James found a recipe on WikiHow for Sbiten, a traditional winter drink from Russian made with water, honey, spices, and jam. Before tea and coffee were popular in Russia, Sbiten was consumed during the long winter months. He wanted to give it a try, so I brewed a batch and it was really good!

There are several variations, but we selected this recipe because we are both fans of blackberry jam. Other recipes include up to 2 cups of honey, which seems like it would be overly sweet. This version has a nice balance of spice and sweetness, along with a fruity flavor from the jam. The blackberry jam tastes great, but you could certainly try other flavors.You could also replace the water in this recipe with red wine to make a drink similar to mulled wine.

Sbiten

10 1/4 cups cold water
1/2 cup honey
16 oz (1 lb) blackberry jam
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
sprigs of mint or cinnamon sticks, for garnish (optional)

In a large pot, bring water to a boil. Stir in honey, jam, and spices. Simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring gently. Remove from heat and set stand a couple minutes to cool. Ladle into mugs and float a sprig of mint on top or add a cinnamon stick, if desired.

Note: spices do not dissolve like salt and sugar do, so there will be sediment left from both the spices and the jam. You could strain the liquid, but it is more enjoyable with the spices.

Here is another dish with Moroccan flair, a vegetarian option to the Chicken & Butternut Squash Tagine. Couscous is incredible popular in Moroccan food, served as a compliment to a meal just as rice is in Asian cuisine. The spices are similar, though you can adjust to suit your tastes. You can also use chicken broth instead of vegetable stock.

As you will see in the picture below, I served this meal with rice. Rather than add it to the pot with the vegetables, I cooked the rice separately and stirred in some of the cooking liquid. I would have preferred couscous, but I did not have enough on hand and rice was a good substitute.  The recipe below includes the instructions for using couscous.

Butternut-Chickpea Couscous
adapted from Cooking Light

2 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/4 tsp salt, divided
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp nutmeg
3 cups vegetable stock
1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 can (15 oz) petite diced tomatoes, do not drain
1 can (19 oz) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup golden raisins
1 1/2 uncooked couscous
1/4 cup almond slivers (optional)

In a dutch oven or large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add onions and 1/4 tsp of salt and saute for 3-5 minutes until softened. Add garlic and saute 1 minute. Add remaining 1 tsp of salt, cinnamon, ginger, paprika, turmeric, cayenne pepper, and nutmeg. Saute for 1 minute, until very fragrant.

Stir in chicken stock, butternut squash, and tomatoes with liquid and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add chickpeas and simmer, covered, for an additional 5 minutes or until butternut squash is tender when pierced with a fork. Remove from heat and stir in golden raisins and couscous. Cover and let stand 5 minutes.

Stir well before serving, fluffing up the couscous. Top with almond slivers if desired.

As part of Muffin Madness, I challenged myself to make Blueberry-Orange muffins. I wanted to include candied orange peel tossed with ground cloves, sprinkled on top of the muffins. After doing a little research, I found the website Food Pairings that indicated cardamom was a good match for blueberries and bitter orange peel, so I decided to stir the candied orange peel into the batter along with some ground cardamom.

The candied orange peel I purchased, however, was not high quality and contained a large amount of pith. The candied orange sunk to the bottom of each muffin, and the original recipe I used called for granulated white sugar instead of brown sugar, so the muffins themselves were quite dry and flavorless. It took three attempts to get this recipe right, which included swapping in brown sugar, using fresh orange juice and fresh orange zest to make the muffins moist, and tinkering with the amount of blueberries for maximum impact.

Here is the final result! Use frozen blueberries for best flavor and texture (thaw first).

Blueberry-Orange Muffins
adapted from Cooking Light

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 large egg
1 orange, zested and juiced
1 cup blueberries

Preheat oven to 350F and prepare a 12-cup muffin tin by coating it in cooking spray.

In a medium size bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and ground cardamom.

In a large bowl, combine butter, buttermilk, egg, orange juice and orange zest. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until combined. Add half of the flour mixture and beat to combine. Add the second half of the flour mixture and beat to combine. Fold in blueberries.

Spoon mixture into prepared muffin tins, filling the cups about 3/4 of the way. Bake for 25 minutes, until golden brown or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center.

Makes about 12 muffins.

Muffin Madness continues with more Fall flavors! This recipe uses roasted butternut squash to keep the muffins moist. The combination of spices might seem overwhelming, but it balances well with the rich butternut and bright orange flavors. The orange here is subtle, though can be intensified by adding more zest if desired. The original recipe was for an 8×8 inch cake, though it adapted easily to muffins. I changed some of the amounts to ensure the muffins would “stick” together easily. These muffins will also rise quickly, so do not overfill the muffin tins.

Butternut Squash note: for 1 cup of butternut squash puree, buy the smallest butternut squash you can find (or, if available, but half of a squash). Halve the squash and scoop out the seeds. Place, peel side down, on a baking sheet and cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes, until tender. Allow squash to cool, scoop out the flesh, and mash with a fork. Reserve the remaining squash for another recipe (or another batch of muffins!).

Butternut-Orange Spice Muffins
adapted from Cooking Light

2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup butternut squash puree
zest and juice from one small orange (about 1 tsp zest and 1/4 cup juice)

Preheat oven to 325F and coat a 12-muffin tin with cooking spray.

In a medium size bowl, combine flour, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine brown sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla extract. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until combined. Add half of the flour mixture, beating just until combined. Add butternut puree, orange zest, juice, and the rest of the flour mixture, beat until just combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin pan, fill each tin about halfway. Bake for 25 minutes, until golden brown or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center.

Makes about 20 muffins.

I’m back in the kitchen! For your enjoyment and consumption, I bring you this spicy, sweet, savory sauce with cherries, orange, and cayenne pepper. While I served the sauce over chicken, this would also be great over pork chops or a pork tenderloin. I used a blood orange for this recipe, but a regular navel orange would work just fine. Blood oranges can be hard to find, though usually available until Spring, and they have a slightly raspberry taste to them.

I also used a fancy Cranberry-Blood Orange Tea Jam from Republic of Tea in place of the preserves, but you could substitute a number of jams or jellies: orange marmalade, cherry preserves, even another berry-flavored jelly. Using frozen cherries cuts down on prep time and allows this recipe to be made in any season, but pitted fresh cherries would be great too.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 bag (12 oz) frozen unsweetened dark sweet cherries, thawed 
1/4 cup red wine
1/2 chopped onion
1 tsp minced garlic
1 orange, zest and juice
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne (red) pepper
1/8 tsp cumin
1 tbsp cherry preserves

Preheat oven to 350F or broiler. Lightly coat a baking sheet or broiler pan with cooking spray.

Season chicken with salt and black pepper as desired. Bake or broil 20-25 minutes until cooked through and no longer pink.

Meanwhile, combine onion and garlic in a medium saucepan coated lightly in cooking spray. Saute over medium heat for 3-5 minutes.

Add cherries with any liquid from the bag and red wine. Using the back of a spoon, lightly rush the cherries (leave some cherries whole). Zest and juice orange into saucepan. Add remaining ingredients and stir well. Bring to boil and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

To serve, spoon hot sauce over chicken breasts. Shown with steamed asparagus and Spicy Sweet Potatoes (the Spicy Cherry Sauce goes great with those potatoes!).