Dal with Three Chiles, Thank You and Happy New Year

Thank You, India 

Thank you frailty, thank you consequence, thank you, 

thank you silence

Green chile, dried red chile

Cayenne

Pink lentils (split) "dhuli masoor dal"

Simple Gujarati Dal with Three Chiles

From Suvir Saran’s Indian Home Cooking, adapted by Blue Heron Kitchen

This is quick and simple and I think it tastes better then next day(s). Pink lentils (split), called dhuli masoor dal, can be purchased at any Indian market. I love Patel Brothers.  There are many of these markets in the NY City region. Go online and look for “Indian Grocery Stores” and type in your neighborhood. Or, if you live in a neighborhood where the 'ethnic aisle' means "Old El Paso", buy your dry goods online. Try, for example, "YourIndianShopUSA" at Amazon.com. You'll find a ton of Indian dry goods there.

I use slightly less oil than the original recipe calls for; and I mix canola and olive oils. You can use all canola oil or all olive oil. 

If you’re truly Gujarati, you won’t use the garlic. Garlic and onion are not part of the Gujarati diet. Add some Asafetida or "Hing" powder (use this sparingly) or some minced, fresh ginger instead.

A bowl of dal with a dollop of yogurt (I love Fage (pronounce it this way: “Fay-ah!”) brand 0%, Greek yogurt) or raita and some salad is a perfect meal. It’s hearty, healthy, low in fat, high in protein and quite satisfying. You can have it in a bowl or over plain or fragrant (with aromatic spices) basmati rice. Or, if you feel like ‘other’ grains, try it with your favorite grain such as farro (triticale wheat) or couscous.

Namaste

Happy, Healthy New Year

2012!

peace and love,

jane

Ingredients:

1 cup lentils, picked over, washed and drained

½ tsp. turmeric (a natural anti-inflammatory!)

1 tsp. salt (more or less, to taste)

4 cups water

For the tempering oil (which adds the distinctive flavor!)

1 Tbsp. Canola oil

1 Tbsp. Extra virgin Olive Oil

Black mustard seeds are da bomb
You can get them at your local
Indian market or try Penzeys.com

1 tsp. black mustard seeds                                    

½ tsp. cumin seeds

3 whole dried red chiles

1 fresh hot green chile, minced

8 fresh or 12 frozen curry leaves, torn into pieces (optional – but try to get them because they’re extraordinary!)

1 small garlic clove, minced (if you’re true Gujarati, no garlic, no onion  – try some Asafetida -also called "Hing" – or throw in some freshly minced ginger!)

½ tsp. cayenne pepper

 3 heaping Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Juice of ½ lime or lemon

 Procedure:

Put lentils in a large saucepan with water, turmeric and salt and bring to a boil. Skim well. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, cooking until the lentils are soft. If you’re using the pink lentils, this will take about 15 minutes. “Other” lentils will take up to half an hour. If necessary, add more water during cooking. Taste for salt and if needed, add more.

They don't stay pink, silly. Turmeric turns everything yellow.

When lentils are soft, remove a cup and put into a small bowl. Mash them with a spoon and return them to the pot. If you prefer your dal ‘thick’, continue cooking. ("DALert": Because it is starchy, dal thickens as it cools. Upon reheating, you may need to add some liquid to reach the desired consistency.)

For tempering the oil: heat the oil with the mustard seeds in a small frying pan, wok or (ideally) a kadai (I bought mine at Patel’s – they’re Indian woks that have gone to charm school. They have beautiful handles and have perfect posture: they don’t need that ‘ring’ to sit upon. The kadai sits perfectly straight and still on the stovetop – no ring needed! And so far, All-Clad hasn’t produced one, so they’re still wildly inexpensive.)  Do this over medium-high head, covered. When you hear the mustard seeds popping (after a minute or two), uncover and add the cumin. Stir a couple of time for about 30 seconds.  Next step: add the dried red chiles, the fresh green minced chile, the curry leaves and the minced garlic and cook, stirring for about 30 seconds. (NB: curry leaves ‘spit’, so stand back when you put them in – or better, assert yourself and spit back.)

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cayenne pepper. Add a few drops of water to stop the cooking. It’ll steam up and go all drama and gorgeous on you.

Stir half of the tempering oil, all of the lime or lemon juice; and half of the cilantro into the cooked dal (lentils). Simmer gently for a few minutes. Transfer to a serving bowl and pour remaining tempering oil over the top and sprinkle with the rest of the cilantro.

