I’d like to talk about recipe disasters first before I get into this awesome (but slightly flawed) cranberry oat and honey bread.
When I started this little culinary adventure, my goal was to at least try a new recipe a week.
As you can probably guess, when it comes to trying out new recipes, I’ve had my share of failures – I’ve been assured that this happens to everyone.

There are many reasons why recipes fail, and for me, most of the time it’s usually because of something I did (or didn’t do)
I will be honest here as I’m not one lay undue blame on other people (unless you’re my parent, then it’s all your fault!)
90% of the time, it’s my fault the recipe failed, and that’s because as my mom would say “I don’t listen”.

Because my diet is typically plant-based, I make a lot of substitutions, especially when it comes to baking; ground flax or banana replaces eggs, and nut-milk usually replaces dairy.
While this works out great most of the time, there are limits… like, if a recipe calls for a dozen eggs; chances are substituting those for flax will result in horrible failure.

Following instructions used to be another one; I’ve gradually come to understand that following the simplest of instructions saves you so much heartache in the end – like, if the recipe says bake at 350 for 40 minutes, don’t be a smartass and bake at 375 for 30 minutes because you’re in a hurry, chances are, you’ll end up with a lovely looking cranberry oat and honey bread with an uncooked middle.

One very simple thing I’ve learned that also helps avert recipe disasters is planning; the French have a phrase for it; mise en place – have your ingredients prepared and ready before you begin.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve in a rush made bread and forgotten the yeast!

I was gifted with several pounds of fresh cranberries over the holidays, I kept them in the freezer while I googled ‘what can you make with fresh cranberries?’, eventually I found this cranberry oat and honey bread.

I made it hastily one night to take on a hike. The next morning I cut three slices… the fourth slice was soft and still gooey in the middle. I salvaged what I could, cut the half-baked part into thin slices and put them back in the oven, the results was something resembling a poor man’s Raincoast Crisps, still delicious but not what I was going for.

So the take away here is that when it comes to this bread, don’t be like me, stick to the cooking instructions and let it cook through. Do insert a toothpick in the center and make sure it comes out clean before you take it out of the oven, because it’s a wonderful, wonderful bread.

I have a confession to make: whenever I’m at Ikea I always end up at the food market, I usually ponder how bizarre it is to get excited about food from a furniture store, and I always walk away with some lingonberry jam and Daim.
I love lingonberry jam…
It’s one of those preserves that has a delicious balance of sweetness and tartness – it’s used as a condiment in sweet and savoury dishes in Scandinavia where it grows wild.
I usually stir it into my porridge, use it in thumbprint cookies, or just on toast or pancakes.

I initially used lingonberry jam in this pie only because I was out of blueberry jam – which is what the recipe I found calls for.
This pie is buttery, sweet and slightly tart – a simple and truly lovely dessert.
It’s based on the traditional Icelandic ‘wedded bliss cake’, which from what I’ve gathered uses rhubarb or prune jam, but I think lingonberry jam works perfectly here too.
This first time I made it, I served it with vanilla sauce (using Bird’s Custard Powder).
It’s good with whipped cream, or ice cream or plain.
It’s also one of those pies that tastes better the next day – I call them ‘next day pies’

 

I don’t do well with chaos and transitions; but that’s exactly what I’ve had to contend with these past couple of days.
See, the bathroom is being renovated; this needed to happen, but I wasn’t prepared the mess and upheaval that came with the process.
I thought about checking into a hotel for a few days – but luckily, I can recognize when I’m being a tad dramatic.
The repairs took just a few days, and the new bathroom is nice – almost worth the inconvenience.
This weekend was settling, all we did was put up the Christmas tree.
And for dinner both nights we made salad; a hasty salad – put together using stuff from around the house; apples, nuts, raisins and arugula.
The arugula, apple and walnuts salad is a take on Waldorf salad, based on this variation using Kale.
I love this salad, especially the dressing which uses apples, raisins and walnuts.
The dressing is creamy and tangy from the vinegar; and the salad is crisp, crunchy, sweet and tangy.

 

I’ve had ice cream on my mind these past few days, I know it’s a strange time to want ice cream; it’s rainy and cold.
I made coconut milk ice cream all summer long, I’ve decided ice cream is good all year round so I’m going to keep at it.

I’ve been making this coconut milk ice cream for several years now, it’s why I started buying canned coconut milk, and now I’ve found so many other uses for it – from baking to whipped cream. I have a few too many cans of coconut milk in my pantry, and this weekend we’re making ice cream!

This recipe has evolved, and I suspect it will continue to; lately I’ve been adding a arrowroot powder to the mix and I do get great creamy results.

I quite like it; a comforting bowl of ice cream on a cold rainy day.
It’s no bowl of soup but this works too!
I try to keep a variety of toppings on hand; toasted coconuts flakes, nuts, sprinkles and sauces… mango, chocolate, strawberry…

 

A couple of months ago I got a jar of morello cherries (in light syrup) from Trader Joe’s.
It was a bit of an impulse buy, but I’d always wanted to try them.
The lone jar sat in the cupboard for a few months, them one day I just started eating them straight out of the jar.
These cherries are wonderful; I wish I could find them fresh when in season.
I love to pile them atop pancakes too.

I thought about tossing some into a batch of banana bread I was making a while back.
I thought about it for a second and just dumped them in!
It turned out beautifully tart – perfect breakfast fare.
It was delicious the next day with a bit of almond butter sauce
And the syrup from the cherries is spectacular in smoothies