Cranberry bread rises to occasion

Recipes that appear in Idea Alley have not been tested by the Arkansas Democrat-gazette.

Elizabeth Rabeneck shares this cranberry bread recipe from Southern Living, in response to Virginia Casteel’s request.

Cranberry-nut Bread

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1⁄2 teaspoon salt

1⁄4 cup granulated sugar

1⁄2 cup buttermilk

1 egg, well beaten

1 cup whole-berry cranberry sauce

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Heat oven to 300 degrees. Generously grease an 81⁄ 2- inch loaf pan; set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt and sugar and mix well. Add buttermilk, egg and cranberry sauce and stir to combine (do not beat). Stir in pecans. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake 1 hour or until a pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely.

Makes 1 loaf.

Barbara Sue Turner shares a slightly different recipe, which uses cinnamon, orange juice and lemon flavoring. Turner’s recipe is from cooks.com.

Cranberry Sauce Bread

2 cups all-purpose flour

3⁄4 teaspoon salt

1⁄2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 1⁄4 teaspoons baking soda

1⁄2 teaspoon baking powder

3⁄4 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons shortening, melted

1 egg, beaten

1⁄3 cup orange juice

1⁄4 teaspoon lemon flavoring

1 (16-ounce) can whole cranberry sauce

Coat a standard loaf pan with baking spray or grease and flour, shaking out excess; set aside.

In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and sugar, mixing well.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the melted shortening, egg, orange juice and lemon flavoring. Add to flour mixture and blend well. Beat for 1 minute, then add cranberry sauce and beat thoroughly. Pour batter into prepared pan. Let stand for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake 1 hour, or until a pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely before serving.

Makes 1 loaf.

Also from Rabeneck is this one for banana muffins. It is from the November 1981 issue of Progressive Farmer/country Living magazine.

Banana Muffins

1 cup all-purpose flour

1⁄4 cup granulated sugar

2 1⁄2 teaspoons baking powder

1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda

1⁄2 teaspoon salt

1⁄2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1⁄4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 cup mashed banana

1⁄2 cup quick-cooking oats, uncooked

1⁄2 cup milk

1⁄4 cup butter or margarine, melted

1 egg, beaten

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners or coat with nonstick spray; set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg and mix well. Make a well in center.

In a separate bowl, combine the mashed banana, oats, milk, butter and egg. Pour mixture into the well and stir until combined and dry ingredients are moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling about 2⁄3 full. Bake 15 minutes, or until muffins spring back when touched.

Makes 1 dozen.

Patricia Moore shares this easy bean soup recipe. She suggests serving the soup with cornbread or garlic bread.

“This bean soup recipe is good especially for these rainy, cool days,” Moore writes.

This makes enough to serve a crowd, but can be cut in half for a smaller group. The recipe also works well in a slow cooker, she writes.

Bean Soup

1⁄2 cup chopped celery

1⁄2 cup chopped onion

4 (15-ounce) cans white beans with jalapenos (see note)

2 cans cream of potato soup

2 pounds chopped ham

8 ounces sour cream

Cook celery and onion in small amount of water in a large pot. Add white beans, cream of potato soup and chopped ham. Cook until heated through. Add sour cream and stir well. Serve immediately. (Do not continue cooking after adding sour cream.)

Note: If desired, use plain white beans and add fresh jalapenos to taste.

REQUESTS

Cherry Nut Pie like that made at Roy Fisher’s restaurant in North Little Rock for Rhonda Owen.

Green salsa like that served at La Hacienda in Little Rock for Doug Jones.

Chicken Enchilada Soup (but without all the preservatives) like the canned version made by Progresso for Patricia Moore.

REMINDERS

Requests for recipes of menu items at restaurants are difficult to obtain and time-consuming. We try, but many chefs are reluctant, for obvious reasons, to share their recipes.

Sometimes when you are reading a recipe, do you find an ingredient you’ve never heard of? It happens to all of us. We’ll be glad to find the answer if you let us know the question. Send recipe requests, contributions and culinary questions to Kelly Brant, Idea Alley, Arkansas Democrat-gazette, P.O. Box 2221, Little Rock, Ark. 72203; e-mail:

Please include a daytime phone number.