Tasty Recipes from Recipe Wizards

Can’t resist popping the bubble wrap that comes tucked in all those holiday packages?

Then you’ll get a kick out of one of my favorite culinary equivalents: the snap, crackle and pop of whole, fresh cranberries as they burst from the heat in the pan.

Don’t go overboard, though. If you let the berries continue to cook too long after they pop, the sauce will turn bitter.

No doubt, cranberries are a revered holiday tradition. But there’s no reason not to slather the lovely red sauce on foods year-round, because the native American berry is bursting with nutrition.

An excellent source of vitamin C, the berry reportedly kept the first New Englanders from scurvy. A very good source of dietary fiber and a good source of manganese and vitamin K, fresh cranberries also contain more antioxidants than dried.

Known as “bounceberries,” fresh cranberries actually should bounce when ripe.

The Star’s Spicy Jalapeno Cranberry Sauce contains sugar, water and either fresh or frozen berries. The simple recipelets the berries do all the talking, but when you add a jalapeno (also high in vitamin C) your taste buds get a good jingle.

Shopping tip: Fresh, whole cranberries are widely available October through December in the produce department. Refrigerate fresh cranberries in an airtight plastic bag in the refrigerator for a month. But freeze a few extra bags; cranberries keep frozen for up to a year. And it’s not necessary to defrost cranberries before using.

Make ahead tip: Prepare Spicy Jalapeno Cranberry Sauce the day before. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Allow to come to room temperature before serving.

Serving tip: Serve the sauce as an accompaniment to roast turkey, ham or other holiday entreedinner. Other offbeat ideas from the November issue of Food Network magazine: Whisk cranberry sauce into a vinaigrette, stir intoChampagne for a cranberry Kir Royale or spoon over store-bought cheesecake.

SPICY JALAPENO CRANBERRY SAUCE

Makes 3/4 cup

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries

1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

1 green onion (white and green portions), minced

Combine water and sugar in a small saucepan. Heat toboiling, stirring constantly. Stir in cranberries. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, 10 to 15 minutes or until cranberries are softened, many are split and juice is thickened. Remove from heat. Stir in jalapeno pepper and onion. Set aside and allow to cool to room temperature.

Per (1-tablespoon) serving: 38 calories (none from fat), trace total fat (no saturated fat), no cholesterol, 9 grams carbohydrates, trace protein, 1 milligram sodium, trace dietary fiber.

Recipe developed for The Star by professional home economists Kathryn Moore and Roxanne Wyss.

Can’t resist popping the bubble wrap that comes tucked in all those holiday packages?

Then you’ll get a kick out of one of my favorite culinary equivalents: the snap, crackle and pop of whole, fresh cranberries as they burst from the heat in the pan.

Don’t go overboard, though. If you let the berries continue to cook too long after they pop, the sauce will turn bitter.

No doubt, cranberries are a revered holiday tradition. But there’s no reason not to slather the lovely red sauce on foods year-round, because the native American berry is bursting with nutrition.

An excellent source of vitamin C, the berry reportedly kept the first New Englanders from scurvy. A very good source of dietary fiber and a good source of manganese and vitamin K, fresh cranberries also contain more antioxidants than dried.

Known as “bounceberries,” fresh cranberries actually should bounce when ripe.

The Star’s Spicy Jalapeno Cranberry Sauce contains sugar, water and either fresh or frozen berries. The simple recipelets the berries do all the talking, but when you add a jalapeno (also high in vitamin C) your taste buds get a good jingle.

Shopping tip: Fresh, whole cranberries are widely available October through December in the produce department. Refrigerate fresh cranberries in an airtight plastic bag in the refrigerator for a month. But freeze a few extra bags; cranberries keep frozen for up to a year. And it’s not necessary to defrost cranberries before using.

Make ahead tip: Prepare Spicy Jalapeno Cranberry Sauce the day before. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Allow to come to room temperature before serving.

