Cranberry Orange Olive Oil Bread (GF)

I have some more days off now, and it was with great anticipation and joy for some unscheduled time that I made this bread, to have with my morning coffee and ponder the new year ahead. It felt like a lovely treat this morning after shoveling, that I ate while gazing out at the snowy world. I am calling it bread, though the original recipe from Mark's Daily Apple calls it cake. It definitely seems more (sweet) bread-like to me. And is SO GOOD, perhaps one of the best almond flour recipes I've had. It is moist and has a really nice crumb. I want to add more cranberries next time, because the tart bites are really lovely. It isn't overly sweet, and the coconut butter drizzle on top is genius. I feel really happy to have this waiting for me these coming mornings as we approach the new year! Yay!

• 2 cups almond flour
• ½ cup coconut sugar, Swerve or granular monk fruit sweetener
• ¼ cup ground flaxseed
• ¼ cup tapioca starch
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• ½ cup olive oil
• ¼ cup coconut milk
• 3 eggs
• 1 Tbsp. orange juice
• ½ tsp. vanilla extract
• Zest from ½ orange
• ½ cup fresh cranberries (or more!)
  
• Drizzle (optional): melted coconut butter + coconut milk to thin

1. 
   Preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large bowl, combine the almond flour, sweetener, flaxseed, tapioca starch, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, combine the olive oil, coconut milk, eggs and vanilla extract. Combine the ingredients and whisk until well mixed. Add in the orange juice, orange zest and cranberries.
   
2. Pour the batter into a parchment-lined loaf pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until the top is golden and a toothpick comes out clean or the internal temperature on a food thermometer reads about 190 degrees Fahrenheit. Allow the bread to cool.
3. If you are making a glaze, combine coconut butter with a small amount of coconut milk or milk of choice until it reaches your desired thickness. You can also add a squeeze of orange juice. Drizzle the glaze on top before slicing and serving. 

My notes to self for next time I make this: walnuts might be a nice addition along with increased cranberries. Also, because I lately love cointreau, the coconut manna thinned with cointreau might be the perfect touch. 😁

Labneh, Beet Hummus, and Chrispy Chickpeas

Seasonal Middle Eastern Appetizers! That is what I decided to make when I hosted my aunties for a family sing. My talented friend teaches rounds and 3 and 4 part harmonies like nobody's business, and has a vast repertoire of traditional songs from all over the world. So. Many. Songs. It does my heart good to have a person like this in my life. Lately I want to host continual and non-stop sings. ha!

So. Singing to feed the heart and soul, and Labneh with cranberries, Beet Hummus, and Chrispy Chickpeas to feed the belly. I was in Iowa City two weeks ago and basically swooned from the Labneh at Oasis Falafel. OMG. I really had not thought much of labneh before. I'd had it, but it seemed nothing to fuss about. Now, there is life with labneh. And it is really easy. Like, so easy you are not doing anything but waiting.

Labneh
32 oz plain full fat yogurt

Labneh with Za'ater

3/4 tsp salt
cheesecloth

Mix salt into yogurt. Spread out cheesecloth over a plate or colander. Pour/spoon yogurt into center of cheesecloth. Tie ends onto your faucet over the sink (or hang somewhere else, or put cheesecloth in a colander over another bowl) and let drip for 24-36 hours. Eat! Keep in a covered container in the fridge for a couple of weeks. Top with cranberry sauce (follows) or dukkah, or olive oil and za'ater. Eat with veggies, crackers, pita, falafel, kubideh, salad, etc.
*Some people put lemon juice in with yogurt too, I will try that next time. I left mine for about 28 hours and had pretty thick yogurt to start out with. Your labneh texture can be softer or more firm depending on how long you let the whey drip off.

Cranberries to go atop Labneh (title links to original recipe)

Overly thick cranberries!

2 c fresh cranberries
1/2 c sugar
1 T lemon juice
Zest of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 jalapeno, minced (opt)

Put all ingredients into heavy pot over medium-high heat. Once it is boiling, lower heat and cook until cranberries pop. (I left mine too long and it got pretty thick - but still tasty!)