(Or wait until you’re serving the dal, (dalink): reheat the remaining tempering oil and drizzle it over the reheated dal and garnish with freshly chopped cilantro. Or, if you’re like me, just add all the tempering oil, serve it tomorrow and c'est la guerre!)

Chocolate Sablés - Updated!

Chocolate Sablés - Updated!

Adapted from Pierre Hermé by Blue Heron Kitchen

These deep, dark chocolate cookies upgrade “slice and bake” to business class.  Use the best ingredients you can get your hands on (apply this advice to things you cook and to how you live.)

Some recommendations: Use European style butter (83% butterfat).  You can go nuts and buy French butter or use Plugra or Kate's Homemade (from Vermont) or Kerrygold from Ireland. Lately Cabot's 83% has been tasting cultured to me, but you try it and see if you like it.  Try Fairway or any good supermarket - Whole Foods is pricey, but their sales rock. You'll know your best market in your neck of the woods.


Use excellent quality cocoa, like Valhrona or Scharffenberger. Droste works too.  Chop your own: use Valhrona, Guittard or comparable chocolates. Easy: try Guittard's Akoma Extra Semisweet Chips, 55% Cacao (I found them on sale at Whole Foods.)  or Jacques Torres’ discs. You can buy Torres' 60% baking discs but there's a $15 shipping fee (what up?). If you live in NYC, there are several shops where you can buy his baking discs: Chelsea Market, UWS, DUMBO. 

Use the best quality vanilla extract possible. It's worth the cost.  I've been using Baldwin’s of West Stockbridge's extracts forever and I can’t describe how rich and unique their vanilla extract is.  Use fresh, moist brown sugar. Domino brand granulated sugar is always a good choice; and unbleached, excellent quality flour is important. (If you can buy locally milled flour, even better. But if not, try King Arthur's unbleached flour or Bob's Red Mill's flours - both great choices). You can’t create a bad sablé (literally, "sablé" means 'sand' in French - it's a texture situation) if you use these or comparable ingredients and don't fuss too much with the batter.

Ingredients:

1 ¼ c. all-purpose flour
1/3 c. unsweetened cocoa powder (Valhrona rocks)

½ tsp. baking soda

1 stick + 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature, 83% butterfat is best

2/3 c. light brown sugar, loosely packed

¼ c. granulated sugar

½ tsp. fleur de sel (or 1/3 tsp. fine salt - but use Fleur de Sel - it's better)

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract 

5 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chip-sized pieces (or use the Guittard chips!)
Optional (but a nice touch): 1 egg yolk (freeze the white - you can use it for meringue, angel food, floating island, or for brushing the top of Italian cookies!), whisked for coating the logs
Coarse sanding sugar (I like pure white, but if you like colored sugars, have a blast!)

Procedure:

Sift flour, cocoa and baking soda together and then whisk it to make sure it's totally combined. Set aside.

In the bowl of a standing mixer (Kitchen Aid, fitted with paddle attachment - get a silicone beater blade - you'll LOVE it) or with a hand mixer, beat butter until soft and creamy. 

Add both sugars, salt and vanilla extract and beat for another couple of minutes, until fully incorporated.

Turn off the mixer.  Add all dry ingredients.  Truc: put towel over the Kitchen Aid so

you and your kitchen doesn't experience a small nuclear winter. Mix on low speed until incorporated. 

Add chopped chocolate and mix until just incorporated. Be careful - don't overwork this dough. The less you work the batter, the sandier, crumblier and more etherial your sablé will be.

Split into two even blobs (hold them and close your eyes and feel that they weigh the same - like identical twins!)  Gently roll into two logs, each approximately 1 ½ “ in diameter.  Less handling, the better.


Wrap and roll in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (or for up to 3 days.) You can also freeze this dough: Slice it frozen and add about one minute on to baking time. Use a very sharp knife and  If they fall apart during the slicing process, just press them back together.

Preheat oven to 350º F.and place rack in middle of the oven.  I recommend baking one sheet at a time.

If you're coating these with coarse sugar, whisk the egg yolk, and using a pastry brush (not the one you glazed the tamarind chicken wings with), coat the logs and then roll them in coarse, sanding sugar. (You can skip this step, and the cookies will still be wonderful.)

Slice ½” thick cookies and place on parchment (I'm not a big fan of Silpat - I prefer parchment).  They don’t spread much, but leave an inch between for them to breathe while the bake. They're baked business class.

