December 3, 2012

REAL Cranberry Sauce

Thanksgiving may be over, but if you’re anything like me Christmas is YOUR favorite feast and since cranberries are still in season they deserve a spotlight on your table. In my quest to get processed food out of my life, it seemed awfully silly to be touting my old cranberry sauce recipe that relies heavily on JELLO of all things. Luckily, i just happen to know “the” quince guy and got my hands on an aromatic, ripe, locally grown quince to help me make my cranberry sauce all it could be for Thanksgiving this year. Not familiar with quince? Good ole’ Thomas Jefferson loved quince but they fell out of favor over the years. A “cousin” to the pear, quince fruit is chock full of pectin making it the perfect addition to jams, pies or jellied sauces to get those condiments naturally thickened. I’ve heard of folks cooking down concentrated quince paste and putting that by to use instead of commercial pectin in their canning the following year. Try it – it really works!

REAL Cranberry Sauce

  • 1 bag cranberries (about 3 cups fresh)
  • 3/4 cup sugar – white and brown mixed
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 finely diced quince
  • 1 cinnamon stick, grate some fresh directly into the pot first
  • 1/4 t cloves
  • Options for variety: orange zest, cardamom, diced hot peppers, allspice, fresh ginger
 Grate the cinnamon stick with the fine side of a cheese grater directly over the pot. Add the diced quince, cinnamon stick and water and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer the quince until beginning to soften (5ish minutes) and add the rest of the ingredients. Cook the cranberries until they begin to pop, turn off heat and crush sauce with a potato masher. You can cook longer for a less “whole berry” sauce to your preference. Remove from heat and allow to cool at least 10 minutes before pouring into a serving bowl (beware of hot splattering!) Serve warm or chilled. Just as great made the day before.
See if you can get quince in your neck of the woods and consider planting a tree if you’re in the right zone. They’re a worthy tree to keep and it’s always fun feeling a little camaraderie with Tommy J.
Have you cooked with quince?

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November 22, 2012

Eat Make Grow

Happy Thanksgiving! Thank you to all of you who share your projects on Eat, Make, Grow and inspire us!

Marigold here from Hideous! Dreadful! Stinky! You’ll notice that there is no Linky attached to this week’s blog hop. Foy, Miranda and I are working on some changes to Eat, Make, Grow that we hope you’ll love as much as we do. We’ll be making an announcement with all of the details soon. In the meantime, here are the featured posts from the last week:

This week’s most popular post was this adorable wool and silk winter skirt on Mandy Made. I just love the mix of the heavy wool contrasting with the sweet, summery silk lining peeking out underneath. I’d love to make one for myself. Hmm. Maybe a Winter of No Pants is in order??

 

And my choice this week is this wrapped branch centerpiece by Haeley over at Design Improvised. I love this because it reminds me of my grandma. I know it’s the wrong holiday, but every Easter we would seek out the perfect branch to display and hang our decorated eggs from it. So whenever I see a branch centerpiece, I get a little sentimental. This is a lovely twist on a classic. You should also check out the how-to for the table runner under this centerpiece. It’s a kid-friendly project that could easily be adapted with winter colors for the upcoming holidays.
Is one of these featured posts yours? Grab our “Featured Blogger” button to post on your blog and show off how cool you are. You can also visit our Pinterest Eat Make Grow Featured Bloggers pin board to see some of our past favorites.

Grab the code from my SIDEBAR!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, everyone. Please don’t trample anyone at the Wal-Mart tomorrow, and come back soon to hear about the changes to your favorite blog hop and mine, Eat, Make, Grow!

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November 21, 2012

Wordless Wednesday: Little Gunner

Tiny little Gunner, a custom pet portrait in felt made by hand by Fiber Friends. Find us on Etsy or contact us directly using our contact form on the Fiber Friends page.

Can YOU handle the cuteness?

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November 20, 2012

Pink Preview – Name that Pickle!

I’ve got a little project bubbling on my kitchen counter. It’s pink, it’s spicy, it’s delicious.

Name that pickle!

What do you think this concoction is? Results, with recipe and tips after the Thanksgiving holiday. Comment with your guess and your favorite “pickle” recipe (can be any type of fermented dish)

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