Cranberry Bluff

by Deborah Garner

½ cup dried cranberries

  1 lemon

  ½ cup chopped macadamia nuts toasted

  1 cup quinoa

  ½ cup crumbled goat cheese

  Dressing:

  ½ cup olive oil

  2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

  ½ lemon

  Salt and pepper to taste

  Directions:

  Cut lemon in half and set aside 1/2 for salad dressing.

  Wash kale, remove stems and chop roughly. Squeeze juice of 1/2 lemon over kale, add a generous pinch of salt and toss thoroughly with hands.

  Cook quinoa in rice cooker or in covered sauce pan (2 cups of water to 1 cup quinoa, cook until all water evaporates - 20-30 minutes) Cool when done.

  Toast chopped macadamia nuts in skillet on low heat for 5 minutes or until slightly golden and fragrant.

  Whisk together olive oil, vinegar and lemon juice. Add salt and pepper to taste.

  Toss all ingredients together with dressing and serve.

  Cranberry Wild Rice Soup

  Ingredients:

  1 1/2 c cooked wild rice

  4 tbsp. unsalted butter

  2 carrots, finely chopped

  2 celery stalks, finely chopped

  1/2 c. onion, finely chopped

  4 c. vegetable stock

  3 tbsp. all-purpose flour

  1 c. fresh (or frozen) cranberries, chopped

  1/2 c. dried cranberries

  1 c. milk or half-n-half

  Salt & pepper to taste

  Directions:

  Cook wild rice and set aside.

  Melt butter over medium heat.

  Add carrots, celery and onion.

  Cook until tender, about 8 minutes.

  Whisk vegetable stock and flour together until smooth; add to mixture.

  Add the fresh cranberries & stir until soup thickens, about 5-10 minutes.

  Add the cooked rice and dried cranberries.

  Cover, reduce heat & simmer, stirring occasionally, until all cranberries are softened, about 15 minutes.

  Stir in half and half and continue simmering until warm.

  Salt and pepper to taste.

  Cranberry Cornbread

  Ingredients:

  1/2 cup butter (room temperature)

  1/2 cup sugar

  2 eggs

  1 cup milk

  1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

  3/4 cup cornmeal

  2 teaspoons baking powder

  1/2 teaspoon salt

  1 cup cranberries (cut in half)

  Directions:

  Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl.

  Mix in the eggs one at a time followed by the milk.

  Mix the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt in another bowl.

  Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.

  Mix in the cranberries.

  Pour the mixture into a greased 9 inch square baking pan.

  Bake in a preheated 350F oven until a toothpick pushed into the center comes out clean, about 20-30 minutes.

  Cranberry Pear Walnut Cobbler

  Ingredients:

  2 c. fresh (or frozen) cranberries

  1 pear, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces

  1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, melted

  ¾ c. chopped walnuts

  ¼ tsp. vanilla extract

  ½ c. plus ¾ c. granulated sugar

  1 c. all-purpose flour

  2 large eggs

  Salt (just a pinch)

  Directions:

  Preheat oven to 350°F.

  Combine cranberries, pears, walnuts and ½ cup of sugar in a 9-in pie pan or 8-inch square baking dish. Toss until coated.

  In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, melted butter and vanilla extract. Add in remaining sugar and mix until blended.

  In a separate bowl, mix together flour and salt. Add to wet ingredients and stir until combined.

  Pour the batter over the cranberry mixture.

  Bake for 40 minutes, until crust is golden and fruit bubbles.

  Cool on a wire rack.

  Cranberry Citrus Sorbet

  Ingredients:

  1 1/2 cups water

  1 1/2 cups sugar

  2 1/2 cups unsweetened cranberry juice

  Juice from 1 small orange, lemon or lime

  Directions:

  In a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the water and sugar.

  Bring to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally, approx. 1 minute or until the sugar dissolves.

  Add the cranberry and citrus juices and return to a boil.

  Lower heat to medium and cook for about 1 minute.

  Remove from heat and cool until it reaches room temperature.

  Refrigerate until chilled, from 3 to 8 hours.

  Transfer to an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.

  Transfer the sorbet to a freezer-safe container and cover.

  Freeze until firm. Makes about 1 quart.

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  There never seem to be adequate words to thank the many people who help bring a book from initial idea to finished manuscript.

  I could not ask for a better editor than Elizabeth Christy, who has the patience of a saint when it comes to working with me on revisions. Her expertise not only makes a manuscript shine, but constantly teaches me about the writing process and about myself as a person.

  I’m thankful for the excellent plot suggestions from beta readers Carol Anderson, Jay Garner and Karen Putnam and to Carol for her proofreading abilities. As always, Keri Knutson at Alchemy Book Covers proved she has the magical ability to see through emails right into a person’s mind when creating custom artwork. Tim at Book Design and More, and Clare Ayala, deserve kudos for print and eBook formatting services.

  Special thanks go to Valerie Peterson, Andi Caruso, Susan Foppiano-Valera, and Elisabeth Conley for contributions to Aunt Maggie’s Cranberry Cottage Cookbook, as well as to friends and co-workers who were brave enough to taste test items I personally cooked – a frightful task, indeed.

  Above all, I’m grateful for the steadfast support of family and friends throughout the development of this book. Their encouragement is what allows random ideas that float around in my head to turn into stories such as Cranberry Bluff.