The Perfect Cranberry Sauce

I have to admit -- growing up, I wasn't a big fan of "the sauce." However, cranberry sauce is Austin's favorite food group (besides egg nog; so let's just establish now that in December he's a very happy camper.) Anyways, having that information, I set out to find the easiest, most natural recipe, and after a little tweaking, this recipe is what tastes the best (and is the best.) I'm now a believer.

Servings: About 3 cups

What You'll Need:

• 1 package fresh cranberries (you can easily find them at any grocery store during the holidays)
• 1 orange, cut in half
• 1 cup brown sugar

The 3 Steps (yes, three):

1. In a medium pot (one you would use to heat up soup,) squeeze the orange until all the juice is in the pot, and put on the stove to heat.
2. Stir in the sugar until it is all dissolved.
3. Add in the fresh cranberries and turn down the heat to low. You'll hear popping as they cook. Stir often. After about 20 minutes, the cranberry sauce should be ready. 

Besides placing a bowl of it at your family table, feel free to also spread it on a leftover-turkey sandwich, or use it as a tangy filling for cupcakes or a cake! This version is so very easy and cheap. Bottom line: Ditch the can and impress everyone this holiday.

xoxo n

Cookies & Cream Cupcakes

I had the pleasure of spending Labor Day weekend at my father's house outside Philadelphia. The trees were nice and plush, and nights were still warm, reminding you that summer was almost over but God is doing you a favor -- so you should sip wine outside long after the sun goes down and thank Him for the life he's given you.

Baking has been a way I show thanks (and love) to those around me. That weekend, my stepsister Gillian hosted a party for her high school friends. I naturally became the sneak chaperone -- someone old enough to keep an eye on things objectively, but young enough to not be a buzzkill (hurrah! I've reached the sweet spot.) As part of the party prep, I accompanied my dad to Wal-Mart to buy snacks en masse -- but moreover, as I was looking for an excuse (ahem, hungry audience) to bake delicious treats -- I decided to whip up these Oreo cupcakes (lightened up a bit.) With the help of my baby sister, Christina, these were a smash hit -- and I don't think the teens cared or knew that they were reduced-fat! HOLLA! Big sister for the win!

Do I spy a little helper?

Servings: about 24 cupcakes

What you'll need:

• Any Vanilla cake mix (I used Pillsbury French Vanilla)
• Eggs (required by cake mix)
• Water (required by cake mix)
• Plain Unsweetened Applesauce (the same amount that the cake mix is asking for, for oil!)
• 1 cup mini chocolate chips
• 8 oreos for chopping
• 1 tub of Vanilla Frosting
• 12 oreos for blending
• Oven/Cupcake Pan
• Optional: Blender/Cupcake Papers

The Step-by-Step:

1. Preheat oven to the degree asked for on the cake mix box, and place cupcake papers into the cupcake pan (if you don't have papers, no worries -- just spray each cupcake hole with cooking spray -- make sure you get the sides of the holes too!)
2. In a mixing bowl, mix the cake mix with the required water and eggs (can do egg whites if you want! so maybe if its asking for 3 eggs, put 2 egg whites and 1 full egg.)
3. Instead of oil, mix in applesauce and mini chips! (more on the applesauce later)
4. With a knife, roughly chop 8 Oreos into pieces, and add the pieces into the batter. Stir well.
5. Pour the batter into the cupcake papers (only 2/3 of the way -- don't fill each paper to the top) and bake for the time it says on the box.
6. While baking, roughly chop 12 more Oreos. Place the Oreo pieces into a blender. 
7. Pulse until the Oreo's are a fine powder -- (it'll look like dirt!) If you don't have a blender, put the chopped Oreo's in a Ziploc bag, seal it, put it in another Ziploc bag, put it on the floor, and jump on it. Go to town!
8. Pour the Oreo "powder" into a bowl, and scoop the frosting right on top. Stir together until well combined.
9. With a spoon, scoop the Oreo frosting into a Ziploc bag.
10. When the cupcakes have finished baking, let them cool for an hour.
11. After the cupcakes have cooled, hold Ziploc and squeeze all the frosting towards a bottom corner with your hands. With a scissors, snip the corner off (not too far up!)
12. With the corner snipped off, you can squeeze the Oreo frosting onto the cupcakes (I used a circular motion for the picture above.)
13. Party!

What a teenage dream.
xoxo n

Wait.... Applesauce?

Did you know Applesauce is a substitute for oil in baking? 

Did you know that when Applesauce is baked, you can't taste it? 

Did you know that oil is fat -- and apples are not? 

Did you know that apples are already sweet naturally, so you don't need to buy sweetened applesauce? Now you know!

