Author: sarahohara

Cranberry Orange Bread

Right around New Years I got the urge to try cranberry orange quick bread.

I scoured Pinterest and various other baking blogs, and picked one I thought looked good. It was awful! The bread didn’t rise at all and the crumb was dense and tough.

I’m not going to name and shame, because that’s not what we do here, but I also wasn’t satisfied to leave it there. More research, more reading. Finally I found a recipe I had some confidence in, and I put it to the test last night (with some minor tweaks). 

My dudes, it is FANTASTIC. Have you ever had one of those cranberry orange muffins from Panera? THIS IS JUST LIKE THEM. I mean– JUST LIKE THEM (except in loaf form). 

So, to save you the trouble of trial and error, here’s the one you want…

Print Recipe
 Cranberry Orange Bread
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 75 minutes
Servings
Loaves
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
Fruit
Topping
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 75 minutes
Servings
Loaves
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
Fruit
Topping
Instructions
Prep
  1. Halve the cranberries.
    NOTE: This will take a few minutes, but it is worth it, and here's why: while I'm cutting these babies in half, I'm also checking them for ripeness. I don't want spoiled cranberries in my beautiful bread! So, if I came across one that was too brown or too soft to stand up to the knife, it went into the compost bin with love. Once I'd chopped 2 full cups, I was ready to get started knowing that every bite would taste amazing!
  2. Gather your ingredients + 2 large mixing bowls, a whisk, and a spatula
  3. Pre-heat the oven to 350° F
  4. Grease two 9" x 5" loaf pans with Crisco or cooking spray. I like to get a tablespoon of Crisco in each one and grease it really well with my (washed!) hands because I've had mixed luck with the spray, but you do you, boo!
Mix
  1. In Bowl #1: Add your 4 large eggs, and whisk them vigorously until they start to froth a bit.
  2. In Bowl #1: Add the rest of the wet ingredients -- buttermilk, oil, orange juice, and vanilla -- and stir to combine. Set this aside for now.
  3. In Bowl #2: Start by putting the sugar in the bowl. Add the zest of 2 large oranges, being careful not to zest your thumb in there. Now, this is very important: whisk these together until the mixture is soft and fluffy and well combined. This binds the orange zest to the sugar and gives the bread its nice, orangey flavor!
  4. In Bowl #2: Add the rest of your dry ingredients - flour, salt, and baking powder - and stir them together until fully combined.
  5. Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, gently stirring after each addition, until everything is in one bowl. Your mixture will be super wet - almost a soup! at some points - but keep gently stirring until it is just combined into a nice, thick batter.
  6. Fold in the cranberries
  7. Pour the batter into the pans
Bake!
  1. Bake for 60-75 minutes. Mine needed every bit of 75, but if you've got a fan-assisted oven, yours might need less. Just be sure to watch it, and test with a toothpick. Bring them out when the toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out without batter stuck to it.
  2. Once baked, remove the pans from the oven, top with sanding sugar, and let them cool on the stove top for about 10 minutes.
  3. If necessary, use a knife to separate the loaves from the sides of the pan. Turn them out onto a wire rack and let them cool completely -- if you can resist cutting them that long!
Recipe Notes

This can be made as mini-loaves or muffins. For mini loaves, 35 - 45 minutes should be sufficient for baking. For muffins, plan on about 25 to 30 minutes. 

Many recipes online have an orange glaze that goes with this. I don't personally like it. I think it's too tangy and sharp, and it doesn't actually do anything to the bread which is gorgeous. I topped mine with a bit of sanding sugar, and that was more than enough for me! If you must have a glaze, there are lots of options out there. Most combine 1.5 cups of powdered sugar with 2 tablespoons of orange juice and either a teaspoon of orange zest or a teaspoon of vanilla. Whisk that up and pour it on. Not for me, but you make up your own mind!

This bread can be frozen and stored. Once cooled, place it in a freezer bag or airtight container and stick it in the freezer. It will keep for 2 to 3 months. When you're ready, bring it out and let it come to room temperature naturally.

 

 

This recipe was adapted from Tastes Better from Scratch, who adapted it from Two Peas and Their Pod

And the Winner is…

by sarahohara, Posted on

The results from the WorldNomads travel photography scholarship competition were posted this morning, and the winner is the very talented Jasmin Bauomy from Germany.

I can genuinely say that any momentary sadness I felt that I wasn’t chosen was immediately eclipsed by admiration for the winning photo essay. I’m going to post it, so you can appreciate it with me:

Comoros – Where women are boss

by Jasmin Bauomy

Imouda (right) and Ashly, a worker with the Peace Corps, wait for a local wedding ceremony to start on the island of Moheli. From the house they can see the entrance to the ceremonial hall. Weddings are a massive event in Comoros and ceremonies can take place of the course of a week or two.
Imouda lives in a house with three generations of women in her family. Before the wedding, she prepares flower necklaces to give to close ones as a blessing.
Each of the flower necklaces take about half an hour to make. The necklaces consist mainly of the local Ylang Ylang flower – the main cash crop of Comoros, also known as perfume islands. They are essential for the production of famous perfumes, such as Chanel No. 5.
Comoros is an Arab African Muslim nation. All the more remarkable is that it is the only matrilineal society in the region. Families will often build a house for the bride, which the husband will move into. Even inheritance is passed down between the women of a family.
Imouda (center), her niece, and her aunt Eshati are practicing their party moves. Eshati is wearing a traditional sandalwood mask. It protects the skin from the sun and is known to be a great remedy against heat rashes. It is also considered a beauty enhancement.

