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December 23, 2007
Soy Ginger Balsamic Cranberry Sauce
Those of you who read the blog for the recipes (just like those of you who read Playboy for the articles) must be really bored by now. It's not that I haven't cooked, though I haven't cooked all that often lately as I've been out for work or out of town quite a bit. But I haven't done much new creative cooking.
Today, h owever, I have as usual entirely by accident created something really cool.
Here's how you do it:
About 200 g cranberries
Water to boil them in to get them to pop
1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
A bit of sucralose or Splenda (or God forbid sugar) to taste
Powdered ginger, to taste
Boil the berries, add the other stuff, try it till it works. You could put some lemon juice in there too if you wanted to make it just a touch more tarty bitey ish.
This would make a really fun sauce for leftover turkey after Christmas, or a good dressing on salad (that's how I'm using it today for lunch, ontop of a salad of mixed greens, Quorn tenders and hot roasted cauliflower) or as a sauce for most any protein source, vegetarian or not.
Holiday cooking has been fun so far. MR's parents came over last night for dinner and I made de Grey Stew, which is a combination of Muir Glen organic fire roasted tomatoes, Quorn tenders and grounds, and any vegetable I have in the house. Spiced up with cumin, cayenne, garlic, and whatever hot sauce I put my hands on first (Texas Pete, Tabasco chipotle flavored, and Emerill's green sauce) and a teaspoon of flax for all. On the side I served a salad of greens with fresh pears dusted with cinnamon and topped with a hazelnut oil and balsamic vinegar dressing. MR's mom brought over her roasted cauliflower, which was delicious.
Tomorrow the Christmas extravaganza begins. MR's family does the traditional dinner on Christmas Day, so I have a free hand on Christmas eve. I'm planning to make a shrimp and scallop dish in a roasted red pepper sauce. I may even grab some kalamata olives to mess with the sauce a bit more. Not sure which side dishes I plan to use, but will think of something.
Christmas Day I'm making my peppers stuffed with basil, tomato and goat cheese dish. It's red and green! I've always had good luck with this dish, ever since I served it to my then-vegetarian boyfriend my senior year in college... the one with the long hair and rather difficult to navigate around piercings. It's a perfect Christmas brunch dish, but it needs a side and I'm not sure what to put on the side. Pre-CR I served it with yellow rice. Suggestions? Maybe a big pumpkin dish... but nothing to confuse with the Jack Daniels sweet potatoes we'll be having Christmas night. I'm also making my dad's Bloody Mary recipe because it really can't be a daytime holiday without Bloody Mary's. That recipe is:
Clamato juice
horseradish
fresh lime
Tabasco
Worchestershire
vodka
Christmas dinner will be the traditional turkey with stuffing and gravy and Jack Daniels sweet potatoes and mashed cauliflower and stuff.
Sometime this year I am going to make my apple pie... it's a tart granny smith apple pie with a homemade graham cracker crust. I remember years ago sitting on the porch at one of the collective houses in West Philly watching one amazing girl activist dig into my apple pie with her bare fingers. It's not exactly CR-friendly, but I could have one bite a day for a month and share the rest with non-CR'd people.
Okay, time to serve lunch. More soon... and I promise I'll post more recipes!
Posted by april at December 23, 2007 10:08 AM
Comments
These recipes sound great - I will definitely try them - especially the pears. Not sure exactly what Quorn tenders are - we have Quorn in the UK but not tenders. Have you tried cauliflower rice? Just shred it coarsely then steam about 3 minutes till done. So far I have served it plain but I bet it would absorb spices and dressings really well.
Posted by: Linda at December 23, 2007 1:05 PM
Side dish = braised / grilled fennel.
Merry Xmas!
Posted by: Sara at December 23, 2007 1:19 PM
Definitely restart, for me too...
Coriander goes really great with savory pumpkin dishes. I make one where ı dice the pumpkin, sautee it in a tiny bit of water with white onions, add coriander 8freshly grounded best), then let it cook in its own water for a while. Then, after it's done, I add some olive. I eat it with garlic non-fat plain yogurt (a turkish classic, we like to use garlic yogurt on top of everything and it makes everything taste amazing!) Try it sometime darlingimu, it's really yummy!
Posted by: zeynep at December 27, 2007 6:00 PM
I meant olive oil in my recipe savory pumpkin dish recipe of course, not olives! Typo, sorry...And it reminds me, for god's sake, everybody, don't ever use olives for cooking or in cooked dishes. It's against their nature to be cooked. They're meant to be appreciated as they are, raw, salty and weird.
Posted by: zeynep at December 27, 2007 6:03 PM