Mom's Cranberry Relish

The Holiday season is in full force. It makes me want to hang Christmas lights everywhere, go sledding, and eat a lot of sugar in any form. I love it, and I have done all three of those activities a whole bunch!! Hurray for so much snow, you don't even know what to do- except go sledding! Right now though, I am contemplating if I may have overdosed on the 'consumption of sugar' part of the Holiday spirit I am rolling with. It happens to everyone, right? You start baking cookies like nobodies business (for your friends of coarse), and the next thing you know you've got nothing left to show for it but a platter full of crumbs. Every time! Geez!

There is one solution. My Mom's cranberry relish recipe. It's a cure all. It's a whole lot of raw fruits chopped together to make an amazingly healthy and delicious relish. We pretend that if you eat it after over consuming cookies, it will even it all out. Mentally. Maybe. I meant to post the recipe before Thanksgiving, but I was too busy living life. So here it is now. It is a great relish for Christmas dinner too!


Mom's Cranberry Relish

1 16 oz pkg fresh cranberries
2 cups fresh pineapple, peeled and chopped
2 medium sized, crisp- fleshed apples, roughly chopped (Honey crisp works great)
1 medium sized orange, zested, peeled and roughly chopped
1/2 cup sugar or 1/3 cup honey, optional
1/2 tsp orange oil, optional

Soak the cranberries in a large bowl or kitchen sink with a dash of vinegar for about 10 minutes, picking out any bad cranberries. Also wash the apples and orange.

Using a food processor chop, in batches, the cranberries, pineapple, apples, and orange. Place the chopped ingredients in a large bowl. Add the sugar or honey to your desired sweetness. Mix thoroughly. Add the orange zest and the orange extract if using. Refrigerate until use. The relish is best made a few days ahead of time and refrigerated to let all of the juices and flavors mingle and get happy together.  You can fold this relish into quick bread or muffins, eat it atop a ham sandwich with mayo and arugula, or straight up to mentally balance all of the cookies you've consumed. Belly up!!