cranberry picking
And since we've been on the theme of berries this week ....
... I went cranberry picking yesterday for the first time in my life. They grow in small clumps that are mostly hidden along the ground. The earth was soft and turfy like moss which made being on my knees a pillowy soft joy. :) I had a closeup of the most beautiful autumn colours that I otherwise would have passed by had my eyeballs not been a few inches from them. The bright berries you see in this picture aren't cranberries. They aren't poisonous but neither are they desirable. I had to look for the deep red berries with star ends like blueberries. It was a fun and thoroughly happy experience. Thanks to the generous northern friends I went foraging with I ended up with close to a bucketful of autumn cranberries! Hooray!
So ... any good cranberry recipes out there?
18 Comments:
Wow! They look so wonderful!!!!
Cranberry Appetizer Spread
1 cup water
1 cup granulated sugar
12 ounces fresh or frozen cranberries
1/2 cup apricot preserves
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted
8 ounces cream cheese
In saucepan over medium heat bring the water and sugar to a boil without stirring. Boil 5 minutes. Add the cranberries. Cook until cranberries pop and the sauce is thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
Add preserves and stir in juice. Cool.
Add almonds.
Place the block of cream cheese on a serving dish and spoon berries over top.
Serve with crackers.
k! Im thinking I need some cranberries- A nice thanksgiving dish- in a funky bowl!
I'm sure they would be great in muffins. Check out www.allrecipes.com for ideas! That's a really beautiful photo by the way.
Everyone is going cranberry picking . . . I want to go too!! I would make cranberry muffins, yummmm.
Betsy! That recipe sounds divine. Ever since I started blogging with you girls all I do talk about food and salivate on my keyboard ... not that I'm complaining, mind you!
Sonya - it was fun. A sort of Fill-Your-Heart-With-Joy type day. :) It feels good to interact with this beautiful world we've been given. I don't do it near enough!
Rachel - Thanks! It was a beautiful crisp fall day. And funny you should mention AllRecipes ... I took a trip there yesterday! Alas, there weren't too many cranberry recipes which surprised me (I guess I'm used to a couple hundred recipes coming up!) However I know that I could just huck in cranberries in place of blueberries or something.
Koalakins - this year was my first try at it. It takes a lot of picking time for the amount of berries you get but it's a pleasant way to pass the time. It seems like it's a rite of passage or something to living here in the North. I was going to go again yesterday but I had to cancel out because I had too much on my plate. :(
I know we are all food crazy! We should post our fav dishes! I bet the computer would freeze!
I love eating! Who doesnt? im eating a quick blt sand right now- without the tomato- not craving it!
When Brandon is at his Dad's I tend to eat light.
Although I usually put fresh gucamole in it and the tomato!
His first night at "Boys Club" at our church is tonight- so I gotta drive him later...
Ahhhhhhhhhh food
Another beautiful picture!
Hey! Our neighbours just moved up to your neck of the woods! I believe he's opening up a garage of some sort. so if you see something new that's probably them!
Bets - we had barbecued teriyaki salmon tonight. Not bad! And a salad. Man, I should make a BLT sammy just for old times. I used to pile every ingredient on to the max. I'll definitely have to try guac sometime because I just cannot get enough of that stuff!
Thanks again, Jillian! It felt like it was a very "taps on the maple tree" kind of scene. Wouldn't that be fun to do? Make maple syrup, I mean? I would feel like a true Canadian if I did that. :)
Are your friends moving to Yellowknife?
Sweet! Did you pick each and every bone outta the salmon? oooh yes blt bring it on!
Next time we get together I ll make you some guacamole k? hmm or the 7- layer dip. We can eat like piggies! yum yum!
Ha ha Colleen! That's so very Canadian of you indeed! I've thought the same thing myself. Let me know if you ever do and I'll come help you! :)
We don't really know them that well really. But yes, they have moved to Yellowknife. They used to work at the Canadian Tire and now are starting their own business!
Bets - I missed one bone. It scratched me half way down. Boo!
Jillian - that would be a blast! I wonder if people who make syrup ever have maple syrup fights. That would be so much fun!
I'll have to keep my eye out for a new business in town and see who they may be!
Sonya - You would love our Caribou Carnival here in Yellowknife. My favourite thing is the Maple-on-a-Stick. You buy a popsicle stick for a couple of bucks and there's this area where they constantly put fresh snow on a long table and then they pour the hot syrup in a line over it and you take your stick and put it on one end of the maple and start rolling it up. Then you have this frosty warm/cold maple that you can slurp over. LUV-UH-LEE! And your stick is good for as many syrup rolls as you'd like. I love it. Very Laura Ingalls. Except for the popsicle stick probably. :)
ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.
Yummy- I want to come to the Caribou festival!!!!!!!!!! Thatt maple on a stick sounds so yummy.
I love Laura Ingalls! I read all her books when I was young. She was one of my favorites besides Anne of Green Gables and Nancy Drew! Woo Hoo
Have you ever had an unsweetened cranberry smoothie? The first taste is promptly followed by a facial seizure. Who knew a persons face could contort that way?
Bets - You would love the Ugly Truck and Dog Contest at the Caribou Carnival, too. We could lick maple and check out the ugly trucks.
I remember liking Laura Ingalls but I've forgotten everything I ever read by her. But I adored Nancy Drew. She rocked. :)
Ruthie! You made me laugh outloud. HA! :D Why and where did you do that? That's hilarious. I have a GREAT picture in my mind.
It was one of those Booster Juice healthy high protein smoothies. I usually really like them.
Do you have Booster Juice in Yellowknife?
oh what fun! One day I will get there...
Really! cool sometimes I feel like I am Nancy Drew in real life- Muhaaa.
Little house is so cute. My tall gigantic Brother got the Dvd's for his daughter- they watch them together! Is that not adorable!
I need to buy the series soon as well.
Those look so amazing! This post has really made me want to get back into a greener place with yummy crisp fall air...
Hi Christine! Thanks for stopping by! It's a green place but it's also a c-c-c-cold place, too. We're just outside of the Arctic Circle so we appreciate all the beautiful autumn days we can get! That being said ... there's nothing like a crisp fall day.
And last night I finally made something with those cranberries - fresh scones. Yum! If you come by today I'll let you try some. :)
any questions?
<< Home