Bake one sheet at a time, for exactly 12 minutes (add one minute if they’re frozen).  These cookies may not look ‘done’, but remove them from the oven anyway.  Cool on rack.

Serve while still warm .. if possible. If not, they're still extraordinary. 

Yield: approx. 3 dozen

Storage: 3 days in a tin, a couple of months, frozen.

Suvir's Chocolate Nut Brittle

Suvir's Chocolate Nut Brittle

Adapted by Blue Heron Kitchen

This inexpensive nut grinder is perfect for the nuts on top of the brittle.
(You can buy it on Amazon.)

Progressive Nut Grinder

Here's my story:

I was a partner at Maurice Pastry, a wholesale bakery in the South Bronx; and we made great 'craque' around the Christmas holidays. Jeff Yoskowitz and Greg Golden were my two talented partners. After leaving the bakery, (I teach music now), I always made either our bakery's 'craque' or Rose Levy Berenbaum's Chocolate Brittle from her Christmas Cookie Book around Hanukah/Christmas. Craque is a no brainer gift.

My friend, Suvir Saran, a gifted chef, restaurateur, co-author of three cookbooks, foodie celebrity just published his third cookbook, Masala Farm. It’s a unique and personal cookbook; and, as you read and savor his anecdotes and recipes, you feel like you’re visiting his home at the farm, upstate New York. 

Suvir mentors and inspires many of us. Despite that he's ‘famous’, travels often, lectures, teaches, judges, appears on TV, owns and operates a fine restaurant, dévi, in New York City, entertains extensively, he always takes time out to write and speak with me and (many others), offering advice, jokes, encouragement and praise. And he’s always open and curious to learn from ‘us’ too. 

Thank you, Suvir Saran, for inspiring me, for your passion, dedication, humor and attention to every creature who crosses your path – from the (precious) blue heron and sweet goats on your farm to (just) us who adore food, cooking, humor and sharing the bounty and joys with the ones we love. 

Suvir's my own "Babu"; and I'm a lucky Heron. 

This recipe for Chocolate Nut Brittle is unlike anything I've ever tasted because of the spices that are infused in both the chocolate and nuts. My combination of nuts was a choice. You can use all peanuts, all almonds, or all any nut you love. (I’m not sure I would use all pistachios, but if you love pistachios, why not?!). I used Kerrygold butter, which Suvir recommended. It’s very pricey, but very gold and lovely. This is a gift, my friends – don’t go all Ebenezer on this.

And the chocolate? I used Scharffenberger and threw in some Jacques Torres baking discs (to achieve the Brooklyn quotient).

Grinding your own spices makes a difference. Go to one of those Home Goods stores or Bed Bath and Beyond or Amazon.com and get yourself a $15 coffee grinder and use it just for spices. Grind your own cardamom pods, your own allspice, your own cloves… everything. Buy more whole spices (they stay fresh longer).

This is a gift of memory. People will taste it and their eyes will roll high into their heads and their response will undoubtedly include a groan of pleasure. It's worth the effort and you can freeze any leftovers (if there are any leftovers) for several months.

To my readers, I highly recommend you have a look at and purchase this new and wonderful cookbook, Masala Farm.

Have a happy and healthy 2012. May the Year of the Dragon bring us all another year of good health, peace, happiness, lots of dinner parties and the re-election of Barack.

peace and love,

jane

Suvir’s Chocolate Nut Brittle

Adapted by Blue Heron Kitchen

For The Chocolate:

11 oz/310 g. chocolate (60%-70% cacao), finely chopped

1/4 tsp. ground cardamom

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. ground mace

1/8 tsp. ground allspice

Scant 1/8 tsp. ground cloves

Scant 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper [Blue Heron Kitchen: yes! … but it’s optional]

For the Brittle:

2 lb./910 g. excellent quality [Blue Heron Kitchen: Kerrygold, as recommended by Suvir.] salted butter, cut into chunks, plus 1 additional tablespoon of butter at room temperature

4 1/2 c./620 g. chopped and toasted nuts [Blue Heron Kitchen: about 250 grams unsalted, roasted excellent quality peanuts, 250 grams slivered almonds; and the remaining, unsalted pistachios]

1/4 tsp. ground cardamom

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

3 c./600 g. granulated sugar

1/3 c./80 ml. water

2 Tbsp. light corn syrup

1 tsp. fresh lemon juice

For the chocolate: Place chocolate and its associated spices in a medium bowl. Bring a small amount of water to a simmer in a medium saucepan and reduce the heat. Place bowl over the barely simmering water and melt, stirring frequently, making sure that no steam enters the chocolate. Turn off heat and move to a 'back burner'.