Serving tip: Serve the sauce as an accompaniment to roast turkey, ham or other holiday entreedinner. Other offbeat ideas from the November issue of Food Network magazine: Whisk cranberry sauce into a vinaigrette, stir intoChampagne for a cranberry Kir Royale or spoon over store-bought cheesecake.

SPICY JALAPENO CRANBERRY SAUCE

Makes 3/4 cup

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries

1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

1 green onion (white and green portions), minced

Combine water and sugar in a small saucepan. Heat toboiling, stirring constantly. Stir in cranberries. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, 10 to 15 minutes or until cranberries are softened, many are split and juice is thickened. Remove from heat. Stir in jalapeno pepper and onion. Set aside and allow to cool to room temperature.

Per (1-tablespoon) serving: 38 calories (none from fat), trace total fat (no saturated fat), no cholesterol, 9 grams carbohydrates, trace protein, 1 milligram sodium, trace dietary fiber.

Recipe developed for The Star by professional home economists Kathryn Moore and Roxanne Wyss.

Rarely recognized as haute cuisine, collard greens are downright presidential these days, thanks to the White House vegetable garden. Michelle Obama’s recent harvest of a healthy crop of collards and other greens occasioned many photo ops and gave the first lady a chance to talk of the garden as an edible lesson “about health and how delicious it is to eat fresh food.”

This is not the first time vegetables have sprung from White House grounds. The presidential precedent dates back to 1800 and John Adams, who started growing vegetables, not to teach a lesson but to save money. While it’s unknown what Adams grew, collards seem a good bet. They’re easy to grow and forgiving, with thick but elegant paddle-shaped leaves that can withstand extreme temperatures – even southern Florida’s summer heat.

When it comes to economy, collards deliver. They’re fresh, local and just a dollar a pound in markets now. Julius Caesar (for whom July was named) is said to have treated collard greens as medicine, eating them after banquets for nutrition and digestion.

Like its relatives, kale and broccoli, collard greens are rich in cancer-fighting antioxidants as well as vitamins. One cup of cooked collards delivers your full daily vitamin A, half your C and more than 800 percent of your vitamin K, as well as significant amounts of minerals including potassium and zinc.

Southern tradition calls for collards to be braised or boiled with pig parts, but we veg heads know better: Try them, shredded and raw, in that summer staple, coleslaw. Yet another president, Thomas Jefferson, would approve: He’s reputed to have preferred salads to all other foods.

With so much nutrition for so little money, a cool plate of raw collards might become your favorite, too. Eat up – one cup has but 11 calories. It’s the all-American thing to do.

BLACK BEAN AND COLLARD GREEN SALAD

Here, Hoppin’ John, the traditional Southern dish of black-eyed peas and collards, gets a lightened-up salsa-fied, South Florida makeover. It’s a sturdy salad perfect for a July Fourth buffet.

About 1 dozen collard leaves (for 1-1/2 cups shredded, packed)

Grated zest of 1 lemon

4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons cumin

2 cups diced ripe tomato (about 2 medium tomatoes)

1/3 cup chopped scallions (about 3 scallions)

1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Pinch of sea salt, or to taste

Dash of hot sauce, if desired

Rinse collard leaves well and blot dry. Discard thick center stems and stack leaves for easy cutting. Roll up leaves and use a knife to shred into skinny ribbons. (Or process rolled leaves with shredding blade of a food processor.)

Place lemon zest and juice, olive oil and cumin in a large bowl; whisk to combine. Add shredded collards, stir to combine and set aside while you dice tomatoes and chop scallions. Add them to the bowl and mix.

Add black beans and cilantro; toss gently. Season to taste. Salad may be served at this point or covered and chilled. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Per serving: 163.7 calories (50 percent from fat), 9.5 g fat (1.3 g saturated, 6.7 g monounsaturated), 0 cholesterol, 5.2 g protein, 16.2 g carbohydrates, 6.1 g fiber, 306.3 mg sodium.

(Ellen Kanner writes about vegetarian concerns. She blogs at www.edgyveggie1.blogspot.com. Email her at ekanner(AT)MiamiHerald.com)