EatingWell Wednesday - Melon & Apple Granita

Last week proved to be a scorcher here with 103F last Tuesday so I went to work making my first granita. What is a Granita you ask? It is a semi-frozen dessert made from sugar, water and various flavorings however, the recipe I am making does not include added sugar.



The recipe for this Melon & Apple Granita used Apple Juice as a sweetener and it is exactly what we needed. Yes, making a granita requires a bit more effort that scooping out some sorbet but with the assistance of a timer, I had no issues staying on track.

Strawberry Mice - Getting kids to eat Fruit at a Birthday Party

This past weekend including a birthday party for my daughter and in addition to the fruit and vegetable platter which kids would probably overlook, I wanted to give them something irresistible. It came in the form of eating mice. What you say? Yup, I wanted the kids to eat mice.

The idea came from Family Fun however, I modified it and used some items we already had. The eyes were mini-chocolate chips and the nose was some icing I had used on the kitty-cat birthday cake. Instead of running out to get some strings of licorice, I simply made some 'tails' on the plate behind each mouse. The kids went nuts for them and even though I thought someone would pull the almond slices out, they were too enthralled with popping a mouse in their mouth than paying attention to the fact that the ears were almonds.

A step by step pictorial here on Whrrl

12 Days of Sharing Virtual Cookie Swap - Sweet Potato Oatmeal Cookies with Orange Icing

For many years now, a close friend and I have shared the tradition of giving for Christmas. We usually donate to a non-profit that helps to feed children and families that are in need of food. We then share the information about that agency in our Christmas cards to each other.

Doesn't it feel great to give and share, especially this time of year? Doesn't it also feel great when you show and share love via food? Well, you can do both in the Share Our Strength 12 Days of Sharing fundraising campaign and virtual cookie swap hosted by In Jennie’s Kitchen.

Here's how you can help:
1. Donate any amount (really anything) and/or
2. Submit an entry to the virtual cookie jar and post about this campaign.

Another unique feature to this campaign is that other bloggers serve as co-hosts (today I am co-hosting) to help spread the awareness to all of our readers. And if simply giving by posting or by donating isn't enough, there are great prizes!




My cookie recipe came about back in October when I could not find a can of Pumpkin Puree anywhere so I decided to make some sweet potato puree and utilize it to make cookies. These really are more of a moist cake type cookie and are not really sweet enough for my family until I add the glaze.

Sweet Potato Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients: 18 cookies
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1.5 teaspoons cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup old fashioned oats

1 cup 1% milk
1 whole egg
6 oz cup non-fat plain yogurt

3/4 cup brown sugar
1 sweet potato puree, cooked until tender, peeled and pureed (1 lg. sweet potato)
optional: 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. Peel the sweet potato and chop into small chunks. Place into a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and microwave for 6-8 minutes (until you can easily pierce with fork). Set aside to cool slightly.

3. Meanwhile, combine the following into a bowl: flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, oats and the (optional) flax seeds.

4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, yogurt and sugar.

5. Place the sweet potato into a food processor with 1/3 cup of milk and puree. Add the remaining milk as needed while pureeing . Fold 1 cup of the puree into the 'wet' mixture.

6. Add the dry mixture into the wet mixture and combine well.

7. Place tablespoons of the mixture about 2 inches apart and bake for approximately 8-9 minutes.

Icing: (a rough recipe as I did not write it down)

1-2 cups confectioner's sugar

Orange Juice

Water

Place sugar into a bowl; add 1 tablespoons of orange juice and mix. For more moisture, add water, a teaspoon at a time and mix well. Drizzle over cookies and allow to set. Consume and smile.

Please vote for my 'Dancing Frittata' video by rating with STARS. The dancing starts about minute 2:20.

Pumpkin & Oatmeal Muffins

The story of Pumpkin Muffin Love: Daddy takes kids to the bakery. They return home and beg mom to make Pumpkin Muffins. Mom sets off on a mission. The results are below and include the boost of oatmeal.

Pumpkin-Oatmeal Muffins

Inspired by Whole Living

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
1 1/2 cups organic all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1 tablespoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup oatmeal

3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 cups organic pumpkin puree
1 cup plain organic low-fat yogurt
3 large organic eggs
1 1/3 cup brown sugar plus 2 tablespoons more for sprinkling

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat muffin pans (~22-24 muffins) with baking spray.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and oatmeal; set aside.