To make brittle: First, prepare the pan by taking that additional tablespoon of butter. Grease the pan and lay an oversized sheet of parchment paper over the pan, pressing it down to coat it with the butter. Then turn it over so the buttered side is up. set aside.

Place 3 cups of the toasted/chopped nuts in a bowl and mix with the spices. The other 1 1/2 cups, you can chop a little finer. They'll be the topping.

Melt the 2 lb./910 g. salted butter (Kerrygold is recommended, but any good quality butter will do - just be sure it's fresh.) in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in sugar, water, corn syrup and lemon juice. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally to ensure that the sugar is entirely melted. Once the mixture comes to a boil, stop stirring and start waiting. Using a pastry brush, dab the sides of the pot with water if you see sugar crystallizing. Stir or swirl the pan from time to time ensure even cooking and to disable burning. Continue to cook the caramel until it is a very deep brown, 25 to 30 minutes. If the caramel rises up to the top of the pan, reduce the heat. When it reaches 300º F./150º c., it's ready. (You can remove the caramel slightly before it reaches temperature because it continues to cook - caramel takes on a life of its own, so stand tall, concentrate, don’t leave the pot and take charge.)

Remove from heat and stirring constantly, to stop cooking, add the spiced nuts. Don't wait - pour this mixture into the prepare sheet pan.

Now wait for about 5 minutes. If the chocolate mixture isn't as liquid as before, briefly re-heat it over the hot water.

Now pour the chocolate over the brittle and using an offset spatula, spread evenly.

Sprinkle remaining nuts over the chocolate.

Let set overnight or cover with plastic wrap, for at least three hours in the fridge.

Break brittle into irregular pieces and serve on a platter or in a candy dish (Remember those?! My Grandmas had so many of them!). Store in an airtight container.

Give as gifts in decorative tins or in simple cellophane bags tied with bakery string or with a ribbon.

Can be frozen up to three months in airtight container or in a freezer bag.

Thank-full

Published in the Queens Farm Museum's newsletter.  Enjoy.

peace and love,

jane

Messenger 

by Mary Oliver

 

My work is loving the world.

Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird--

equal seekers of sweetness.

Here the quickening yeast; there the blue plums.

Here the clam deep in the speckled sand.

Are my boots old? Is my coat torn?

Am I no longer young, and still half-perfect? Let me

keep my mind on what matters,

which is my work,

which is mostly standing still and learning to be

astonished.

The phoebe, the delphinium.

The sheep in the pasture, and the pasture.

Which is mostly rejoicing, since all the ingredients are here,

which is gratitude, to be given a mind and a heart

and these body-clothes,

a mouth with which to give shouts of joy

to the moth and the wren, to the sleepy dug-up clam,

telling them all, over and over, how it is

that we live forever.

Chocolate "Gold Coast" Globs

After a foot of snow blanketed Colorado last week, shutting down businesses and schools and with the arrival of snow and sleet, accented by a few cracks of thunder in New York City today, I suggest: Soyez prêtes! ('Be prepared!'). 


In kitchenese: mis en place (pronounced: meeze ehn plahsuh) 


So, when it comes to the baking of these fantastic globs that fall somewhere between a brownie a cookie and a "chunky", the situation is that everything you're going to need is pre-measured and ready, like you had an imaginary apprentice doing all the dirty work while you were in make-up getting ready for the shoot.* 

*You can't tell me that you never forgot something like the sugar or,say, doubled the butter and not everything else (as I just did - I'm serious).


Stay warm and dry. Eat a little chocolate. And wherever you go, "soyez prêtes"! 

Chocolate “Gold Coast” Globs

Adapted from Judy Rosenberg’s Baking book by Blue Heron Kitchen

Here’s another great recipe that I’ve added a couple of my own twists to that originates from Judy Rosenberg’s All-Butter (etc.) Baking Book. I’ve learned from her publicist that she’s about to come out with a new book soon. I can’t wait to get my hands on it!

It is CRITICAL that you allow for the chocolate and butter mixture to cool sufficiently or else you will wind up cooking your eggs.

Use excellent quality chocolate. It matters. I use Scharffen berger unsweetened chocolate and Jacques Torres’ dark chocolate discs, chopped, for my ‘chocolate chips’. These links are suggestions. You can purchase Scharffen berger chocolate in better stores, such as Fairway Markets and Jacques Torres has his own stores in NYC - in DUMBO, Chelsea Market and other locations too. Look for these products and discover your own chocolate treasures in your own necks of woods. Or go online and order through Amazon.

