Maggie's Pumpkin Bread

Makes 5 mini loaves (or 2 regular loaves)

Ingredients
Butter or baking spray, for greasing the pans
2 cups canned pumpkin puree
1 cup vegetable or canola oil
4 eggs
2/3 cup water
2 cups sugar
3 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
3 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon (original recipe had 3 tsp cinnamon but I cut it down for my personal palate)

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Lightly grease 5 baby loaf pans with butter or baking spray.
3. In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin, oil, eggs, water, and sugar. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon, combining thoroughly. Gradually stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared pans, dividing evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50 to 55 minutes.

(To make 2 regular-size loaves, you’ll need to increase the baking time.)

Walnuts: Optional. Can sprinkle on top before baking, or toss lightly in a dash of flour and mix into the batter just before filling the loaf pans.

Irina's Cherry Cordial

2 lbs cherries (or berries, like blackberries or currants)*
½ lb sugar
100 mL water
½ L grain alcohol (according to Irina, it's the stuff you can get for about 
          $15/bottle that's 95% alcohol - yeah, you read that ABV right)
optional: lime zest, vanilla

Combine the cherries and sugar and leave for 2-3 weeks at room temperature. Agitate occasionally.

After a week, add the grain alcohol and water. Steep for 2-3 months. Lime zest and vanilla optional.

Strain and bottle, but keep the fruit - it makes for a very delicious (if dangerous) treat to serve with dessert, in cocktails, etc. The resulting liqueur is about 60% ABV. It's absolutely luscious, with a deep fruit flavor almost like port, and a syrupy, unctuous texture.

*If you want to try it with peaches or apricots, it'll be ready faster. Irina advises a minimum of 1 week for the sugar step and 2 weeks with the grain alcohol.

Chocolate Macaroons

Yield: Approximately two dozen

4 oz (100g) good quality semisweet chocolate

4 egg whites

200g sugar (about ¾ cup plus 2 tbsp.)

225g (2 cups) ground almonds

Line a baking sheet with baking parchment or rice paper. Preheat oven to 350° F.

Grate chocolate. (If you have it, you can use the metal grating disc on a food processor.)

Beat egg whites in a medium bowl until stiff. (Add a tiny pinch of salt or some cream of tartar to facilitate.)

Beat in sugar gradually, continue beating until mixture is thick and glossy.

Fold in ground almonds and grated chocolate.

Drop spoonfuls of mixture onto prepared baking sheet, leaving space between each macaroon for spreading during cooking.

Bake 15 to 20 minutes. Do not let macaroons become too dark, or they will taste bitter.

Cool on baking sheet.

Carefully peel cooled macaroons off baking parchment or cut around each macaroon on the edible rice paper.