small glass bowl and melt in the microwave in two 20-second bursts and then stir vigorously until completely melted and smooth.

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Allow chocolate to set and then serve to friends and family, or package them up in little cellophane bags. These make great Christmas gifts, especially for your own angels in the office.

Tell me dear reader, do you have an angel in the office? A mentor you particularly admire? Have you had a job that you really looked forward to showing up at work for?

Christmas is Coming, Life is Moving Forward, So I Made Cookies

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Some days life is hard, and great, and confusing, and exciting, and a little scary-wonderful. Sometimes a quiet year realises that its end is drawing near and hastens its course. Days flickers past your window without the opportunity to take stock of what is really important in that day. We become worried about having the right amount of things under the tree, about wearing the right dress to the office party, about the external and extraneous details rather than the internal and fundamental reasons behind this season and the opportunities it presents for us to look around and be grateful for our lives. Sometimes the speeding freight train of life is headed towards the cliff of a new year, and we need to pull on the emergency breaks and sit on the cliff for a while to admire the lights in the sky.

Trent and Jess on Friday night

Trent and Jess on Friday night

2012 has been a fairly quiet year for me, and then summer rolled around. Full of wonderful weddings and myriad celebrations, more intense training for the half marathon (only five weeks away), and the other pleasures of the Christmas and New Year season. December feels as though it is flying out of my grasp, and I don’t want to dismiss the beauty in each of the special occasions of this season. So, sometimes it is necessary to make cookies. Or sit in a quiet corner with a notepad and a pen, or zone out to some music while you take a walk, or however you manage to bring your heart and mind back to the present moment so that you can appreciate every wonder that you encounter.

Mama and Papa by the tree

Mama and Papa by the tree

Last Friday night my family embarked on one of my favourite Christmas traditions, which always reminds me of the true beauty of this time of year. Every year we visit the Christmas tree that is erected in King George Square in Brisbane. We have dinner, see the tree, and admire the Myer Christmas windows. To me, this is when Christmas really starts, and I relax into celebrating the holidays, and soaking up every part of the season.

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Cranberry, Almond, and Oat Cookies

Makes about 24 cookies.

These make wonderful Christmas presents, or an unexpected holiday treat for a neighbour.

To toast the almonds: spread out on a baking sheet and place in the oven while it is warming up. Allow them to cook for about 10 minutes. Cool, and then chop.

Ingredients:

  • 100 grams butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup wholemeal plain flour
  • 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup almonds, toasted (see head note), and chopped
  • 1/4 cup cranberries

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 180C (350F) and line two cookie sheets with baking paper.
  2. In a medium bowl, use a wooden spoon to cream together the butter, sugar, and vanilla until fluffy and light. Add egg and beat to combine.
  3. In a separate bowl whisk together the baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and flour. Add flour mixture to creamed butter mixture and beat until just combined.
  4. Add oats, chocolate chips, almonds, and cranberries to the dough and mix until all combined.
  5. Spoon out heaped tablespoons of mixture onto the baking paper. Leave about 3cm between cookies as they will spread a little when baking.
  6. Bake for 10-12 minutes, then remove trays from oven and allow cookies to cool completely on a rack.

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Tell me, dear reader, how do you remind yourself to slow down at this time of year? Any exciting early holiday plans?

Coconut Cranberry Scrolls

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Wednesday. Already the middle of the week again. I know that I am already thinking of the downward spiral that leads from the weekly peak of Wednesday to the under-the-covers-snuggle-pit that is the weekend. What better way to entertain thoughts and dreams of the weekend than to contemplate breakfast goodies that are sure to signal a sweet start.

Without further ado my friends, I present Coconut Cranberry Scrolls. Perfect for a weekend breakfast, brunch, or any other smackeral of snacking in between.

Coconut cranberry scrolls with coconut frosting

Coconut Cranberry Scrolls

Inspired by, and adapted from, this beautiful recipe by Kim Laidlaw, in this book. While there are several steps involved in this process, and it can take a few hours from start to finish, there is a large amount of inactive time. If you like you can put this in the refrigerator overnight and simply bake them in the morning. If you would like to take that option I have included a note below. Besides, when you smell the sweet coconut and jam smell wafting from the oven you will be pleased you indulged in the ancient comfort of bread making.

Ingredients

For the rolls:

  • 2 1/4 teaspoons dry yeast
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup caster sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 4 1/2 cups wholemeal flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 6 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

For the filling:

  • 1/3 cup mixed berry jam
  • 2/3 cup dried cranberries
  • 2/3 cup dessicated coconut

For the frosting:

  • 2/3 cup dessicated coconut
  • 1 cup icing sugar
  • Water

Dough in progress


Making your dough:

  1. Place milk in a microwave-safe bowl and warm in the microwave for about 45 seconds. It should be warmer than skin temperature but not boiling. Pour milk into a large bowl and add yeast. Mix to dissolve.
  2. Allow yeast and milk to stand about 10 minutes. If your yeast hasn’t foamed after this time it is off so you will need to invest in some new yeasty creatures to get the best results.
  3. Add the sugar, eggs, flour, and salt. Mix with a spoon to form a shaggy dough. You can add a little more flour if need be.
  4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured bench, and dot with the butter. Knead dough until smooth and elastic. This will take about 7 minutes. You may need to flour the bench a few times when you first start kneading.
  5. After you have finished kneading place dough in a large oiled bowl and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Place in a warm spot to rise until it doubles in size. This will take about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

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  1. Line a baking dish with baking paper. Turn out dough onto a floured bench, and punch it down. Cut dough in half.
  2. Working with one half and a floured rolling pin. Roll out the dough into a rectangle measuring about 25 x 35 centimetres.
  3. Warm the jam slightly in the microwave for about 20 seconds. Spread half the jam on the dough. Sprinkle with 1/3 cup of the coconut and then 1/3 cup of cranberries.
  4. Starting from the long edge closest to you, roll across the dough to form a log.
  5. Using a piece of cotton (or unflavoured dental floss) cut the log of dough into 8 pieces. Place these (cut side down) onto the lined baking dish.
  6. Repeat process with the other half of the dough.
  7. Cover the dish lightly with plastic wrap, and allow to rise once again, in a warm spot. [If you would like to you can put them in the refrigerator at this point, and then just take them out an hour before you would like to cook them in the morning.
  8. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

Third and final act:
  1. Slide the puffily pretty rolls into the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. Your rolls should be a beautiful golden brown, and a skewer inserted into the middle will come out clean.
  2. Remove rolls from the oven and while they cool a little prepare the frosting.
  3. To make the frosting simply mix coconut and icing sugar with enough water to make a thick paste.
  4. Drizzle frosting over warm rolls. Take a moment to revel in the blend of yeast, coconut, and warm fruit that will now perfume your immediate vicinity. This is life. This is good.
  5. Serve to your family, friends, or anyone who might randomly show up lured by the comforting promise that is baking bread. Or, gobble up as many as you can and enjoy some soul restoring alone time.

Just one more, just because I can….