cranberry crumb cake

Fresh cranberries deserve more attention. It deserves more than being Turkey’s sidekick once in the entire year. Well okay, they are only in season from October to December so maybe not the entire year, but at least more than once during its season. My first memory of eating a fresh cranberry was of course in its sauce form, but because it's the only form cranberry is represented in. Just google ‘cranberry recipes’ then you’ll see most of them are sauce recipes.

Yes, they’re sharp, and yes, they’re too tangy, but lemons are just as sour, why do they get all the attention? Okay, I take that back. I love lemons, and I'll always be a citrus girl.

The point is, the world has been too harsh on cranberries. Enough with the rant. In this season of cranberries, give them cranberries another chance with this lovely cake. The sour cream keeps the cake moist and gives that nice 'tang', and the crumble topping might just be the best I've ever had. It's like sprinkling little pieces of cookies on a cake. You know how you sprinkle toasted breadcrumbs on pasta to give that extra texture? It’s just like that.

*Recipe courtesy: Samantha Seneviratne from NYT Cooking

Link: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020590-cranberry-crumb-cake

#cranberrycrumbcake #cake #cranberry

coconut Thumbprint cookies

Dare I say it? Thumbprint might be my favorite cookie.

When I was working in a corporate job in Seoul, one of the ways of ‘treating myself’(certainly wasn’t the only thing I treated myself to) was picking up Pepperidge Farm’s Verona cookies from the neighborhood bakery. You might ask, who buys mass mass-produced baked goods in an actual bakery? Me! Why were they selling these cookies in the first place? No idea.

I’d never thought of making these thumbprint or Linzer-type cookies until I lived on the Big Island of Hawaii, where the stocks for Verona were always low. Were homemade versions better? I think so. Would I still pick up a bag from the grocery store? Absolutely!

The shortbread base is from Claire Saffitz's Coconut Thumbprints from her book Dessert Person. The jam filling is Bonne Maman Apricot Preserves.

The shortbread came out a bit dry, probably due to using dry desiccated coconut instead of shredded coconut(and also the fact that Claire makes no mistakes - in her recipe).

#cookies #thumbprintcookies

Get-Well soup

I guess being an adult means making your own Get-well or feel-better soup (let's add it to the extensive list, shall we?).

Of course, I got sick during the busiest week of the year. I knew I had to use the little energy I had very intentionally. I would need half of it to walk my dog Charlie, and the other half to cook something comforting because being the picky person that I am, I wasn't craving anything from take-out.

So I decided to cook Molly Baz's Get-well soup from her book 'Cook this book'. I had all the ingredients already; chicken, rice, garlic, ginger, and some finishing toppings.

Although the brightness from the lime juice and the sharpness of the ginger was not what I was used to, I was surprised to find how well it worked without being overwhelming. Plus, something about the beautiful golden color seemed to assure me, as if I was consuming something quite valuable and beneficial.

Isn’t it interesting that so many cultures have the broth and carb combo as a healing cure? We see this in juk, congee, chicken noodle soup, and the list goes on. Nothing makes being sick worthwhile, but at least we know these bowls of broth + carbs will keep us company to get through the day.

#soup #souprecipe