The Passionate Pursuit of Delight

Ingredient: baking powder

Cranberry Nut Bread

Cranberry Nut Bread overhead shot

Why do we only eat cranberries between Thanksgiving and Christmas? Why? They are delicious and nutritious! Dried cranberries broke through years ago to enjoy year-round glory but fresh cranberries still haven’t been able to escape the holiday niche. Enter Cranberry Nut Bread which is delightful in the morning with a cup of coffee or equally delicious in the afternoon with a cup of tea.

In recent years I have gotten a little bit better about stocking up at the grocery store on fresh cranberries in November and December but I have to admit that last weekend while doing a freezer inventory I found one unused bag of cranberries from last year. Sigh. Why? I love them. How did I let them linger in the freezer for nearly a year?

Cranberry Nut Bread sliced

I don’t know. I have no excuse, only the promise to myself to do better and to ask you to join me. Let’s liberate the cranberry to a year-round fruit. We love cranberries, right? Tangent: I want to make this Cranberry Lime Ginger Sauce for Thanksgiving this year! Doesn’t it sound amazing?

Did you know that cranberries are only harvested for 6-8 weeks per year? I learned that watching the video below. It’s fascinating to watch.

Okay, let me tell you about this cranberry nut bread. I have lightened it up using apple sauce instead of oil in the recipe. The result is a light, moist loaf. There is also a swirl of cinnamon, sugar, and pecans in the middle of the loaf which adds a nice crunch and sweet balance to the tart cranberries.

I would love to hear if you serve cranberries at Thanksgiving and how you serve them. Does your family like cranberries? Do they prefer homemade cranberry sauce or the canned stuff? Do you have a favorite recipe? If you do, drop it in the comments section below.

How to Make Cranberry Nut Bread

Cranberry Nut Bread Pin

Zucchini Pie

zucchini pieMy grandmother and Great Aunt Mary used to make zucchini pie every summer. Zucchini pie is not quite a quiche but not really a frittata either. The recipe that they used called for Bisquick baking mix and ½ cup of oil.

It smelled great while it was baking and was also a great way to use up garden zucchini. It packs well for picnics, potlucks, or brown bag lunches. Served with crusty bread and a salad it can be a light supper.

zucchini pie ingredients

This recipe is mash up of the zucchini pie I remember from growing up but lightened up with inspiration from the Crust-less Summer Zucchini Pie recipe from the Skinnyaste blog. I prefer the zucchini sliced rather than shredded and use only Parmesan rather than a combination of mozzarella and Parmesan. Although, I am sure the combination of both cheeses would be delicious too.

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