I have used both walnuts and pecans, but you can stick to one. If you love one and hate the other, knock yourself out. Today, I burned my walnuts, so my cookies had only pecans and they were pretty great.

Always toast and cool your nuts before you bake. Toast them at 350º F. for about 6-8 minutes, until you can just smell them. Watch them carefully. If they burn, they’re toast. You can play around and try a combination of chopped chocolate, nuts and even some dried fruit.

The globs freeze very well. So, if you’re starting to panic about Thanksgiving, you can bake these now and freeze them between sheets of parchment or wax paper (I love wax paper) in plastic containers, tins or freezer bags. (For anyone with a chocolate kupf, they’re stupid good frozen.)

Ingredients:

5 oz. semisweet chocolate (Scharffen berger or another good quality chocolate)

3 oz. unsweetened chocolate (same as above)

4 oz. 83%, European style butter, at room temperature (Plugra brand is a good one)

¾ c. all-purpose, unbleached flour (King Arthur or Bob’s Red Mill are fine examples)

1 tsp. baking powder (I use Rumford - sans aluminum!)

½ - ¾ tsp. kosher salt (depending on how much salt you want with your chocolate)

2 eggs, size large, at room temperature

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract (I use Baldwin’s vanilla – always)

1 Tbsp. instant espresso powder

¾ cup granulated sugar

¾ c. semisweet chocolate ‘chips’ (or chopped excellent quality, such as Jacques Torres discs)

1/3 c. chopped pecans (first, toasted and cooled)

1/3 c. chopped walnuts (first, toasted and cooled)

Procedure:

Here is where the mis en place brings you great satisfaction.

Carefully measure out all of the ingredients for this recipe.

You’ll just dump one thing in after another and this recipe will feel like you ripped off the box top of like, a box of Ghiradelli Ultimate Fudge Brownies.

1.                     Put the semi and unsweetened chocolates and butter in a stainless bowl, large enough to accommodate them; and set it atop a barely simmering pot of hot water. Take care that NO steam or hot water gets jiggy with the chocolate/butter mixture. Stir and melt. Remove to COOL.

2          Preheat oven to 325º F. and line 3 baking sheets or ½ size sheet pans or jelly roll pans with parchment paper. If you don’t have parchment paper (you should get some), grease the sheets with melted butter or brush them lightly with vegetable oil. Set aside.

3.         In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

4.         Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs, vanilla and coffee powder until blended.

5.         Add granulated sugar and blend until thick. 1-2 minutes.

6.         Add the cooled , melted chocolate/butter mixture and blend another minute or two. Scrape down the bowl as necessary. (If you have a silicone beater blade, this won’t be necessary!)

7.         Add the flour mixture, mixing on low speed, until just incorporated. No more than that, please. Fold in the chocolate ‘chips’ and nuts by hand or with the mixer, on low speed.

8.         Drop the dough by rounded spoonfuls (I use a small measured scoop), leaving a couple of inches between, onto the prepared sheets.

9. Bake, rotating the sheets,  between the racks, turning them too, about 10-13 minutes, until they rise slightly and form a thin crust. Immediately remove the cookies from the sheets (you can leave them on the parchment) and cool on a rack.       

Yield: 24-36 cookies, depending on how globular you go                 

Cranberry Bread (with ginger!)

Cranberry Bread

Blue Heron Kitchen

            After comparing at least six cranberry bread recipes, I left one out for reference.  That one was Bernard Clayton, Jr.’s Complete Book of Breads.  I’m always happy that I own this book. The original is out of print, but you can get used copies for $.01. Not a bad price.

            Orange is a natural with Cranberries, which are also called Mossberries (I learned that from Bernard). Use organic Valencias (at room temperature, you’ll get a good squeeze out of them). If you don’t have fresh oranges on hand, use store bought OJ. But for gmo’sake, buy organic. Bob’s Red Mill whole-wheat pastry flour is great. If you want to go all out whole wheat, get yourself a five-pound bag of King Arthur’s White Whole Wheat. It’s my new favorite flour. Just be sure that when you measure out, you scoop and level with a light touch. Don’t pack it in. European style butter (83% butterfat makes a difference. It trumps American butter in every way. Look for Plugra or Cabot brand.  In the New York Metro area, find them at Fairway or better markets.  You can use French butter, but it’s a fortune. Save it for the sablés.)  Be confident in your butter. If it’s not fresh, it will ruin your baking. Ask yourself this: would I spread this on toast I’m serving to my convalescing best friend? If the answer is “no”, throw it out. (Truc: freeze butter.  Keep it away from other things in the fridge. Or, pretend you’re European and just leave it on the counter. Nobody’s dead in Europe from leaving his or her butter out.) 

