Cranberry Sauce

Cranberry sauce has got to be one of the easiest-to-make parts of Thanksgiving dinner. It takes just minutes and practically cooks itself. True, it isn't shaped like a can with the pattern of the can along the sides, but I've been eating homemade for as long as I can remember, so I don't know why anyone would choose that anyway.

When I was a kid, my grandmother had a pomegranate tree. My sister and I would  peel them like an orange, so it was messy and took ages (and probably ruined our clothes). Looking back I realize that taking the time and care to fill a bowl with bright red pomegranate seeds was quite a lesson in patience for small children.

A few years ago though, I learned the trick of how to peel a pomegranate. Since it was so fast and easy, that year we had more pomegranates than ever. They started showing up in packed lunches, fall fruit salads and drinks. When the time came to make cranberry sauce, I decided to put some in with the cranberries and liked it so much that I've done it ever since.

Cranberry Pomegranate Sauce

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 bag cranberries
1/2 cup  pomegranate arils (or seeds)


Put sugar and water in a pan over medium heat. Once sugar is dissolved, add cranberries and pomegranate arils. Simmer gently for 10-12 minutes. The cranberries will make a popping sound as they cook.

Rose Petal Jam

Before last summer I'd never made any kind of jam or jelly. I'd cooked up some strawberries and peaches and made freezer jam, but it just isn't the same thing as a proper jam or jelly. Then I had a bumper crop of grapes (nearly 30 pounds from a single over-achieving vine) that there was no way we were going to get through before they spoiled.

We ate some, used some of them to make wine (fail) and the rest I made into grape jelly. I'd never made any kind of jam or jelly, so I did a lot of reading then tried it out with crab apples first. With each batch I learned from my mistakes and gained confidence to try making marmalade, and then eventually something, at least to me, more exotic.

While researching how to make jelly, I ran across a recipe for rose petal jam with intentions of trying it 'someday'. One of my favorite things about summer is cooking with flowers, so, when my roses started to bloom, I began collecting petals.

I used some of my own, some from a friend and purchased some dried culinary blooms.  I used a combination of varieties and an approximation of this recipe and was rewarded with a pint of jewel-colored, fragrant rose-flavored jelly. 

Rose Petal Jelly

1 3/4 cups water
1 oz rose petals
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons powdered pectin
1 cup sugar

In a medium saucepan, bring water up to a rolling boil. Add rose petals and boil 1 minute.  Cover the saucepan, turn the heat off, and steep the rose petals 30 minutes.  Strain the water through a cheesecloth-lined sieve, making sure to wring the cheesecloth to squeeze all the liquid from the petals. Transfer the rose water back to the saucepan.

Stir in the lemon juice, then whisk in the pectin and sugar until dissolved.  Bring to a boil on high heat and boil 5 minutes, stirring frequently.  Pour into sterile jars and allow to cool to room temperature. Store refrigerated.