Cranberry Salsa

Extended Shelf Life for: Red Onion, Lime Juice, Jalapeno

A teacher at the school I work at prepared this unique salsa just before the holiday's and I knew immediate that I needed to prepare a batch and take it to our family Thanksgiving celebration. It's sweet, it's spicy and it features cranberries, can a holiday dish get any better? Yes! Because you also get to have tortilla chips at your holiday table, and who doesn't love some tortilla chips and salsa?

Ingredients/Directions:

Run one package of fresh cranberries through a food processor or the mincing component of a high-quality juicer. In a medium bowl mix minced cranberries and 1/2 cup sugar. Mix in 1 drained can of Crushed Pineapple, 1 diced Jalapeno (or 1 thawed jalapeno cube if your a preserver/freezer), 2 Tbsp. Lime Juice (again, if you have frozen cubes, this is a great time to use them!), 1/2 cup chopped Red Onion and 1/2 tsp. Salt. Let set for two hours or overnight and enjoy with your favorite tortilla chips!

Tip: If you have leftovers (since it's a pretty big batch), AND you're in need of a quick lunch, make up a quick batch of brown rice (or quinoa, pasta, etc.) mix in a few large spoonfuls and you'll have a delicious and relatively nutritious lunch!

Pineapple Curd and Hummingbird Cake

As I began to fell like I was the master of curds and realize that it was essentially fruit juice plus eggs to make a kind of custard, I began to think it might just work with a wider variety of juices than previously considered and upon realizing I had just the right amount of pineapple juice on hand, I decided it was as good of time as any to go into experiment mode.

Turns out, substituting pineapple juice for lemon juice in a typical Lemon Curd recipe results in some deliciousness to be sure.

For true delicacy, make a Hummingbird Cake, spread some Pineapple Curd between the layers and top with either Cream Cheese Frosting or Yogurt Frosting...sure to please!

Pineapple Pie

I have never heard of Pineapple Pie until I stumbled upon this recipe at Happier Than a Pig in Mud.

I was thrilled to see a recipe that made sense given the available summer 'produce' in South Korea...now, don't get me wrong, South Korea has summer produce, but it's primarily melons and bananas, neither of which are entirely perfect for pies (although, I'm sure I'll do a banana cream pie soon enough). 

Were I in the states, I'd likely be enjoying some berries this time of year, but they are outrageously expensive here and since Korea does a relatively impressive job providing only in season produce, especially at prices I'm willing to pay, I don't have many options when it comes to 'fresh' produce pies...so canned pineapple?!? Why the heck not!

Ingredients/Directions:

In a saucepan combine 3/4 cups Sugar, 2 Tbsp. Cornstarch and 20 oz. Crushed Pineapple with juice (I ran my sliced pineapple through the blender...because I didn't have crushed) and 1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice. Cool this mixture slightly before pouring into a 9 inch Pie Shell and covering with a second shell. Bake at 425 F (218 C) for 20-30 minutes (because of the higher temperature, it is recommended that you cover the edge with tin foil to avoid burning). Remove from oven, cool and enjoy!

Hummingbird Cake

My friend Jen makes some lovely birthday cakes considering the size of her toaster oven and the difficulty of finding various baking ingredients. However, when it was time to celebrate her birthday we couldn't have her making her own cake, for shame. So, I bucked up and accepted the challenge. I'd considered making her a cake with every fruit and vegetable available at my local mart as she alluded to the fact that she would like such a thing, however she also offered a bit of more focused direction and ended up with this Hummingbird Cake as seen on Ezra Pound Cake.

Ingredients/Directions:

This makes enough for 3 layers - or two layers and some cupcakes, so it's a HUGE bit of batter, don't be scared.

Preheat oven to 350 F and grease your round cake pans. Combine 3 cups Flour, 2 cups of Sugar, 1 tsp. Baking Soda, 1tsp. Cinnamon and 1 tsp. Salt. Add 3 eggs, 1 1/2 c. Vegetable oil (I used combination of canola, olive and butter because I was low on all of them...), 1 1/2 tsp. Vanilla. Stir in 8 oz. un-drained crushed Pineapple, 1 c. chopped Pecans (optional) and 2 c. Mashed Bananas. Pour into greased pans and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Top with Cream Cheese Frosting or try out the Yogurt Frosting:

3 c. Powdered Sugar, 1/4 c. Butter (soft), 1 tsp. Vanilla and 6 oz. of Plain Yogurt - blended until smooth. Spread on the cake and top with slivered almonds or crushed pecans.