I used pecans and candied ginger in this loaf.  You can use one, both or neither. Try other nuts or other dried fruit. Toast your nuts first (most often in baked goods – it allows the oils to surface and alters the product and taste … really.) Spread them in a single layer and toast them in a preheated oven at 350º F. for about 8-10 minutes or until you can just begin to smell them. Be vigilant when you toast nuts. If you burn them, you’re really out of luck.  Cool them before you chop them. If you toast a larger quantity than is called for in the recipe, store them in a jar. They’re delicious.

Wash and dry the cranberries thoroughly, discarding any funky ones.  I never look forward to chopping them by hand because they’re unruly.  Put them in the food processor and give them about 8-10 quick pulses and you won’t have to go chasing escaped cranberries rolling all over your counter and floor.  Use a medium grate for the orange rind. Microplane Zester has a really high-end box grater.

This recipe uses almost one full bag of fresh cranberries. You’ll have some leftovers.  You can freeze them or throw them into your food processor or blender with a piece of fresh orange, rind and all, (about ¼ to ½  of one), some nuts, currents or raisins or dried cranberries and sweetener (Agave syrup or stevia) for a quick little relish.

Ingredients:

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour or King Arthur’s White Whole Wheat Flour

1 ¾ cups granulated sugar

1/4 tsp. orange oil, optional

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. ground ginger (if you’re adding candied ginger – if not, it’s your call)

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract (I use Baldwin’s. always)

2 tsp. kosher salt

4 oz. unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and frozen for about 10 minutes (or longer)

1 ½ c. freshly squeezed orange juice (no need to strain – but remove any seeds)     (approximately 4-5 juicy oranges will render enough juice)

2 Tbsp. orange zest (zest of one large orange – just the rind, not the white pith)

2 eggs, size large, room temperature

1 cup chopped, toasted pecans

½ cup candied ginger, organic preferred

2 cups (approx. 8 oz.) fresh (or fresh/frozen) cranberries, coarsely chopped

Turbinado sugar for sprinkling on top of loaves (optional)

Procedure:

PREPARE:

Brush 2 large or 1 medium and a mélange of ‘other’ sized loaf pans with melted butter, vegetable oil, or a combination of the two. For an easier release, dust the pans with some flour. Be sure to give a good zetz (do it in the kitchen sink) to remove all flour that isn't lightly clinging to the butter or oil that you just used to prepare your loaf pans. You can do this step last once you see how much batter you have. But do have pans available and at hand so that you can get the batter into the oven asap. Once the dry meets the wet stuff, the rising agents will be activated. Think about how much you hate sitting in the waiting room or how great you looked when you boarded the flight.

1. Preheat oven to 350º F.
2. In the bowl of a food processor, coarsely chop the cranberries (or chop them by hand if you’re adventurous.) Set aside.
3. Chop the candied ginger into ½” pieces and mix with the chopped pecans. Set aside.
4. In a separate bowl mix orange zest into the measured out sugar. If you’re using the orange oil, add that too. Set aside.
5. In a large liquid measure cup, measure out the orange juice and crack the eggs directly into the orange juice. To this, add the vanilla extract. Whisk together. Set aside.
6. In the bowl of a Kitchen Aid mixer, or in a large mixing bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground ginger (if using) and sugar that has been infused with orange zest (and if you’re using it, orange oil).
7. With the paddle attachment (or using two knives or your fingers) add the very cold butter and mix until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.
8. Dump in the orange juice/egg/vanilla extract mixture and mix only until the ingredients are wet.
9. Add cranberries, nuts and candied ginger all together. Mix, either by hand or with the paddle attachment, folding in very quickly, until just incorporated. Less mixing means better cake.
10. Pour a little more than ½ way into each prepared pan.
11. Bake anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending upon the size of your loaf pan and the heat of your oven, until a wooden toothpick or a metal cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
12. Cool on rack before releasing from pans. You may have to run a sharp knife around the edges.
13. After releasing from pans, cool completely and wrap well.
14. Try to wait until the next day to eat these. The flavor will develop and improve.
15. These refrigerate and freeze well.

Happy autumn!

peace and love,

jane