3. In a large bowl, whisk oil, pumpkin puree, yogurt, eggs, and sugar to combine

4. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix just until moistened (do not over mix).

5. Spoon approx. 2 tablespoons of batter into each muffin tin and sprinkle with remaining sugar.

6. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 20-25 minutes. Cool 5 minutes in pan.

Great topped with some cream cheese or pumpkin butter!

EatingWell Wednesday - A Fantastic Sweet Potato Casserole

Recently, I have been asked about dessert options and with Thanksgiving coming, I wanted to think of a classic made a bit healthier. Naturally, I headed to EatingWell knowing that they would have a 'madeover' option.

Their sweet potato casserole incorporates, orange zest, vanilla and honey and I knew from the scent that it would be amazing.

For the topping, I used oatmeal in place of pecans. In addition, since I did not have OJ concentrate, I placed some OJ in the freezer and voila', my frozen concentrate was born.



By the way, this recipe is featured in Day 2 of a Year of Savoring the Thyme on Whrll.

EatingWell Wednesday - Apple Cupcakes

There are times where you want or need to make a little dessert or 'treat' so why not take the opportunity to up the nutritional value? I found this tasty apple cupcake recipe on EatingWell. Now, I actually changed it a bit but I am certain in it's original state, it is fabulous as well.

Since I did not have dried apple or cake flour, I went off on my own. It also came out more like a muffin to me than what I think of as cupcake consistency so give both my version and EatingWell version and see which is your favorite.


photo pre-icing

Recipe:
I omitted the dried apples and used regular unbleached AP flour in lieu of cake flour. If you use this recipe, add 1.5 teaspoons cinnamon so there is more of a cinnamon presence. I found it to have a muffin consistency.

The icing is perfect as is.

Dining at Michael Jordan Steak House with Five for Fighting

Exciting title isn't it? Well, it is a bit of false advertising but still a great post. I am going to share with you the meal we had prior to seeing the Five for Fighting concert at the Mohegan Sun Casino. First the yummy meal at Michael Jordan's Steak House.

My meal consisted of the: Roasted Beet Salad. Here is the description from the menu: Smoked Almonds, Herbed Goat Cheese, Frisee, Radicchio & Truffle-Honey Vinaigrette. Now, normally I am not a beet girl. However, this dish turned me around and inspired me to make this beet dish.



Grilled Corn off-the-cob with Smoked Chile Butter. This was a lively salad that contained carmelized Onions and fresh cilantro. I think I moaned at the first bite.



My husband opted for a Scallops Special: seared scallops with radicchio, arugula salad, crispy capicola over yellow heirloom tomatoes with a Parmesan aioli. Heaven.



And to end the meal, a surprise from the restaurant to celebrate our 8th Wedding Anniversary: The 23 Layer Chocolate Cake




Now onto the concert: When the One to One Network asked me if I wanted to go to the concert, I think my mouth dropped open. I love Five for Fighting. Better yet, this would be great for a hubby-wife date night. In order to have a healthy marriage, you need to make time for yourselves and as parents, couple time is often put aside isn't it? I admit that I am guilty as well and took this opportunity to remind myself (and my hubby) how important the couple time is and how much fun we have together. We are now back to our weekly date nights. That may mean something as simple as some popcorn and a TV movie but it is our time.

Now, onto the concert: The concert began with "What Kind of World Do You Want" followed by "The Riddle". I felt as if John Ondrasiks' voice was caressing my insides with his soulful voice and music. Next came "Chances" which I had seen performed on the Today Show the week before so I was looking forward to hearing it live. I do not think I have ever heard a singer's voice as authentic live as on the album.

He then performed 'Slice' (The title song from this, his fifth album) which is a nostalgic tune and pays homage to Don McLean’s oldie but goodie, “American Pie" and past times. It is funny as he mentioned 'James Taylor' as that is exactly who I had thought of during this concert. I was reminded of the conversations, if you will, that go on between each song. You learn about he singers thoughts and life during the time the song was conceived.

