Recipe of the week: Persimmon Pudding

This is one of my favorite desserts, its too bad persimmons are only ripe during the holidays.  It's one of the first things I learned to make when I really started cooking in high school.  You need really ripe persimmons for this, I bought mine and let them sit for a week.  You only use the pulp, I peeled mine and sorta smashed it with a fork.  I used pecans this time but you can use walnuts if you like them better.  Some people put raisins in theirs but I don't really like cooked raisins unless they're in oatmeal cookies.  If you try it let me know what you think.  A Votre Sante!

2 cups of persimmon pulp

3 eggs

1 1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

1/2 nutmeg

1/2 cup melted butter

2 1/2 cups evaporated milk

1 1/2 cup whole wheat or unbleached flour

1 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  In a large bowl add the eggs to the persimmon pulp, whisk in the sugar.  Add baking powder, soda, salt and spices.  Pour in melted butter, stir and add the evaporated milk.  The mixture will be sort of soupy, whisk in flour, fold in chopped nuts.  Pour into a greased 9 X 13 pan.  Bake for 1 hour or until knife comes out clean.  Serve with whipped cream.

Things I love about December

So here we are, already December 2nd.  There's lots of things I love about this time of year, so I thought I'd share a few with you.  These are in no particular order.

1. I love how most everyone is friendly
2. Hearing Christmas songs like O Holy Night in the grocery store, what other time of year would you hear a worship song at Vons!
3. Reading Luke 2 and drinking homemade hot cocoa on Christmas Eve
4. Getting to say Merry Christmas or Happy New Year instead of just 'Hello', it's so much more fun.
5. Going to look at Christmas lights
6. Making cookies and marshmallows with my kids, sister, niece and nephews
7. Baking some of my favorite bread and cookie recipes and taking them to friends
8. My mom's English toffee, it's the only time of year she makes it
9. Getting together with friends and family just because
10. Dressing up, just to be festive

What are your favorite things about the Holidays?

Recipe of the week: Cranberry Bread

I love baking for the holidays!  Cranberries are only in season this time of year so I try to buy a few bags and freeze them.  This is one of my favorite recipes and I'd say, hands down it's the one people ask me for the most.  It's great by itself or with cream cheese on it.  I love to put it on holiday goodie platters because it's pretty.  I usually use one cup of unbleached and one cup of whole wheat flour.  Let me know what you think. A Votre Sante!

Cranberry Bread

Ingredients:
2 cups unbleached flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup butter
1 egg
1-2 Tbsp orange rind
3/4 cup orange juice
1 cup golden raisins
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh cranberries
1 cup chopped pecans

Mix the dry ingredients together into one bowl.  Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Stir egg with orange rind and orange juice.  Blend mixture into flour mixture, stir until just moistened.  Fold in cranberries, raisins and nuts.
Spoon into 2 small greased loaf pans or 2 large one.  Bake at 350 degrees for 60 to 75 minutes.  Sixty  minutes for 2 loaves and 75 for 1...or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool in pan for at least 5 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack.  Store wrapped, wait 12-24 hours before slicing.

How to eat healthy at parties

The holiday party season is upon us.  I know there's tons of advice out there on this subject, here's mine...

It's not impossible to eat healthy at parties, it just takes a little planning.  One night won't ruin your fitness/weight loss goals.  My strategy is to bring something that I know I will eat and I try not to arrive starving.  It's a lot harder to make good choices if you're really hungry.

I always offer to bring a salad or a vegetable tray.  Your hostess will most likely appreciate your help.  (In my group of friends I'm known for my salads!)  Costco has large vegetable trays with a lowfat peppercorn ranch dip for about $10.   (They don't usually have celery on them, so I like to slice some up and take it on the side)

I try to make my salads very colorful.  I usually use an organic greens mix, sliced tomatoes or cherry tomatoes, sliced yellow or orange peppers, olives, avocado, sometimes dried cranberries, sliced almonds, or sunflower seeds.  I'll slice cucumbers and either red or green onions and take them on the side (because I don't like them).  I also like to grate carrots, raw beets, or zucchini.  I don't put meat in my salads because I want there to be at least one vegetarian option.  You can add cheese if you like, sometimes I'll add feta.  There's plenty of dressings out there that are healthy options, Trader Joe's has several, I also like Paul Newman's brand or Litehouse makes some good ones.

I like Bethenny Frankel's advice, "taste everything and eat nothing".  To me that means have a little bite of whatever it is you want, just don't go overboard.  You'll be less likely to overeat if you have a little bit of that brownie or red velvet cake.

The most important thing is to drink plenty of water!  Lots of party foods are really high in sodium.  I also try to get in at least 30 minutes of some kind of cardio in early in the day.

A Votre Sante!