My secret culinary weapon!

If my freezer had to be used for only one purpose, it would be to store fresh cranberries! You can't find fresh cranberries after December. As soon as they start appearing in the stores in anticipation of winter holidays and family feasts, a bag is happily put into my weekly shopping cart. When I get home, I rebag the cranberries and carefully put them into my freezer. Why?

My first reason is that I really like cranberries and have many recipes for them that used to only happen during Christmas and Thanksgiving. Now that I plan ahead, the scent of cranberry/apple muffins can scent the air in the middle of a hot summer and remind me of cooler weather. My son and I like smoothies with a handful of cranberries thrown in for color and taste. Last night, I made a favorite dessert - a butter crust topped with fresh cranberry jam and homemade chocolate pudding.

I learned to make cranberry sauce when I was around ten years old. I just followed the recipe on the back of the bag and was super proud of one of my first cooking efforts done entirely on my own. Over the years, I have tweaked the recipe to be more in line with my idea of how I want it to taste. After all, cranberries are almost my favorite part of the Thanksgiving dinner. The also go great with beef meals, too.

4 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
1 cup granulated sugar
zest & juice of one orange
1 cup water

Mix all of the above in a good-sized pot and slowly bring to a simmer. When all the cranberries have burst and the liquid around them has thickened a bit, you have cranberry sauce! It does thicken more as it cools.

Cranberries are tart so you might prefer it slightly sweeter and can add another half cup sugar to the recipe.

If you want to be extra creative, you can add a cup of diced apple to the mixture halfway through the cooking.

Sometimes, I like a smoother product. When it has cooled down a bit, I run it through the blender.

You can make it a day or two ahead and keep it in the refrigerator.

If you worry about it not being as thick as you'd like, you can add a tablespoon of corn starch mixed with 1/4 cup of water during the last part of the cooking.