Cranberry Orange Relish

So simple. So good. So punchy.

I keep eating it and pretending it's health food. Which it kinnnnda is. I mean it's got a ton of cranberries and an orange. And maybe, well, a little bit of sugar too. But I bet it's better for you than cranberry juice, and I'm sticking to that assertion.

Even Kip, who hates cranberries, liked the flavor. Although he wasn't too into the texture which has--gasp--chunkies. Chunkies, the bane of my married life, they are.

I read an idea about how you could even hollow out oranges and serve it in them. It seemed pretty cute and it was, but honestly, I liked the look better in a simple white dish.

Cranberry Orange Relish
adapted from Epicurious
Serves 6
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cost: $1.40
cranberries: 1.00 (if you're lucky), orange: .30, sugar: .10

1 12-oz bag of cranberries
1 orange, with zest
1/2-1 C sugar
1/8-1/4 tsp almond extract (optional, but awesome)

Zest the orange. Now cut it in half and cut out the flesh. You can cut it like a grapefruit and avoid all the pithy stuff, or you can just cut it out in a lump like lazy people (me) do.

Toss cranberries, orange, zest (start with just 1 Tbsp zest if you're a little zest shy, but I just zested the whole orange and added it), and sugar (start with 1/2 C and add more if you need it) into a food processor.

Process.

Taste. Add almond extract if using (I also tried vanilla extract, but didn't notice a big difference in flavor; the almond was like vavoom). Add more sugar if you need it. I like it tart, but added more sugar when I gave it to my kids to try. Because apparently I'm that Mom.

Eat it out of a bowl or add it to sandwiches or--I'm thinking this would be incredible--add it to a plain muffin mix for an awesome and beautiful cranberry orange muffin. (Hello Thanksgiving breakfast) (You know I just might try this this weekend).

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