Fall Bounty

I love autumn! It truly is my favorite time of year. The air gets crisp and fresh. The leaves turn colors and then fall to the ground. The aroma of the fallen leaves immediately brings me back to my childhood when I would walk in the woods with my father, trying in vain to hunt rabbit and grouse.

I love the sight and sound of huge formations of geese flying overhead as they migrate from Canada to points far south. And the autumn season also brings a bounty of food harvest and associated feasts.

In the USA and Canada, Thanksgiving is celebrated, but at slightly different times. (It's the first Monday in October for Canadians, and the third Thursday on November in the USA.) But both as a celebration of the season's harvest. And I LOVE the Thanksgiving Feast. It is my favorite holiday meal of the year.

But let's talk about one specific part of that feast.

The wonderful cranberry.

Without going into all the good health properties of the cranberry, they taste great! They are very tart and acidic, and that tartness is why they blend so well with the rich and fatty foods on the Thanksgiving table. The acid buts the heaviness of the gravies, sauces and stuffings. However, I grew up with cranberries that slid out of a can and were then cut into circles of red gel.

 Traditional in my family.

But If you want the real taste of cranberries with all their health benefits in addition to texture and great flavor, here is an exceedingly simple recipe. You can have it made in a matter of minutes. It can be served immediately, or kept in the refrigerator in a covered container. You can vary the ingredients to your taste and preferred level of sweetness.

Cranberry Relish
Serves 8

1 bag of raw cranberries, washed. (I think the bags are generally one pound)
2 medium apples, cut into quarters with the cores removed
1 orange, peeled
1/2 - 1 cup sugar (or Splenda)

Put the first three ingredients into a food processor. Process until evenly chunky. Add sweetener to taste.

Nutritional data (approximately 1/4 cup per serving):
Note: I used Splenda. If you use sugar, the calories and carbs will be accordingly higher.

Calories:    44
Fat:          0.1g
Sat fat:        0g
Chol:          0mg
Sodium:   1.1mg
Carbs:    11.6g
Fiber:          3g
Protein:     0.4g

An alternative to this recipe that I really like is to add one jalapeno.  Tart and hot!