Next came "Freedom never cries", "Tuesday", which is an ode to 9/11, then the touching "I Just Love You". After those songs I dried my eyes and continued to smile.

Happy people during the intermission of a fantastic concert. To quote my husband "I have a new favorite singer"

He is sending out a dedication to me. Ok, not really but he spotted me a minute later and I am sure he was wishing he was not married. Just go along with me, will you?

If you can get to a Five for Fighting Concert, do so and bring someone you care about. I will share the final song "Hope" for you below-Fantastic!!!

Full Disclosure: The tickets were supplied for the concert.

Kiwi-Strawberry Muffins

I was made aware of the Zespri KiwiFruit Lunch 2.0 contest at BlogHer when a woman handed me a flyer in the EXPO hall. She began to tell me about it and before she could even finish, I said "I know exactly what I am making."

At that moment it hit me that I could not recall even introducing my children to Kiwi and at the same moment, I knew exactly how I would. No, not by presenting some fuzzy brown oval of a fruit and telling them to try it. Nope, I would combine this lively fruit into a favorite recipe of theirs: Strawberry muffins. So after some tinkering, we have the perfect muffins for lunch boxes, snacks or even breakfast. These will definitely be in my daughter's lunch box this year!

These would be great to freeze and have on hand.

Ingredients:
½ pound (8oz) fresh strawberries, hulled, rinsed and cut into small pieces

1 green kiwi, skin removed and cut into small pieces
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup organic unbleached all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 salt
1/2 cup agave nectar, light
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup organic applesauce, no sugar added
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a muffin tin with baking spray. In a small saucepan, bring strawberries and kiwi to a boil over medium heat, mashing gently, while they cook for 1 minute. Pour into a bowl to cool.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

3. In a separate bowl, beat nectar, sugar, oil, applesauce, eggs and vanilla until combined.

4. Add dry ingredients to wet and fold to combine. Fold in the kiwi & strawberry mixture.

5. Fill muffin pan-makes about 15 muffins or just overfill one pan to make 12 muffins.

6. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 22 minutes. Cool completely.

I brought the muffins out to them while they were outside playing with a friend and said nothing except 'snack time.' After they consumed them I told them those were Kiwi-Strawberry muffins. My son asked 'What Kiwi Momma?' and I told them it is a fruit. In unison, I heard 'Yum'.

An Ice Cream Float Social!

The joys of summer: sun, breeze, warmth, friends and ice cream! To wrap up this great series on Ice Cream (and celebrate the last day of the Social Challenge), we decided to have some of our lovely friends over to enjoy some ice cream floats.

Both real chocolate and vanilla ice cream were on hand as well as Hansen's Soda (we heart you Hansen's!) in vanilla, root beer and mandarin lime. The girls opted for chocolate while the boys went for the vanilla. The moms were standing by for whomever decided they choose the wrong combination and lucky for us, we had a volunteer give up his float for a plain bowl of ice cream.

I am not waiting for you to give me the spoon!

Bring it on Mom!

Forget the spoon


Talk about double fisting!

To enter this Ice Cream Social Challenge (cohosted by Tangled Noodle and Scotty Snacks) or simply learn more about it, please read this post or take a look at our pineapple sorbet and sandwiches.

Oh, did I mention that there are prizes??! Coupons for FREE Stonyfield organic ice cream/sorbets, A custom Etsy T-Shirt, A book!

National Ice Cream Day - Ice Cream Sandwiches

Oh Happy Day! A day where you can celebrate ice cream and feel the need to have some, in the name of celebrating. I mean, you must show some love and respect by eating some right? So we did that by making ice cream sandwiches. Oh, by the way, did you know about the ice cream social challenge going on? Read more about it.



I choose carefully when acquiring the items for our outdoor indulgence by buying some soft organic double fudge cookies and some yummy Stonyfield Vanilla frozen yogurt. My intention was to buy their 'Gotta Have Vanilla' ice cream but when scooping, I saw that I had bought the 'Gotta Have Vanilla' frozen yogurt which saved us many calories and was so tasty. I also want to throw out some more love to Stonyfield as they are awarding the winners of our contest with coupons for free pints of their frozen goodness. Also, there are other prizes as well, such as, a great T-shirt from Etsy.