The intimacy and tenderness she’s able to achieve with these photos is remarkable. And as I look through the short-listed photo essays (runners up), I come away with a tremendous appreciation for what is possible and how much room I have to grow as a photographer.

I’ve won something I value as much as any prize: inspiration.

Onwards and upwards!

Photography for Pups in Need

by sarahohara, Posted on

Today I had the pleasure of speaking to the volunteer manager for one of the largest foster-based animal rescue organizations in the country. 

Louie’s Legacy has been saving and placing homeless pets in their forever homes for over ten years, In that time, they have saved thousands of animals from needless death. 

They’ve got two geographic bases of operations – New York and Ohio, and I happen to live right in their Ohio coverage area. Before I adopted Champ, I eyed various dogs on their website as potential family members, so I am familiar with them and the work they do. 

Saturday, one of their volunteer coordinators posted the following in a local dog-owners group I’m in: 

 

 

She didn’t tag me (because she and I have never met), but this post was pretty much written specifically for me! That’s a huge, “Hell yeah!” to all of the above!

I messaged her right away and expressed an interest in helping out. She directed me to their volunteer application, and told me to fill it out, and someone would contact me back right away. 

[Point of interest, if you live in Ohio or New York and are interested in volunteering, there are LOTS of ways you can help out. The volunteer application lists them out, so you can just check the type of thing you’re interested in on the application form here.]

Once my application was submitted, I got an email from their volunteer coordinator, and we set up a time to talk about what they do, and whether or not I’d be a good fit to help out. 

During the call, I learned some of the ins and outs of how photographs are scheduled and submitted for adoptable pets, and shared a little bit about my background. 

Everything went swimmingly, and you are looking at the newest volunteer photographer for this great cause. I am super excited to get started. I love pets, and I love photography, and the idea that my photos could help a furbaby find his or her forever home is AWESOME. 

It’ll probably take a little time to get the first photo shoots scheduled, but I’ll be sure to update you guys here as I go! And of course, if you’re in the market for a new furry friend, be sure to check out Louie’s Legacy!

The Chance of a Lifetime…

by sarahohara, Posted on

Back in November, I applied for a photography scholarship offered by WorldNomads.com.

The requirements were that each applicant submit a photo essay of 5 photos that tell a story of a place we’d been – near or far – with captions. The prize? A 10-day, all-expense paid trip to Mongolia where the winner will be personally mentored by Richard I’Anson, renowned travel photographer and Canon (camera) Master.

There appear to be somewhere in the ballpark of 8,000 applications for the coveted spot. Here is mine.

Backyard Beekeeping in the American Midwest

On a cold spring morning in early April, suburban beekeepers in Southwest Ohio arrive to retrieve a shipment of bees newly arrived from Georgia. Here, the supplier presents the captive queen to her new keeper. It is vital for the success of the hive that the queen is alive and well.
A typical “Bee Bus” weighs 3 lbs. (1.4 kg) and contains roughly 10,000 bees. Inside, the bees form a cone around a can of sugar syrup suspended from the top of the box. This syrup supports them during their arduous journey north.
The beekeeper checks the hive in the height of the summer honey boom. At this stage, there are nearly 100,000 bees in the hive. The beekeeper will test and treat them for any invasive pests and examine the queen’s brood pattern to determine her effectiveness and the overall health of the colony.
The reward at the end of the season: frames filled with honey ready for harvesting. The beekeeper inspects each frame in preparation for processing.
The honey harvest has begun. Here, the beekeeper uses a warm knife to remove the wax cappings that seal the honey in the comb. The frame will be inserted into the centrifuge behind him, and the honey will be flung out to drip down to the bottom where it will be filtered and strained into jars.

The results are scheduled to be posted (here) on January 22, 2020, and I am waiting with baited breath to find out if I’ve been chosen – or shortlisted, which (while it doesn’t come with a prize) would be a huge honor. 

Fingers crossed!

Happy New Year

by sarahohara, Posted on

“Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” — my late-husband, Bill, used to repeat this Mike Tyson quote from time to time. I’ve had a lot of plans, lots of punches too. And I’ve discovered for myself the truth of the old boxers’ axiom – the punch that knocks you down is the one you don’t see coming. But Bill was also fond of this quote from Deadwood: “Pain or damage don’t end the world. Or despair, or fucking beatings. The world ends when you’re dead. Until then, you’ve got more punishment in store. Stand it like a man… and give some back.”

Thinking about this today makes me smile. I don’t think the future is all punishment – all pain. But I think it’s time I got back up anyway.