2 Days until Christmas!!  Good morning and welcome to another exciting blurb from yours truly.  Today is the day we have been waiting for the last six months – We are moving in TONIGHT!  The Upholstery cleaning team did their thing and we are good to go.  We worked at the house until about midnight last night trying to get the bedrooms prepped and I think we are ready to take the plunge tonight.

As promised from yesterday’s post – I told you I would get a little closer with a fantastic dessert delivered to the party by a “zesty” cousin.  I am a pretty huge fan of bread in general but when you throw it into a bread pudding dessert, I pretty much fly off the handle with excitement.  When I caught a glimpse of the bread pudding and  heard rumblings that it was in the kitchen I went scouting with the camera around my neck, snapping pictures left and right to get a good shot for you. 

Cranberries inside the bread pudding is so festive and exciting.   It was so delicious, moist and the sauce was crazy good.  Check it out below: 

Ingredients

Pudding

• 1 Quart milk
• 2 Cups sugar (I use 1 white, 1 brown)
• 1 Cup dried sweetened cranberries
• 6 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons vanilla
• 1 Tsp. baking powder
• 1 Tsp. ground cinnamon
• 2 Loaves of white bread (Cut off all crust, cube andf then dry the cubes out on a baking sheet in a low 200 degree oven)

Sauce

• 2 Cups brown sugar
• 1 Cup cream
• 3/4 Cup butter
• 1/2 Tsp. Vanila

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 13X9-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Combine 1 quart milk, 2 cups sugar, cranberries, eggs, vanilla, baking powder and cinnamon in large bowl; stir until well blended.
3. Add bread and toss to blend thoroughly.
4. Pour mixture into prepared dish.
5. Bake 50 to 70 minutes or until golden and knife inserted into center comes out clean.
6. For sauce, mix sugar,cream and butter; bring to a boil in small saucepan.
7. Heat over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until butter melts and sugar dissolves.
8. After about 3 minutes and the sauce begins to thicken add vanilla.
9. Remove from heat.
10. Cut bread pudding into squares.
11. Spoon sauce over each serving.
12. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: Feel free to use raisins instead of cranberries if you want to go the more traditional route.  Nothing else in the recipe has to change to accommodate the raisins.

I want to thank my zesty cousin so much for a great recipe and the oppurtunity to share it with you.  It tasted fabulous and by all means if you try it – let me know through the comments or email.  Have a great Wednesday and I will talk to you tomorrow.

Take care

zesty

Download my Free Recipe Book: Simply Zesty

Happy Tuesday!  As I was eating pizza on Saturday night after taking a break from packing, I tuned into the food network where there was an episode on cranberry harvesting.  I was very intrigued.  I never really payed much attention to the harvesting of cranberries before, I just know that I love to eat them.  Whether they are fresh, frozen or in cranberry juice – I am a huge fan.

So after watching the episode I learned a great deal on the process of harvesting cranberries.

Did you know?

Cranberries are harvested in the fall when the fruit takes on its distinctive deep red color. This is usually in late September or early October. To harvest cranberries, the beds are flooded with six to eight inches of water above the vines. A harvester is driven through the beds to remove the fruit from the vines. For the past 50 years, water reel type harvesters have been used. Harvested cranberries float in the water and can be corralled into a corner of the bed and conveyed or pumped from the bed. From the farm, cranberries are taken to receiving stations where they are cleaned, sorted, and stored prior to packaging or processing.

Although most cranberries are wet-picked as described above, 5-10% of the US crop is still dry-picked. This entails higher labor costs and lower yield, but dry-picked berries are less bruised and can be sold as fresh fruit instead of having to be immediately frozen or processed. Originally performed with two-handed comb scoops, dry picking is today accomplished by motorized, walk-behind harvesters which must be small enough to traverse beds without damaging the vines.

White cranberry juice drinks are made from regular cranberries that have been harvested after the fruits are mature, but before they have attained their characteristic dark red color. Yields are lower on beds harvested early and the early flooding tends to damage vines, but not severely.

About 95% of cranberries are processed into products such as juice drinks, sauce, and sweetened dried cranberries. The remaining 5% is sold fresh to consumers. Cranberries destined for processing are usually frozen in bulk containers shortly after arriving at a receiving station. To allow air movement deterring decay, cranberries for fresh market are stored in shallow bins or boxes with perforated or slatted bottoms. Because harvest occurs in late autumn, cranberries for fresh market are frequently stored in thick walled barns without mechanical refrigeration. Temperatures are regulated by opening and closing vents in the barn as needed.

Information taken form both the food network tv show and Wikipedia.

Cranberry Sizzler

In honor of the cranberry, I thought I would make you my version of what I call the cranberry sizzler.  This high impact drink contains frozen cranberries and gives off a lot of attitude.  The tartness  of the cranberries really wake you up.

Ingredients

• 1 Cup frozen cranberries
• 1/2 Cup Apple slices
• 1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
• 1 Tbsp. Flax Seed
• 1/2 Cup Raspberries
• 1 Scoop of Protein Powder

Method

1. Add all ingredients to blender and mix until smooth
2. Pour into your favorite glass
3. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: When blending frozen fruit it is best to put liquid at the bottom of the blender if possible to avoid the fruit from stopping the blender and getting stuck.  If you have a high powered blender you have nothing to worry about.

If you have not already entered the latest zesty blog giveaway – do so right this second!  I cannot wait to reveal the winner on June 8th.  Have a great Tuesday and see you tomorrow.

Take care

zesty

Download my Free Recipe Book: Simply Zesty