In addition, I would be choosing Stonyfield whether there were coupons involved or not. Why? Here is the reason directly from their website: "Our rich and creamy ice cream and frozen yogurt are crafted with the freshest all natural and organic ingredients. They are also produced without the use of antibiotics, synthetic growth hormones or toxic and persistent pesticides and fertilizers."

Do not forget to enter and tweet about it so all your friends know using the #icsocial (@savorthethyme @scottysnacks @tanglednoodle)!

Here is a little snippet showing the love of the ice cream sandwich.

Lil Kids in the Kitchen - An Ice Cream Social

Welcome to the second installment of 'Lil Kids in the Kitchen' and this time we made ice cream. That's right, the old fashioned cream, milk and sugar kind and we had a blast. We enjoyed it over this fourth of July weekend as we finally had some summer weather.



We had two friends over to help and each has their turn.



Note the messes have already begun-good times!

The recipe below is from the Hamilton Beach Website as this was my first attempt so I was not venturing on my own yet.

We even had each kid whisk and then the real mixing began once I got a hold of the bowl.

Yes, we did share with the friends: the scenario was 6 spoons diving into the pot (yes, the two extra spoons were the moms). I realized afterwards that I had not taken any pictures however, my daughter was willing to demonstrate.

By the way, are you going to participate in our ice cream social? Read my post from last week so you are 'in the know' and can join in the fun!

Next up, we conquer Sorbet!

Easy Vanilla Ice Cream:
1 cup (250 ml) sugar
2 teaspoons (10 ml) lemon juice
2 cups (500 ml) heavy whipping cream
1 cup (250 ml) milk (I used 1%)
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients, mixing well. Start the freezer and pour mixture through
hole in lid. Freeze until desired consistency or unit stops.

National Ice Cream Month - Ice Cream Social Challenge

Hello World! As you may know, July is National Ice Cream month and so it is time for a new challenge! But first: can this blog, being all about eating and being healthy write about ice cream? I asked that myself and realized wait, I want people to eat real foods. None of that processed and artificial junk so if you want a little bit of real ice cream once in a while, is it so bad? No. And by making our own, I can be sure we are not getting all that fake frozen stuff that some folks market as ice cream. Okay, off to the challenge.

What could the challenge be this time? How about making your own ice cream! Yes, go ahead and make is any flavor you want, any color, be crazy or conservative. I am going to take this journey with you by creating ice cream with my kids. Naturally, I will be making it real, as in using the old fashioned ingredients of cream, milk, sugar, etc. I hope to make some sorbets or yogurts to cut down on fat, sugar etc. along the way but enough about me. What do you want to do with it after creating it? eat, wear it? paint with it? Do nothing or anything you want (G rated only). Wait, you do not want to make it? Do you want to visit a local ice creams shop and send us a video? Having an ice cream party that you wish to vlog about? Just want to see how many photos you can take of ice cream? Go for it!

There will also be some surprises for the winners but I am keeping mum for now. We have so many details to share but why overwhelm you as you have ice cream plan to make!


Mandy73 via Flickr

Oh, and I am not presenting this challenge on my own, oh no, as this whole idea was concocted by our favorite snacker, Scotty of ScottySnacks. The other blogger in on this is my co-host from the Eating Your Words Challenge, yes, that right, Tangled Noodle....now, onto the details!

Have a great homemade recipe? Did you visit a favorite ice cream shop or a unique local dairy/creamery? Anywhere and any way you've recently indulged in ice cream ecstasy, let us know; entries can be a blog post, a vlog, video, or just a photograph!

To enter:

1) Post about your ice cream creation on your blog, linking back to ScottySnacks, SavortheThyme and Tangled Noodle. Then send us a link and photo of your post! We welcome any posts that were published before the start of our challenge. Enter as many times as you wish.

2) No blog? No problem! Send us a photo, video or vlog of your entry telling us what, where and when it was taken. Provide a URL, if applicable (a still shot or capture would be great, too).


3) International entries are encouraged but due to some limitations, some prizes may not be available.

4) EMAIL YOUR ENTRIES TO: IceCream@ScottySnacks.com. Please include your name and e-mail address so that we may contact you should you win a prize.

