easy cranberry and apple cake

I tried out another version of this tonight (with orange juice instead of apple cider- and it's NOT vegan or gluten free) for our monthly Teams meeting, and this one turned out even better, so I thought it worth posting. It got compliments all around. And it's easy, as well as a great seasonal dessert. Here's the recipe I used.

cranberry-apple cake (gluten-free, vegan)

I love baking with cranberries, and this was so, so good! (And the smells were remarkable). It would only have been improved with some walnuts or pecans, in my opinion. And I think it would have benefited from a bit of the flour mixture being incorporated with the carn-apple mixture beforehand (the recipe doesn't say to) because the fruity mixture stayed very moist at the bottom-- it was still tasty as could be with a spoonful of both the cakey and the fruity- a great combination of tastes.

From 11/09/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

Here is the recipe for the gluten-free, vegan recipe. I made mine the non-gluten and vegan variety (and with about half of the cane sugar than the recipe called for).

country pumpkin muffins (with walnuts and raisins)

These are my new favorite muffins. And they will put you in a neighborly sort of mood.

From 11/09/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

We packed up the autumn delights along with some Anjou pears and headed next door-- where an old woman and her epileptic son, who's my mom's age, live-- around lunchtime today to shoot the breeze on the ills of today's world. He calls me Betty Crocker for my homey ability to make baked goods without a box mix (though that's not always how we roll). And she commented that when she was mothering her brood of seven, she would have never have let her child go out looking the likes of Abigail, hair unkempt, no socks... She meant it in a complimentary way, though, emphasizing how much unnecessary work she put on herself (and driving herself crazy in the process), making sure her children all looked perfectly presentable, bathing them until they were ten years old herself. We like to make a big deal about the important things and leave the other things to the wind. They were taken aback at Jack and Abigail's good manners.

I substituted some wheat flour and some cane sugar here and there, and the muffins turned out fabulous. Plus, they were made with loving hands, which occasionally slopped and stirred some out of the bowl, inviting us to taste test (the batter's great!). And the recipe makes a bunch.

From 11/09/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

From 11/09/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

Ingredients

* 2 cups sugar
* 1/2 cup vegetable oil
* 3 eggs
* 1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin
* 1/2 cup water
* 3 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
* 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 1/2 cups raisins
* 1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat sugar, oil, eggs, pumpkin and water. Combine flour, baking powder, soda, spices and salt. Add to pumpkin mixture; blend well. Fold in raisins and walnuts. Spoon into greased muffin tins, filling 3/4 full. Bake at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes.

orzo with Parmesan and basil

In trying to use up some ingredients we've had in the pantry for a while, I seeked out an orzo recipe, and found this.
I used a bit less Parmesan than the recipe called for and used 1/2 olive oil instead of butter (which I substituted for earth balance). Jack asked if we could have it every day. I told him we'd make it again, but the likelihood of every day is slim. It was very good-- and tonight was a lazy night, so while it would normally have been a side, it became our main course complemented with some edamame and apples.