Woman Bursts Somewhere in NY

Help! Help! I am surrounded by mountains of sugary carbohydrates….. did I mention that they are extremely delicious sugary carbohydrates?
Right now sitting on my kitchen counter I have; "almond paste cookies, oatmeal cranberry cookies, chocolate almond bars filled with sponge cake and almond paste, sour cream chocolate chip cookies, chocolate cookies with white chocolate chunks plus my grandmother’s peanut butter balls”. That does not include the lemon mascarpone Italian cream cake we had at my cousins Christmas Eve or the 7 layer bars and ice box cake we had at my grandmother’s Christmas day. I just felt another pound stick to me just typing their little sugary names. On top of that for the last two days we have been feasting on linguini’s and lasagna’s with seafood and cheeses and meatballs, pork hocks, Italian sausage…….if you see a huge mushroom cloud off in the distance don’t worry, that is just me bursting right out of my skin!
I had better pull myself together so I can be ready to refill over the new years holiday…..
While I am doing that, I just wanted to share one of our holiday cookie recipes with you.

Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups oatmeal
1 cup dried cranberries (craisins)
1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Beat together butter and sugars until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat well.
Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Mix well. Stir in oats, dried cranberries and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Relishing the Thought of Thanksgiving Dinner

Thanksgiving is quickly approaching and it’s time to start deciding on which of the family favorites will be gracing the table this year. I was going through my cupboard and noticed a can of the jellied cranberry sauce which I do like but I thought this year I would much rather have my grandmother’s uncooked version of cranberry relish. It has such a nice bite to it. It’s not too tart and not too sweet; it has a wonderful crunchy texture and does a great job at cutting through some of the richness of the other foods and creating a nice balance. What is also great about this relish is that it can last way beyond the thanksgiving fare and grace many different dishes and still be around for Christmas (well maybe if you make a double batch).

Meema’s Uncooked Cranberry Relish

1 lb. cranberries
1 whole orange
2 cups sugar
½ cup chopped walnuts
1/4 teaspoon of salt, this is optional but the salt really does heighten the flavor.

Grind cranberries. Grind all of orange (skin too) except inner white part, just the colored zest in food processor or blender. After grinding place in bowl add sugar, salt and walnuts then stir together well. Place in covered jars or covered plastic containers, refrigerate and allow to sit 2 days before using.