Shoutout to my friend Katy for getting this right on Instagram! :)

Blueberry Pecan Bars

Austin John Edwards (rather unnecessary, but I love saying his full name) and I have been dating for a little more than 3 and a half years -- ever since Valentine's Day, sophomore year of college, in front of the Washington Monument. He is my best friend, and besides God, family, FDR, and Breaking Bad -- his favorite thing in the world is anything with blueberries. Since they're in season and quite bountiful this year, I decided to try my hand at this incredible looking recipe I found while perusing without abandon on Pinterest (the devil for people who know they have no time to waste; comparable to putting an alcoholic in a bar, or a female 20-something in a Target... yikes.)

I've admired Tracey's Culinary Adventures from a distance for a while now (translation: I follow her on Instagram.) When I saw the pin for her "Blueberry-Oat Bars," I nearly couldn't contain myself -- I just had to try. Plus, I knew that once I had one or two, Austin would show up, eat them all and I wouldn't have to worry about the looming expansion of my thighs. I'm actually glad -- as these bars were delicious and I would've ate them all without supervision!!! Here's the recipe, tweaked a little -- as I added toasted pecans (they bring a fantastic nutty crunch,) as well as made my own blueberry preserves from scratch instead of buying some in a jar. To differentiate my words from Tracey's, so you guys know, I made sure my comments were in bold. Enjoy!

2 1/2 cups (12 1/2 oz) all-purpose flour
2/3 cup (4 3/4 oz) sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, divided
1/2 cup (1 1/2 oz) old-fashioned oats
1/4 cup (1 3/4 oz) packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup blueberry preserves (my recipe below)
3/4 cup fresh blueberries (you'll need 1 more cup for the preserves)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
OPTIONAL: 1/4 cup chopped pecans  

Preheat oven to 375 F. Line a 13x9 baking pan with foil, leaving an overhang on opposite sides to use as "handles" to lift the bars out afterward. Spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray. 

Add the flour, sugar, and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix briefly on low speed just to combine. Cut the butter into 1/2-inch pieces and then, with the mixer on low, add 16 tablespoons (2 sticks) of the butter, one piece at a time (no need to let one fully incorporate before adding the next). When you've finished adding the butter, continue mixing on low speed until the butter has been broken down into small pieces and the mixture resembles wet sand - this will take about 1 minute.

Transfer 1 1/4 cups of this crust mixture to another bowl and set aside. Dump the remaining crust mixture into the prepared pan and press into an even layer over the bottom of the pan. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until the edges of the crust turn golden brown and it is set. 

Meanwhile, make the streusel topping: Add the oats and brown sugar to the bowl with the reserved crust mixture. Stir to combine. Add the remaining two tablespoons of butter to the bowl and use your fingers (or a pastry cutter) to work the butter into the dry ingredients until combined. 

Make the filling by combining the blueberry preserves, fresh blueberries, pecans (toast for more flavor -- easy -- just put on a pan, and bake in oven for 5 minutes at 350 degrees,) and lemon juice in a bowl. Use a fork to mash the blueberries - you want to break them down some, but still leave some visible pieces of berries. 

When you remove the crust from the oven, add the filling directly on top of the hot crust. Spread in an even layer (it will be a very thin layer). Sprinkle the streusel topping over the filling - I like to pick up a small handful and squeeze it together to form a large clump, then break off smaller chunks to sprinkle on top. Don't press the streusel into the filling!

Bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until the filling bubbling and the streusel has browned. Remove the pan to a wire rack and let the bars cool to room temperature, about 1-2 hours. Use the foil handles to lift the bars from the pan and cut into squares for serving. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Natalie's Homemade Blueberry "Preserves:"
since you won't be preserving any of these bars! :)
Boil 1 cup water in a small pot on the stove. Add 1 cup fresh blueberries to the boiling water and after a minute, turn down heat to low and add 1 tablespoon of sugar. Stir a little, then and let it simmer for 25 minutes until the blueberries get mushy and the water level reduces and is a deep blue/red. Mash the blueberries with a fork and let it simmer. After 5 more minutes, add a tablespoon of flour and stir slowly, until the blueberry mixture gets thick. Turn off heat and let cool.
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This is my very first "unhealthy" post -- posts I promised I'd include on Table Haven as a reflection of my balanced life (being healthy 100% of the time is not what's up -- 80 is cool.) I just try to be healthy when I can, and this includes making my own blueberry preserves instead of buying a sugar-laden one. Hey, you gotta pick your battles!

I'm glad I made these bars, because I honestly cannot describe to you how delicious these were. Tracey says on her blog that you could even use frozen blueberries that you thawed -- but nothing in my opinion lines up with fresh summer blueberries in season, vibrant in color & nutrients. This recipe makes about 16 bars (depending on how small/large you cut them.) Not to mention -- they slice neatly and look incredibly impressive -- perfect for end-of-summer cookouts. Do I hear Labor Day? Might have to make another batch -- as there are none left in my apartment, and Austin is happily reading a court transcript right now with a plate at his side, completely empty except for a conspicuous bunch of crumbs. Mission accomplished.

xoxo n