All is Quiet on New Year’s Day…

Psst. Are you awake?

Glasgow is not open for business. Unlike New Year’s Day in California, today is a bank holiday in Scotland, a stay – in – and – shut – the – blinds day of quiet. At 9:30 we counted four cars on the bridge getting onto the freeway. Four. And here we thought this was a city that never slept.

Since our revels ended earlier (we felt overdosed on indulgence a bit sooner than others this year), we’re in an inventive frame of mind. A brick of Blue Dragon tofu whipped in a small food processor in the process of making a healthy soup sparked the idea for a lower fat version of pots de creme… (More dessert ideas already!? DANGER, DANGER thighs and gut!) But while we’re still on the straight and narrow — it’s ONLY the first day of the year, after all, a bit soon to throw the penitent eating schedule out of the window just yet (we’ll wait ’til February!), we’ll subdue our urges with this tasty Asian “Chicken” Salad. There’s nothing like a vinaigrette of ginger and chilies to wake up the taste buds, and combined with sobe noddles, shredded red cabbage and carrots, this is a tasty and very filling meal, and it only has a few calories. A few chopped peanuts give it a more Thai character, and add more protein.

We *would have* added bean sprouts, but we can only get them from the Farm, which has them infrequently. Area supermarkets only have canned bean sprouts. Those of you in California, you may now get up from the floor. I know — it’s horrifying, but we will survive. After all, bean sprouts are only sprouted… beans. A jar, a wet paper towel and some mung beans, and we’ll be fine.

But still: CANNED bean sprouts. In salted water no less. Wonder what they’re used for?

West Coast bloggers are taking advantage of post-holiday sales and stocking up on the goodies of the season: squashes and sweet potatoes and cranberries. We, sadly, aren’t able to do that; imported items are available for a limited time, then disappear. So, though we squirreled away a pound of cranberries in November, they’re all gone now, with the last of our sauce eaten. Boo!

There is hope — dried cranberries abound in the market, and we’ve found that a tasty sauce is still available using those. The recipe below does not include sugar, since if you use dried fruit may not need to add more, as very few stores carry unsweetened dried cranberries. Some people add from a quarter cup to a full cup of light brown sugar, but you’ll have to fiddle with this to your own taste; we prefer a more citrus, puckery-sweet cranberry sauce, and usually add no additional sweetening at all.

This recipe is based on one from Gourmet magazine, and has been fiddled with, by using ideas from another recipe in Epicurean, as well as our own ideas — we’re sure you’ll fiddle with it yourselves, too. It reportedly goes well on chicken or Quorn fillets; friends report that it’s tasty on pork or quail as well.

Dried Cranberry Orange Relish

1 tablespoon cornstarch (or corn flour, for those in the UK)

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup cranberry juice (try to get pure cranberry juice, or at least a juice sweetened cranberry juice blend)

1/2 cup fresh squeezed orange juice

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

1 1/2 cup dried cranberries

A pinch of salt

Optional: a cinnamon stick, to be discarded before serving

Optional: 1 orange, rind chopped finely, and roughly chopped, de-seeded sections

Optional: 1/8 teaspoon dried tarragon, crumbled

Optional: 2 teaspoons minced fresh parsley leaves, plus sprigs for garnish

In a small saucepan whisk together the juices and the cornstarch and add the wine and the rind, whisking until the mixture is smooth. Add the vinegar, the cranberries, the orange sections, the cinnamon and salt to taste and simmer the sauce, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. The sweetened sauce can be served cool, and will gel slightly.

Note: For a more savory sauce, replace the orange juice with stock, and stir in the tarragon about ten minutes in to the simmering process. Add the minced parsley and simmer the sauce for 1 minute more before removing from heat. Serve the sauce warm, garnished with the parsley sprigs.

The addition of ginger to this sauce will also wake up your tastebuds and maybe settle your stomach as well! Happy culinary adventures this year! Best of all flavors, textures and tastes to you, fellow gardeners, knitters, cooks, Daring Bakers and food bloggers!

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