Cranberry Pound Cake

Posted on December 29, 2012 by Coco

I’ve been on a real cranberry kick this holiday season. (Did you see my recipe for sugared cranberries?) When I saw this recipe for Cranberry Cake in the November issue of Good Housekeeping magazine, I thought it would make a nice treat for Christmas morning. Now that I’ve had it, I can definitely recommend it for a New Year’s brunch!

As usual, I made a number of changes (some intentional, some not so), but I will post the original recipe. Continue reading →

Posted in Food | Tagged Cranberry, Recipe | 5 Comments

Tart And Tangy Sugared Cranberries

Posted on December 28, 2012 by Coco

It’s been years since I’ve made sugared cranberries, and after spending an hour rolling cranberries in superfine sugar, I think I remember why! The recipe really is easy, and they are so pretty and tasty the extra time in the kitchen is worth it. These would make a great hostess gift or appetizer for a New Year’s Eve party or New Year’s Day brunch.

I use an old Cooking Light recipe that basically calls for equal parts fresh cranberries, water and granulated sugar, plus superfine sugar for dusting the berries. I wanted enough to give to friends, so I used two bags of fresh berries (about 6 cups of berries). I was afraid my pot wouldn’t hold 6 cups of water and 6 cups of berries, so I cut the water and sugar back to 5 cups each.

Rinse and drain fresh cranberries, picking out any bad ones.
Add water to a large pot, add an equal amount of sugar, and heat over low heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar is dissolved and the liquid is clear. (This may take a long time.)
Bring the liquid to a simmer, but don’t let it boil because that will be too hot for the cranberries.
Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the cranberries.

Cover and store in the refrigerator overnight.

Scoop out the berries and drain in a colander Save the cranberry sugar water to use in cocktails, lemonade or iced tea.

Pour superfine sugar into a dish and roll the cranberries to coat with a light dusting of sugar.

(I found superfine sugar labeled as “caster sugar” in the baking section)

Let the coated berries dry thoroughly (for 1-2 hours) before packing into containers lined with parchment paper.

Aren’t they pretty?

They are great as a festive appetizer, or a garnish for lemonade or champagne!

Posted in Food | Tagged Christmas, New Year's, Recipe | 8 Comments

Knowing The Difference Between Badass And Dumbass

Posted on December 27, 2012 by Coco

When hurricane Sandy was rolling in, I had to get to the pharmacy. On my short drive there, I saw a woman out power walking in the driving rain and thought:

There's badass, and then there's dumbass. Know the difference!

I had to remind myself of the same thing when I took my new Garmin Forerunner 10 out for a test run on December 26.

Garmin Forerunner 10

The Weather Channel App said that it was snowing,

Weather Channel App (snow)

so I bundled up.

Nike Hat Long-sleeved running tops Running Gloves

I walked to my starting point and turned on my Garmin Forerunner 10. It took a bit longer to find the satellite signal than my Garmin 405 usually does, but that could be because it was its first use. Once it was ready, I hit the start button and began my run.

After I turned the first corner, it felt like my face was being pelting with sleet, and it sounded more like sleet than snow. As I started up the first hill, I noticed that the road was a bit slick, although I never lost my footing. As I neared the edge of my neighborhood, I was debating what to do. The precipitation felt wetter and wetter and I could barely see because my glasses were covered with drops of water. To run beyond my neighborhood, I would have to use sidewalks–which were untreated and accumulating a layer of partially frozen slush.

I decided that continuing to run would be more dumbass than badass. There was no reason to risk a twisted ankle–or a cracked Garmin!–from a fall. There was no reason to risk a cold from getting soaked to the skin with icy rain. Since I was keeping my Garmin dry under my jacket sleeve, I couldn’t even see the display, so it wasn’t much of a test run. I opted to head home, running halfway up my hill to minimize the time I would have to spend walking in what had become quite miserable weather!

Another check of the Weather Channel App confirmed what I had learned first-hand.

Weather Channel App (winter advisory)

When I got in the house I realized just how soaked I was. I had to change clothes completely before I could round out my workout time with Jillian.

This DVD jumped into my cart when I was doing some last-minute Christmas shopping. I have several friends who like it–I’ll let you know what I think when I’ve made it through all three levels! After 20 minutes with Jillian, I did my 7 minute plank routine. I had to keep reminding myself of this motivational mantra to finish each 30-second plank.