Deadline is Friday July 31, 2009!

Since this is a Social Media Ice Cream Social, feel free to show us some sweet tweet love. Tweet about this challenge using the #icsocial (@savorthethyme @scottysnacks @tanglednoodle)!

There will be a round up at the end of the month on all three sites!

Thanks for your participation!
Jennifer, Scotty and Mrs. Noodle

Rainy Day Parfait - Breakfast or Dessert?

Yesterday was the one day, out of the next 10, that was sunny and so we spent most of it outside. But that one day was over too quickly and now we are in the midst of some heavy rain. The kids and I went to the gym today and then to the farmer's market. Yes, in the rain but it was very light so they did not mind. So, I found myself sitting here under dark clouds and craving something sweet and crunchy. But what to eat? We had some organic vanilla yogurt (their favorite), some cereal and berries so we created a parfait and are smiling now. Bring on the rain.

6oz. cup of organic non-fat vanilla yogurt
approx. 1/2 cup organic vanilla almond crunch cereal (cascadian farms)
approx. 1/3 cup blueberries
approx. 1/4 cup raspberries

Directions:
Place a layer of yogurt in the bottom and top with granola, then blueberries and repeat. When almost to the top, place a thin layer of yogurt, granola and raspberries on the top.

If you prefer a thicker yogurt, consider using greek yogurt. This would also be a great breakfast or dessert.

Thankfully, I finished taking the pictures just in time.

National Food Month - Oatmeal Cookie Challenge Round-up

I am giggling. I can not help but think of Cookie Monster saying 'C-o-o-k-i-e' and then saying it out loud that way. Like most, I get my share of cookie cravings and often guilt if I eat more than one so I try to up the nutritional ante so that I feel a bit proud of my cookie indulgences. Yes, I could eat only one, but I find I have more when trying out recipes. I consider it quality control. My husband likes to join the QC department also and here is his feedback to my recipe below. 'I want it to be sweeter. When I eat a cookie, I want sweet'. Since I am not going for cavities when I eat cookies, feel free to toss some brown sugar into my recipe if you wish but I like them the way they are: Fluffy, Chewy and Not Too Sweet'. Please try my recipe and give me your feedback and I will continue to experiment and improve my QC department.

Not-so-Basic Healthy Oatmeal Cookies
3/4 cup organic blue agave nectar
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 large egg white
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups rolled oats (not quick cooking)
1/2 all purpose unbleached flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground flax seed
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350° degrees (make sure the rack in the middle of the oven). Line baking sheets with unbleached parchment paper.

2. Whisk together agave nectar, applesauce, egg white, oil and vanilla in a large bowl until smooth. In a separate bowl, mix oats, all purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, baking soda, cinnamon, flax seed and salt together. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet and mix just until blended.

3. Place about a tablespoonful of dough onto the baking sheet, press them down lightly (not too think but not a big blob) spaced cookies about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake for 15 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool.

Variations:
A. Take 4 tablespoons mix and add 1 tablespoon dried cranberries (photo above)
B. Take 4 tablespoons mix and add 2 tablespoons semi-sweet mini chips

Want some more amazing recipes: Here are 3 more from some fabulous foodies. Check out their recipes.

Sarah from Winged Snail had applesauce and agave nectar on her mind as well but added the fiber and nutrients of apples, raisins and walnuts to her yummy ‘Apple Granola Oatmeal’ cookies.






Kevin, we all love Kevin, of Closet Cooking. This time he is wowing us with his Apricot and White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies. We are obviously meant to bake together as:

1. He is trying to seduce me by including white chocolate.

2. We are baking soul mates as we used the same amount of flour and rolled oats. Kisses to you Kevin!





Lauren of ‘Bytes from Texas’ has really impressed me by utilizing all whole wheat flour as well as, ready for this? Figs and Apple Butter in her Hippie Oatmeal Cookies. Hands in there air for this one!




As a side note, I have concluded that 1.5 cups of rolled oats is the key to the bet oatmeal cookie

White Chocolate Mousse Mini Pastry-For Lover's Only

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day and I had to come up with something to share with hubby and the kids so, this is a super shortcut dessert but still lovely and heck, they are so small that you can easily justify eating two, um, or shhhh, three.

