Orange You Glad It's Friday?

Oh wow.... that was kind of a terrible title... But I just couldn't help it. :D And there was a good reason behind the orange, just a little hint for the  recipe to come, which is actually quite healthy in light of my previous posts.

So this week was an introduction to vascular surgery. I must say, it's a lot of ulcers... Diabetic ulcers, ulcerated varicose veins, ulcerated vein graft sites. Just... lots and lots of ulcers. While I may not be 100% sure what I want to go into at the moment (still leaning towards pediatrics), I do know that vascular surgery is probably not going to be the route I take. Just watch, in a few years time, I look back on this post and that's exactly where I am. Would that not be ironic? Granted, I shall not cut it off my list completely since I have yet to go into theatre. Hopefully Tuesday will be interesting with Gianluca and Mr. Caruana even though I have no idea what the list is like. Sadly, due to a nationwide attempt to localize certain specialties to regional centers, most of the larger vascular surgeries are performed at Brighton.

On the other hand, some of the post-surgical treatment in vascular surgery is quite interesting. I saw a vac dressing for the first time. Vac dressings, aka Negative-pressure wound therapy, promote healing by applying a vacuum to the wound through a sealed dressing, usually with a foam interface. The vacuum created by the sealed dressing draws out the fluid and increases blood flow to the site of injury/surgical wound. For people with decreased arterial blood flow, this is an asset to the healing process since more blood will be directed to the wound by the negative pressure.

Speaking of decreased blood flow and slow wound healing, Bad News Friday was worse than usual. Stitches which were perfect just a week ago and surgical sites which were dry somehow decided that this week would be the week to get wet again and split. We're not talking just one patient, but several. Interestingly enough, apparently the breast care nurses and surgical team can pretty much tell the smokers from non-smokers just from their post-surgical healing. Because smokers have less effective microcirculation, the wounds heal much slower.

On the happy, healthier side of things, this friday's cake was Cranberry Orange Bread. Trying to find the perfect recipe for the tart berries was a bit challenging since the primary association with fresh/frozen cranberries is cranberry jelly for Thanksgiving. That was definitely not going to be the recipe for these berries. Dried cranberries work like magic in oatmeal cookies and with white chocolate, but the whole frozen ones would be too wet for that application. So to Pinterest I went, searching for a recipe.

I ended up modifying the original recipe I found and adjusting the dry/liquid ingredient ratios with another cranberry bread recipe.

Cranberry Orange Bread with Orange Glaze
*adapted from kitchenmeetsgirl's Orange Cranberry Bread (with Honey)

Bread

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon orange zest

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

1/2 cup oil

1 cup Greek Honey yogurt or other low-fat Greek yogurt

Juice of half an orange – about ¼ cup juice

1 cup cranberries (I used frozen, left them whole)

Orange glaze

2-3 tbls fresh squeezed orange juice

½ tsp orange zest

1 cup powdered sugar

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, orange zest and gently sift/mix together. In another bowl, combine eggs, oil, vanilla, yogurt and orange juice. Add the liquids to the dry ingredients and mix until everything is just incorporated. Add the cranberries (I just took them straight from the freezer and tossed in about a cup) and gently mix to distribute the berries.

 

In the pan, ready to bake

Pour into a 9x5 loaf pan and bake in a 350 F (180 C) oven for 50-60 minutes, checking at about 45 minutes depending upon your individual oven. When a toothpick comes out clean, remove from oven and let cool.

While the loaf is cooling, combine the orange juice, zest and powdered sugar. Start with half the cup and add more powdered sugar to get the consistency you want. It should be thin enough to pour but thick enough that it doesn't just soak into the bread.

Out of the oven, one layer of glaze

When the loaf is cool enough (the glaze will just soak in if still hot), pour half the glaze over the top, letting it spill over the sides. Let this set for a few minutes before continuing to glaze otherwise it will not dry on the surface. Top with a few extra cranberries if desired, otherwise, dig in!

Vegetative Bodies

Vegetation may not be good on heart valves, but in buns, I think they sound extraordinarily good. If I were a piece of rising dough possessing a heart, I don't think I would mind getting Libman-Sacks endocarditis and covering my valves with a mixture of celery, carrots, mushrooms, ham and garlic.

After making Phenomenon's 1 Bowl 1 Hour Dinner Rolls for our weekly Regency Sunday dinner, I couldn't help but think of variations, of fillings, of making it sweet and perhaps chocolatey.

The base of these filled rolls is an amazingly easy yeasted bread. The amount of active yeast doesn't add a strong flavor but allows the rise to occur quickly and fast enough for a last minute addition to any meal when you're strapped for time and can't wait 2+ hours for the proper rise to occur. The filling is not overwhelming, a simple mix of sauteed veggies, pretty much anything you have on hand, although I think next time, a bit more garlic would make for an amazing filling.
1 Bowl 1 Hour Dinner Rolls with Veggie Filling

Dough
1 1/2 cups of warm water (110 degrees F - slightly warm to the touch out of the tap)
1 tbsp instant yeast
2 tbsp granulated sugar
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp salt
4 cups flour (I used all purpose)

Filling
2 cups of any minced, sauteed vegetables you have on hand
I used (minced, finely):
A handful of baby carrots
1 stalk of celery
3 white button mushrooms
Cured Virginia ham
garlic, salt, pepper to taste

Topping
3 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp dry or fresh parsley
3 tbsp olive oilIn a measuring cup or small bowl, mix together warm water, sugar and yeast. Allow to stand for about 5-10 minutes until frothy.

In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Make a well in the middle and add yeast mixture and oil. Mix until combined. Then turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until soft and shiny. Form dough into a ball, placed in a lightly oiled bowl and allow to rise in a warm place for 30 minutes or until doubled in size. I preheated my oven to 200 degrees F, turned it off and let the dough rise in the warm oven.

While the dough is making its first rise, mince all of the vegetables and saute in a little oil until soft. Let cool until ready for filling. Also saute minced garlic, parsley, and oil and set aside to brush on top of the buns.When the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and shape into an 8x12 rectangle. Cut into 24 pieces. I found it easier to separate each piece of dough as I cut it so that they wouldn't stick back together and become a giant ball again.

To form a bun, take one of the pieces of dough, flatten into a 3-4 inch circle, place a tablespoon of the filling in the center and pinch the sides together to seal the bun closed. Repeat until all 24 buns are formed.Lightly oiling a 9x13 pan, place the buns in rows of 4x6 to rise a second time. Drizzle garlic/oil/parsley over the top of the buns. While they rise for another 20 min or until doubled in size, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Bake for 13-15 minutes at 400 F (I baked them for 13 minutes, then again, it's naturally hot in the Caribbean without the addition of an oven).Devour when ready. =D