Of cranberries.

As I’ve gotten older I apparently have become aware of the fact that I actually love Thanksgiving foods: Things like sweet potatoes, cranberries, and pumpkins have become favourites. This isn’t to say that I didn’t love them before – I did – but rather I don’t think I quite understood the delight of them until more recently.

There is one cranberry dish I have always loved, however, and it is simply not Thanksgiving (or Christmas) without it because my Grandma B. always had it both holidays.

This year I made two cranberry dishes, one the delicious and um, lacking in most health regards, Cranberry Whip, and the other an equally delicious, but far more healthy Cranberry-Pear Sauce.

The Cranberry-Pear Sauce has no refined sugar, as my sister has been successfully living refined-sugar free for several months now – I bow to this, as I can’t quite seem to entirely give up my ice cream, but in this case it meant I got the excuse to try a new cranberry recipe with the old one, and it was a successful try. It is tart, as cranberries frequently are, but the pear and the agave nectar sweeten it up a bit, and it was so simple – literally 20 minutes of prep – to make. I highly recommend this recipe!

Grandma B’s Cranberry Whip Salad is not quite 20 minutes of prep, NOR is it sugar free, but it is really good.

I mean – look at this yumminess!

It’s pretty simple to make, although I like to make it a couple of days in advance. You start with 1 quart cranberries & 2 cups of sugar. Griend the cranberries up, add the sugar and let stand in the refrigerator overnight. When you get done it’ll look something like this.

Then add in the following:

• 1 large can crushed pineapple, drained.
• 1 lb. package miniature marshmallows
• 1 cup chopped pecans.

Then whip 1 pint of whipping cream and fold into the above mixture.

Chill before serving. I actually think it’s best to let it sit overnight in the refrigerator again as the marshmallows better absorb the cranberry flavour and everything mixes well.

This freezes really well and it makes up a very large amount of salad. This year I made one batch, but have already put half of it in the freezer to pull out for Christmas celebrations in WA as well. Grandma B. always had it for Thanksgiving and for Christmas in one of the stemmed compotes – so basically this is one of those dishes that it doesn’t feel like the holidays without it.