Ingredients:

Pepperidge farm frozen puff pastry mini shells

1 cup white chocolate chips

2 cups light cool whip (you could go all out and whip up some heavy cream)

1 tablespon grated semi-sweet chocolate (did with knife and block of chocolate)

24 fresh raspberries (ok, I did not have any so I thawed some frozen whole berries)

Directions:

1. Bake pastry shells according to package

2. Meanwhile, melt chips 1 minute 70% power in microwave, stir, then 20 more seconds at 70% power.

3. Take a tablespoon of melted chips and fold into cool whip to temper. Fold in the rest of the chocolate a tablespoon at a time.

4. Hollow out pastry shells, fill with mousse, top each with some grated chocolate/shavings and a raspberry.

This would be lovely over a glass of champagne. Kiss Kiss!

Almond, Flax & White Chocolate Nutella Dessert Pizza

My house contains two children under 5 with fevers, hacking coughs and no appetite so what is a mom to do? Make a creation that they will eat and will contribute to World Nutella Day! Thank you to Ms. Adventures in Italy and Bleeding Espresso for inventing this day.

1 whole wheat pizza shell
5 tablespoons Nutella spread

1 tablespoon ground flax seed

1/4 cup toasted sliced almonds, gently crushed

1/3 cup organic white chocolate morsels

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. Spread Nutella, then flax seeds, almonds, and white chocolate

3. Bake for 8 minutes

Cut and watch out, people will knock you over to take a slice.

Superbowl Snack-a-thon: Touchdown!

I know, you thought I would leave you with no dessert. Naughty people, I know you need a little suttin-suttin at the end of all this long day of blog reading. I will give you a slightly naughty treat since this is your only cheat day (only Sunday right?) after I show you the two most reasonable choices....let's start with the less exciting items:
Low fat frozen yogurt and fresh fruit. No? Sorbet then. There are so many amazing flavors.

Apple-cranberry crumble. Getting better?


Cheesecake Brownies! Follow this recipe however, skip the sugar and use 2 tablespoons of agave nectar instead.

Orange-Cranberry Agave Bundt Cake

A well known scenario: Your hubby asks you at the last minute 'What cake are you making for so-n-so's house?' and your reply is 'What cake?' Uh-oh. Time to pull out all the stops and open up a cake mix! That is right, a cake mix. However, I could not simply bake a cake mix, I had to make it my own and feel like I am making something a bit healthier so let's toss in some OJ and for a sweetener, not sugar but my new buddy, agave nectar. Bake this and fall in love.

Ingredients for cake:

Spray to mist/flour pan (baker's joy or Pam for baking)

1 yellow cake mix with pudding

1 cup orange juice

1/2 cup vegetable oil (I used canola)

1 tablespoon light agave nectar

4 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (Madagascar)

1 cup sweetened dried cranberries (finely chopped)

Ingredients for glaze:

agave nectar or

1 cup of confectioners' sugar, sifted (yes, you must)

3 tablespoons water or 1% milk

orange zest

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Mist the bundt pan and set aside. Mist a knife with the spray and chop the cranberries into small pieces. I say a cup but if you want lots and lots of cranberry in there, you go ahead and toss in more. Now place a tablespoon of the cake mix into a bowl along with the cranberry pieces and mix until the berries are coated*

2. Place the following into a large mixing bowl: cake mix, OJ, oil, agave nectar, and eggs. Mix on low speed for 1 minute or so. Scrape down the sides and mix on medium to medium-high for 2-3 minutes. The batter will look light and well mixed. Fold in the cranberries and pour into the bundt pan.

3. Bake until a lovely shade of golden brown and the cake starts to pull away from the sides, about 43-47 minutes. Remove and place on rack to cool. Carefully run knife around edge after 25 minutes or so , invert and allow to rest until completely cool.

4. Concurrently, you can decide what you want to do for the glaze: You can either lightly drizzle nectar over it and top with zest OR mix the confectioner's sugar and water/milk and top that with the zest. Your choice.

*Why coat the cranberries with cake mix? It helps to keep them from all sinking to the bottom during baking.