Here's the recipe in case anyone's interested. DH and DS liked it. I did too, except for the sour cranberries. Next time I'll try halving the cranberries. Cranberry-Walnut Pumpkin Loaves Recipe by Steve Sullivan from "Baking With Julia" Makes 3 small loaves - You'll need three 5 3/4 x 3 1/4 x 2 inch loaf pans Authors notes: "These loaves are small, beautifully crowned, and the color of fallÂs golden leaves. Never mind that the combination of pumpkin, cranberry, walnut, and raisin may set you thinking of a baking powder-raised quick bread with a biscuit or butter cake texture, this bread is a yeast bread, albeit one thatÂs slightly sweet, just a little spicy, and even a bit savory. Although the bread is of the direct-rise family, meaning thereÂs no starter or sponge, it is given an overnight rest in the refrigerator, a dormant period that builds both character and texture in the finished loaf." 2 2/3 cups bread flour 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons tepid water (80 - 90 degrees F) 2 teaspoons active dry yeast 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature 1/3 cup sugar 8 ounces (1 cup) pureed cooked pumpkin or butternut squash, fresh or canned solid packed (see note) 1 large egg, at room temperature 3/4 cup walnut pieces, toasted 1 cup plump golden or dark raisins 2/3 cup cranberries (if frozen, thaw and pat dry) Mixing and kneading: Whisk 2 2/3 cups of the flour, the cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together in a large bowl just to mix; set aside until needed. Pour the water into a small bowl, sprinkle in the yeast, and whisk to blend. Allow the yeast to rest until itÂs creamy, about 5 minutes. In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar at medium speed until creamy. Add the pumpkin and egg and beat until blended. Don't be concerned if the mixture looks curdled; it will come together when you add the dry ingredients. Set the mixer to low and add the yeast, then begin to add the dry ingredients, about 1/2 cup at a time. As soon as the mixture starts to form a dough that comes together, scrape the paddle clean and switch to the dough hook. If your dough does not come together (it might be because your pumpkin puree was liquidy), add a few more tablespoons of flour. Mix and knead the dough on medium-low speed for 10 to 15 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl and the hook now and then with a rubber spatula. At the start, the mixture will look more like a batter than a dough, but as you continue to work, it will develop into a soft, very sticky dough that will just ball up on the hook. (This dough develops much the way a brioche does.) With the machine on low speed, add the walnuts and raisins, mixing only until incorporated, about 1 minute. Add the cranberries and mix as little as possible to avoid crushing them. (Inevitably, some cranberries will poop and stain a patch of dough red; think of this as charming, and proceed.) First Rise: Scrape the dough into a lightly buttered large bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and set aside at room temperature to rise until nearly doubled in bulk, about 2 hours. Chilling the dough: When the dough has doubled, fold it over on itself a couple of times to deflate it, wrap it tightly in plastic, and refrigerate overnight. Shaping the dough: At least 6 hours before you want to begin baking, remove the dough from the refrigerator. Leave the dough, covered in its bowl, until it reaches at least 64 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer. (This will take as long as 3 to 4 hours -- donÂt rush it.) If you donÂt have an instant-read thermometer, look for the dough to be slightly cool and just a little spongy. Lightly butter three 5 3/4 x 3 1/4 x 2 inch loaf pans. Working on a lightly floured surface, divide the dough into thirds and pat each piece of dough into a 5 x 7 inch rectangle; keep a short end facing you. Starting at the top of each rectangle, roll up the dough toward you and seal the seam by pressing it with your fingertips. Seal the ends, then place each roll, seam side down, in a prepared pan. Second rise: Cover the pans lightly with a kitchen towel and allow to rise at room temperature for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until the dough has nearly doubled -- it will rise to just above the rim of the pans. Baking the bread: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the loaves for about 35 minutes, or until deeply golden. Remove the pans to a cooling rack; after a 5-minute rest, turn the breads out of their pans and allow them to cool to room temperature on the rack. Storing: The breads can be kept at room temperature for a day or two or frozen, wrapped airtight, for up to 1 month. Thaw, still wrapped, at room temperature. Note: To use fresh pumpkin or butternut squash, split the squash, remove the seeds, and place cut side down, on a baking sheet. Roast in a preheated 350 degree F oven for about 1 hour, or until meltingly tender. Scoop the softened pulp out of the shell and cool completely. One pound of squash yields about 12 ounces of cooked pulp. Sally

