Kay Wheeler Moore

Welcome to my blog

Hello. . .

The Newfangled Country Gardener is for anyone who has a garden, would like to have a garden, or who simply enjoys eating the garden-fresh way. I don't claim to be an expert; in this blog I'm simply sharing some of the experiences my husband and I have in preparing food that is home-grown.

About the author

Kay Wheeler Moore is the author of a new cookbook, Way Back in the Country Garden, that features six generations of recipes that call for ingredients that are fresh from the garden. With home gardening surging in popularity as frugal people become more resourceful, this recipe collection and the stories that accompany it ideally will inspire others to cook the garden-fresh way and to preserve their own family food stories as well. The stories in this book center around the Three Red-Haired Miller Girls (Kay's mother and aunts) who grew up in Delta County, TX, with their own backyard garden so lavish that they felt as though they were royalty after their Mama wielded her kitchen magic on all that was homegrown. Introduced in Kay's previous book, Way Back in the Country, the lively Miller Girls again draw readers into their growing-up world, in which a stringent economic era--not unlike today's tight times--saw people turn to the earth to put food on the table for their loved ones. The rollicking yarns (all with recipes attached) have love, family, and faith as common denominators and show how food evocatively bonds us to our life experiences.

Friday, December 23, 2011

Tango with the mango to yield an awesome cranberry-sauce version

Cranberry-sauce time is upon us again; doesn’t every holiday table need some of the tart, crimson mixture to enliven the Christmas turkey and dressing?

I found a version with such an unusual twist, I just had to share it—Mango Cranberry Sauce, with such healthy and diverse ingredients that it definitely got my attention when I saw it in my Taste of Home Thanksgiving Recipe Cards book. Only healthy elements all around—mangos, whole cranberries, chopped cilantro, tangerine, pineapple, red onion, and jalapeno.

Makes for a terrific combination; my booklet says it will “wow your gang” when you put it on the table. I’m serving it for tomorrow night’s Christmas Eve dinner. We’ll see if my gang is wowed—certainly hope so. It also keeps very well, so it can accompany leftovers for several days.

Instructions with the recipe contain the reminder to be sure to wear disposable gloves when cutting hot peppers and to avoid touching your face. An important caution that can save you lots of grief! This is the first time I’ve ever seen a recipe contain this heads-up alert, but talk about something that quickly could turn your Christmas tearful—using your hands to swat away a stray eyelash immediately after chopping up a jalapeno!

This post does it for The Newfangled Country Gardener until after Christmas, but I already know of two can’t-miss, scrumptious dishes I’ll be sharing in the days ahead. I can guarantee these will be must-tries!

Merry Christmas—and happy and healthy cooking! May your tables reflect all the goodness that preparing foods the garden-fresh way has to offer—and may our hearts all reflect the reason for the season!

Mango Cranberry Sauce

1 1/2 cups whole-berry cranberry sauce (I instead used fresh cranberries and prepared them according to package directions; then I measured 1 1/2 cups of the cooked whole berries)
3 tangerines, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1 medium mango, peeled and diced
1 cup diced fresh pineapple
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded, and finely chopped

In a large bowl combine all the ingredients. Cover and refrigerate until you serve it. Makes 4 1/2 cups sauce.

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