the easy element. {cranberry sauce}.

on our quest to get that thanksgiving dinner on the table there is one serious subject that needs to be addressed.
cranberry sauce.
from. a. can.

now i have heard from so many people this line "oh i love the cranberry from a can...reminds me so much of growing up."
" blah blah blah blah blah..." {that is actually what i hear.}

actually what i hear is - i'm lazy.
c'mon - aren't we all trying to move from processed and into real? isn't that what 2012 is all about?

in our family, we have been enjoying this for as long as i can remember and it's been my responsibility to make since i have been 12 years old. {there was one year my sister got a hold of it - i couldn't be there in time - it was a horror of orange zest and cranberries and i would rather not talk about it. i still don't quite understand what happened. no one will give me the whole story. those poor cranberries....} and i couldn't imagine ever going back to that sweet sweet can when i know that this is out there.

do you realize how EASY it is to make a beautiful homemade cranberry sauce that will make the turkey, that you painfully woke up at 5am to get into the oven {can i have another shout out for the ham people!! no 5am - woop woop!!}, actually take notice and thank you for taking the 12 minutes to provide such a wonderful condiment? to value him that you would take the time to make something so simple and outstanding? and one that will actually get ooohs and aahhs at the dinner table and in the end isn't it the validation we are after? it's okay - this is a safe space - you can admit it. i am here for you.

picture this: thanksgiving morning. you are awake before everyone, getting things organized and lined up for your day of cooking - the day to assemble all your loved ones together to give thanks for the year you have had. as you pour that cup of coffee, hot chocolate, tea, juice or whatever you are sipping in the morning to help you wake and reflect, you also pour out 1/2 a cup of orange juice with 1/2 cup of liquid honey into a small/medium saucepan and set on a burner on medium. as you stand and sip, you also stir this mix as it get's hot and the honey melts down into the liquid. as you pop a couple of pieces of toast into the toaster - realizing this may be the last thing you eat today because as everyone else will be snacking on cheese, sausage, pickles, crackers and quite possibly the award-winning antipasto you put up last fall, you will be in the kitchen cooking and secretly chugging the wine that's there "for the gravy" - you will also dump two cups of whole cranberries into your hot juice mix on the stove. give this a stir and bring to a boil while you slather the natural peanut butter that you processed last week - after reading about the horrors of kraft peanut butter - with some of the honey from your backyard hives. while you savour your breakfast and the last moments of quiet before everyone wakes up and the whirlwind of life breaks free, keep an eye on your berries as they pop and turn the heat to low when it comes to a boil. set your timer for 10 minutes and frequently give them a stir. when your timer goes off, turn off the heat and move the berries over and stir them for about one minute while you sigh and brace yourself for the day ahead. set aside and for the next hour give them a stir to help cool them down. once cool transfer to a bowl or container and place in the fridge till ready to use. place them in an unusual but majestic container and celebrate their excellence. now that wasn't so hard was it?

didn't think so.