Cranberries and Broccoli and Carrots, Oh My!

It's Friday night, we have six days until we leave, and we still have produce in the fridge. Oh my!

Last night we did a stir fry. Who says that you can't use leftovers in a stir fry? We cooked up some jasmine rice and tossed in chopped crystallized ginger when it was done cooking, removed from heat, put the lid on - amazing, easy, could eat this three times a week no problem. Then we cut some fresh broccoli into florets (leftover from when we had roasted broccoli), sliced baby carrots thinly (trying to finish off the bag), thinly wedged half an onion that was hanging out in the fridge, and sliced a leftover grilled ribeye steak (great way to make one moderate sized steak feed two people). Drizzle a couple teaspoons of olive oil or wok oil in a skillet heated over medium heat, toss in the veggies, and stir fry. I put a little water in after five minutes (maybe a couple tablespoons) and put the lid on to gently steam the broccoli. Remove from heat, toss in the steak, put the lid on, and by the time you have the plates out and the rice dished up, the steak has been heated through but not really cooked more.

Tonight is french bread pizza. Day old french bread bought at a reduced price, cut in half, and frozen has been pulled from the freezer to thaw on the counter (won't take long, maybe 30 minutes). Usually I cook down plain tomato sauce until thick enough to be pizza sauce, but tonight it's clean out the fridge, so we're using leftover spaghetti sauce as the pizza sauce. Top with cheese that needs to be used and some pepperoni that was in the freezer (takes 5 minutes to thaw enough to pull apart, if that), and we have S's pizza. For the grown ups, we'll top with lots of stuff from the fridge, whatever is at hand. There's a bell pepper in there, so pepperoni, bell pepper, maybe some onion or thinly sliced garlic. Leftover grilled chicken, pork chops, and steak make great toppings when thinly sliced and added at the very end of baking. Even kielbasa and taco meat work out great!

One other thing that I'll be making either tonight or tomorrow morning is cranberry almond coffee cake, a big favorite for S and for me. It's just as good using frozen cranberries as it is fresh cranberries, so this is one of my recipes I like to make in the depths of winter with cranberries I've stashed in the freezer. The golden color of the coffee cake, studded with brilliant red cranberries, wafting the aroma of almonds and cranberries is delightful, and paired with the tender but firm texture, the smooth almond flavor, and the pop of the cranberry tartness is something that draws me back again and again. I make my own almond paste, but you might be able to find it in your grocery store, especially with the holidays upon us. One batch of almond paste makes three of these coffee cakes. Buy up some fresh cranberries and stash them in your freezer to make this for the holidays! In fact, this recipe looks like it would also work with blueberries, huckleberries, gooseberries, or cherries, so maybe do some experimenting and enjoy the results!

Cranberry Almond Coffee Cake
1/2 c. almond paste
6 T. butter or margarine, softened (3/4 stick)
1/2 c. sugar plus 2 T sugar for sprinkling on top
3 eggs or 3/4 c. egg substitute
1 1/3 c. flour, divided
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 c. fresh or frozen cranberries

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease an 8" square baking dish.
In a small mixing bowl, cream almond paste, butter, and 1/2 c. sugar until fluffy.
Add two eggs, beating well after adding each one.
Combine 1 cup flour and baking powder; add to creamed mixture.
Beat in the remaining egg and flour.
Stir in the extracts.
Gently fold in the cranberries
Spread evenly into the prepared baking dish; sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of sugar. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

Almond Paste
1 1/2 c. blanced almonds (I like to use sliced, it comes together faster)
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 egg white
1 1/2 tsp almond extract
1/4 tsp salt

Place almonds in a food processor; cover and process until smooth.
Add the remaining ingredients; cover and process until smooth.
Divide almond paste into 1/2 cup portions; place in airtight containers. Refrigerate for up to 1 month or freeze for up to 3 months.

Both recipes are from Taste of Home.