Crispy Chickpeas (suggested amount - make however much you want)
1 1/2 c cooked or 1 can chickpeas
1 T olive oil
1 tsp salt
1-2 tsp herbs/spices

These do not keep long - they get chewy as they sit out, and are best right out of the oven. The main thing to know is to dry your chickpeas well, which I have done using a dish towel. This time I made my own chickpeas for the first time in a long while (think my vegetarian days in the early 2000s), cheaper and tasty. Heat oven to 400. Stir dry chickpeas on a sheet pan with the olive oil and salt so that all of them are coated. Bake for 20-25 minutes until crispy on the outside, shaking or stirring the pan once or twice as they cook. Sprinkle spices over the top (I made za'atar and it was delicious). 

Roasted Garlic Beet Hummus

1 large beet
head of garlic
2 c (or 1 can) chickpeas
2 T tahini
1-2 T olive oil
Juice from 1/2 lemon
1-2 tsp sea salt

1) Wrap beet in foil. Roast it and head of garlic (I removed the outer paper only) in a 350 degree oven for about an hour until beet is tender. Remove and let cool. Peel skin off of beet and unpeal garlic cloves. I used about 7 cloves in the hummus, and mixed the rest in eggs the next morning.
2) Mix ingredients in a food processor until smooth. *For a super smooth, creamy hummus you need to have one of those vita-mix type mixers. Maybe an immersion blender would do it too?

Pork & Cranberry meatballs

I make meatballs pretty regularly, often from Mel Joulwan's Well Fed site which has a whole meatball madness link page (I think I've made her Czech meatballs, Cuban meatballs, Merguez meatballs, and maybe the Moroccan ones, though if I remember right I did not like them.) I've been on a pork meatball fest lately, and recently made a Bon Appetit Vietnamese inspired meatball, where I learned that I can cook meatballs entirely in the broiler, which makes them really crispy and delicious.

This recipe is based on what was originally ground turkey to make a Thanksgiving inspired meatball. It was delicious with pork and easy ingredients I had at home (lemons yes, oranges no; baking soda yes, cream of tartar no). I ended up reheating a bunch of left-overs to go along with these, and this meal was a total star this weekend: roasted squash, pickled beats, the last greens of my wilted garden, and a bunch of saurkraut. I ate about 3x the amount of kraut pictured in the photo because it was so good with every other thing on the plate. 

Pork & Cranberry Meatballs (makes 12)
1 pound ground pork
1 T lemon juice
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 c dried cranberries
2 cloves garlic, minced
*1/4 tsp baking soda dissolved in 1 T warm water (opt)
(Mel uses baking soda and cream of tarter to tenderize meatballs sans breadcrumbs. I never do and find them to still be delicious. This time I did do the baking soda, for whatever reason!)

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prep a cake pan with foil or parchment if you like - these do get a little broiled on, but it scrubs off with a scouring pad.
2) Mix all ingredients except baking soda/water in a bowl by hand. Add baking soda/water mixture and combine.  Form meatballs. (Mel has us chill the meatballs prior to baking. Is it necessary? I don't think so.)
3) Bake for 20 minutes. I then put mine under the broiler for a few to get them nice and caramel-y. The exposed cranberries do burn a bit (the sugars!) so keep an eye on them if you do that.

Let cool a minute or two and serve! These were delicious with saurkraut and squash.

Sauteed kale with craisins

I've been indulging myself a bit since Thanksgiving with a bit of extra sweet stuff - most recently in the form of craisins added to my breakfast greens. Yum. I am still finishing up my garden kale - it is down to some of the small pieces that are also a bit tender from the repeated freezing. It tastes so good!

This is one of those recipes that you don't really measure, but I'll give some estimates to serve 2. It is sort of a hybrid of a kale recipe KP always used to make me with kale, onions and raisins, along with a raw kale craisin salad that was at a recent potluck I was at.

Sauteed Kale with Craisins
small onion, sliced thin
Kale bunch, stalks removed and chopped
2+ T fat (coconut oil is always amazing with kale, so I recommend that)
1/4 c craisins
1 T cider vinegar
salt to taste

Heat a large cast iron pot on medium heat and add fat/oil. Add onions and saute for a few minutes until they begin to soften. Add kale - pile it up - pour on the vinegar and then put a lid on the pan. Keep the heat low and stir often to soften up all the kale/make the onions translucent. The coconut oil should coat the leaves and help moisten things, but you can add a few teaspoons of water if it seem a little dry. After 5 minutes or so, add the craisins and some salt. Continue cooking another 5-10 minutes until kale, onions, and craisins are soft.  Serve! 

*Note that some toasted nuts (almonds, walnuts, pecans) would all be tasty on here as well.