I love fresh cranberries, although I am not crazy about cranberry relish. I like it OK, but it is not my favorite cranberry dish by far. I love them in pies, muffins, cakes, etc. It's too bad that most folks only know cranberries for the one time opening of the can at Thanksgiving. I hope I can make some more things with them this winter for the holidays. Here's one I made for Thanksgiving that was a big hit. I had to laugh Jennifer, because my experience was similar, we ended up going for seconds and licking the bowls! Cranberry-Cherry Crumble, from "Cooking Light" magazine 3 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, thawed (that's one package) 3 cups frozen pitted dark sweet cherries, thawed (I didn't measure, just used a whole bag) 3/4 cup granulated sugar 1/4 cup dried cranberries 1/4 cup dried cherries (I just used 1/2 cup dried cherries, no dried cranberries. You could probably sub some raisins too, to save money) 1 TBLSP all purpose flour 1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch (I used some tapioca I found in the cupboard instead of cornstarch) Cooking spray (I used olive oil to oil the pan) 1/4 cup slivered almonds, chopped 1/4 cup regular oats 1/4 cup whole wheat flour (I used regular) 1/4 cup packed brown sugar 1/4 tsp. salt 1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg 1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon 1/8 tsp. almond extract (I left this out) 2 TBLSP chilled butter, cut into small pieces Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine first seven ingredients in a large bowl, tossing gently to coat fruit. Spoon mixture into an 8 inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Combine almonds and the next 7 ing. (thru extract) in a med. bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender until mixture resemles coarse meal. Sprinkle oat mixture evenly over the fruit. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes or until filling is bubbly and topping is golden. Serves 8

I used dried lemon zest when I make Za'atar, which is used mainly on meat dishes. I think it's fine for use with meat but not with cookies. I freeze lemon rinds after I juice the lemons from my yard, and frozen peel works much better than dried. I think tangerine is perhaps closer to lemon than lime is. Lime is really quite different from lemon in flavor. The Meyer lemons that I have are somewhat similar to oranges because they are almost sweet. I haven't heard of putting lime zest in cookies, but I think any other citrus would be fine, including grapefruit. Lars

This recipe was on the cover of Better Homes and Gardens, Nov or Dec 1977 or 78, I think. It is the only way my hubby will eat cranberries and is a favorite of everyone who tastes it. It is very pretty, light and refreshing and very easy to make, especially if you have a food processor. I usually make it during the holidays, then again during the summer with some of the frozen cranberries that I usually find in the back of the freezer in July. I would be interested to know if anyone makes it and enjoys it like we do, or if we are alone in this. FESTIVE CRANBERRY TORTE 1½ c. graham cracker crumbs (1 package) 1/4 c. sugar ½ c. chopped pecans 6 T, butter, melted 1½ c. ground fresh cranberries (2 c. whole berries) (buy 1 sm. pkg, use 2 c. for this & rest for glaze) 1 c. sugar 2 egg whites 1 T. frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed 1 t. vanilla 1/8 t. salt 1 c. whipping cream Cranberry Glaze fresh orange slices, quartered In a mixing bowl combine graham cracker crumbs, pecans, 1/4 c. sugar & melted butter. Press onto bottom and up sides of an 8" springform pan. Chill in freezer. In a large mixer bowl combine ground cranberries & 1 c. sugar. Let stand 5 minutes. Add unbeaten egg whites, vanilla, orange juice & salt. Beat on low speed until frothy. Then beat at high speed 6-8 minutes or till stiff peaks form (tips stand straight). ***(My notes in between these 2 steps-- I put whole cranberries in food processor, grind, add sugar, then add remaining ingredients. Then I whip the following whipped cream in a big bowl and fold cranberry mixture into it to save cleaning so many dishes)***** In small mixer bowl whip cream to soft peaks (tips curl over); fold into cranberry mixture. Turn into crust. Freeze firm. CRANBERRY GLAZE: ½ c sugar 3/4 c. fresh cranberries 1 T. cornstarch 2/3 c. water In saucepan stir together sugar & cornstarch, stir in cranberries and water. Cook and stir till bubbly. Cook, continue stirring occasionally, just until cranberry skins pop. Cool to room temperature. Do not chill. Makes 1 cup. To serve, remove torte from pan. Place on pretty serving plate. Place orange slices around outside. The original recipe said to spoon the glaze in the middle, however, experience has told me it's best to put it in a pretty bowl and let people spoon it on themselves. First, not everyone likes it, (I love it, hubby doesn't) and second, if there are any leftovers, the glaze doesn't freeze well and would need to be scraped off. Just put in pretty bowl.