Easy-peasy Cranberry sauce

Why would anybody buy that hideous stuff in can when you can make a delicious sauce yourself?

Today I amended my standard recipe a little but it is still easy-peasy with just a few ingredients.

2 bags of fresh cranberries (I pick through them to eliminate any mushy ones)
Zest and juice of an orange
1 peeled and chopped juicy pear
2 sticks of Cinnamon
3/4 cup of fine sugar

Combine all ingredient in pot and bring to slow simmer.

Simmer for about 25 mins or until 3/4 of cranberries have popped. If mixture gets to thick you can add a bit of water orange juice.
Serve warm or let cool and enjoy :-)

So will you still buy the canned stuff?

Sweet little scallops

I bought these seasonal little scallops that are only a quarter of the size of the regular ones that you can get year around - I was just drawn to them by the fact that they are naturally bite size and my natural curiosity to try all kinds of food.

Yesterday evening I was wondering what do I do with them? Too lazy to look up a recipe I remembered that I really liked the bacon wrapped scallops that I made for a brunch a few months ago. Wrapping all these little suckers seemed to be too much work and I was also not sure if I would not overcook them due to their size when trying to get the bacon really crisp.

Decided to instead make it a one pan dish - I loved the result and it won't be last time I make this dish:

For 1 person (generous portion = main meal size)
1/2 pound of small scallops (if you get the bigger ones I would cut them into bite size pieces)
1 slice of thick cut Pancetta cut into cubes
Red Pepper Flakes
Maple Syrup
Salt/Pepper
Oil (used neutral one but Olive would be OK as well)

Heat pan over medium-high with one tsp of oil, once at temperature saute pancetta just until it gets crisp, reduce temperature to medium and toss in scallops. season with 1-2 pinches of Red Pepper Flakes, salt and pepper. Cook for a few minutes turning 2- 3 times. Take off heat and drizzle 1-2 tbsp of Maple Syrup over top.
Serve hot with a slice of fresh baguette.

Enjoy!

PS: It smelled so good that I digged in before taking pictures :-)

Guilty pleasure

One of my guilty pleasures is... egg salad.

My cholesterol has always been high (runs in the female side of my family and does not change with diet so I have been on meds for condition for a long time ... and no I am not that old yet) so I usually try to avoid foods that are considered further elevating HDL but occasionally you have to give in - no?!!!

So today after getting a little agitated about the fact that my drive way is still not cleaned from the snow (even though we pay a sh..-load of money to have it done) I needed a treat. In trying to be not too bad I made up my own egg salad recipe which turned out to be really yummy (if you wonder - no, I did not finish it all in one setting... my day hasn't been that bad):

3 hard-boiled eggs peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon of low fat mayo
2 tablespoons of Greek yogurt
salt to taste
pepper to taste
2-2 pinches of Paprika and Cayenne pepper each
1.5 teaspoons of chopped dill

Mix mayo, yogurt and spices - carefully fold eggs in: DONE!

Enjoy on fresh baguette or nice crunchy toast.

I hate WATER

Back from business trip just in time for the big rain - and I mean big rain like soaking - pouring rain & wind... By now it is so bad that my roof starting leaking :-( I don't know why but I am jinxxed with water damages in my apartments wherever I live. I usually get lucky and find nice places to live but water is stalking me - maybe I should file a constraining order??!!

To ease my pain I am going to have "Blood Orange Royal" - yummy:





So easy to make but really delicious.

Bring 1/2 cup of sugar with 1/4 cup water, 1/4 cup blood orange juice and orange peel to a boil until sugar is dissolved. Let cool and strain through fine sieve.
1 part blood orange syrup to 4 parts Champagne - voila: "Blood Orange Royal"