Sunday, November 12, 2006

Cranberry sauce is the heart of Thanksgiving

Having Diabetes has forced me to focus on the foods that are essential to me about Thanksgiving. Oh, a little turkey is nice. And I like sweet potatoes. But the two most important things are the stuffing and the cranberry sauce. I used to have three cranberry sauces--the jelly kind out of the can, the whole cranberry kind I made myself (with nutmeg and cinnamon added), and a fresh cranberry relish (one package of fresh clean cranberries ground up in the food processor, one or two oranges complete with peel, also ground up in the food processor, and a cup or two of sugar--let sit in the refrigerator for at least five days before Thanksgiving). I never liked the jelly, and I've given up on the relish. So that left finding a way to make the whole berry sauce without the two cups of sugar.

Here's my recipe, which is actually pretty yummy:
Two or three bags of cranberries
Two diced pears
One container of frozen pear or apple juice concentrate
Stevia or splenda
Cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon to taste

Melt the frozen fruit juice in the bottom of the sauce pan.
Add spices
Put in the cranberries and the diced pears
Boil while stirring until the majority of berries have burst
Stir in stevia or splenda, adding several tablespoons at a time, until sauce achieves desired sweetness.
Taste again the day before Thanksgiving and add additionnal sweetner if desired

The stevia has a slight fruity aftertaste, but it works well with the cranberries.

Enjoy the holidays!
Love, Sandra

3 Comments:

Blogger The Rhiens said...

Yummmmm...that sounds really good. I,too, like to make fresh cranberry sauce. But, this sounds like a good way to enjoy it without the sugar. Thanks for sharing this recipe.

We love you!
Scott, Earlene and Julia

6:28 PM  
Blogger Paul and Nicole Rhien said...

I had never thought of fresh pears...
hmmm.. sounds yummy.

In Norway, they have a YUMMY berry, called Tyttebaer, which is similar to Cranberries. I'm sure miss it, especially at holiday time :)

Thanks for sharing. - P.

8:32 PM  
Blogger jed-laura said...

cranberry sauce from the can is my favorite.

Laura and I agreed that the reason that we like it so much is the cool shape it is in when it comes directly from a can is . Wierd, I know. Now you know, Jed and Laura (and probably Alli too) are wierd. :)

-Jed

7:13 AM  

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