Cranberry Orange Bread

Merry (belated) Christmas! I intended to share this with you before the holiday. It would have made a good breakfast treat for Christmas morning. Alas, I had no electricity.

Attack of the ice 2013 happened and plans went out the window as everyone scrambled to stay warm and safe.

This is a simple quick bread. Only one bowl is necessary to mix this up. It is moist and sweet and tart and delicious.

Saturday night (12/21/2013) an ice storm blew through our area & beyond covering everything in a thick, heavy coating of ice. Not only was it treacherous to be out in but by Sunday morning many trees and power lines had fallen thanks to the weight of the ice. That in turn knocked out power to a huge number of people including us and almost everyone we know.

During the night Saturday night I repeatedly woke to the sound of creaking and cracking and crashing as trees and tree limbs came down in my yard and the yards around me. The poor pine tree in my back yard really took a beating and a large amount of my neighbors tree branches ended up in my yard as well.

The shepherd’s crook that my bird feeders hang on bent completely in half when a large branch hit it.

After the ice had settled and the power had been knocked out, Tim attempted to get our generator running. We ended up needing a part for it which had to be ordered and did  not come until Christmas Eve. In the meantime our house got colder & colder. The only good thing about being without power in the winter is that you can save the contents of your fridge and freezer by sticking everything outside.

After a day or so of no power, I personally started to go crazy. It became clear that so many people were without power and so much damage had been done that we were not getting power back anytime soon. The rest of my last minute Christmas cooking and baking were not going to happen. My Christmas Eve family dinner was not going to happen. My cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning were out. And the house was a wreck because every lantern, flashlight, extra warm sleeping bag, camp stove, etc was dragged out. My sense of order and my to do list were iced out.

Plus, it was cold. Very cold. By Tuesday morning our house was about 46 degrees.

This is what happens when it gets that cold in the house. The dog (wearing a sweater) and the husband both have to snuggle by the gas fireplace. (Which, unfortunately, gives off very little heat.)

On Christmas Eve we got a generator up and running and finally had a furnace and some lights! No baking could be done, of course, but our sanity quickly returned as our house warmed up.

Christmas evening about 5pm our power was restored. Our Christmas wish came true. However, many people remained without power for days longer than us and some are still without. Crews have worked tirelessly this past week to try to get everyone up and running. Many crews have come from hundreds of miles away to lend a hand to the local power companies and for that we are very grateful.

From an ice storm last weekend to a heat wave this weekend as temperatures rose in to the 40’s. Ahhh, winter . . . so indecisive.

It was definitely pretty but it was very hard to appreciate the beauty of it when you were scrambling to make sense of the mess & stay warm.

It’s a good thing Tim & I got our Christmas Cookies baked & decorated the night before the ice storm hit!

I hope you all had a wonderful and safe holiday. Happy New Year!

Cranberry Orange Bread

1/2 cup butter, room temp

1 3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk (I used almond milk)

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

1 tsp vanilla

zest of 1 orange

1 11oz can mandarin oranges, drained

2 cups fresh cranberries

2 3/4 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

Grease 2 8×4 inch loaf pans & set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

In a large mixing bowl, whip together the butter & sugar until creamy. Add the eggs, milk, & yogurt & mix until combined. Add the vanilla, zest & mandarin oranges and mix to combine.

Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda & salt. Carefully mix everything together. Everything can be done in one bowl which makes it hassle free. Divide batter between the 2 prepared loaf pans and bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.