Neil Gaiman's Cranberry Sauce

I love cranberries. There is something about those bright red berries, which makes me want to smile.

I've always been a canned cranberry sauce kinda person. I remember being so excited about the can-shaped cranberry jelly my mother would serve with our Thanksgiving meal.

Well, one day while poking about on Twitter, Neil Gaiman shared a recipe for Cranberry Sauce and I had to try it and thank goodness I did! It's one of the few dishes on Thanksgiving day, which my son will eat.

I'm going to translate his recipe into an easy way to read it, but you can always visit his blog, linked above.

Neil Gaiman's Cranberry Sauce

Please note, this is a 2-day recipe, so start early!

Ingredients:
1 lb fresh cranberries
2 cups water
2 cups sugar
1 pinch of salt

1. Wash the cranberries, removing any soft ones.

2. Bring the water to a boil. Add the cranberries, sugar, and salt to the boiling water.

3. Boil for about 25 minutes, skimming off the pink froth, and stirring occasionally.

4. Keep boiling until the sauce becomes a thick jelly. When you drop a drip of sauce into a cup of cold water, it will hold it's shape when the sauce is done. 

5. Pour the jelly into a jelly mold, if you have one, or as Neil suggested a tupperware bowl. I used a small Pyrex bowl which I tempered with warm water first.

7. Let the steaming jelly cool on a counter until you can place it safely into the fridge.

8. The next day, fill a sink with hot water, hold the bottom of the jelly mold in the water for a few seconds, then turn it upside down onto a plate.

I hope you will try this recipe. It is really delicious, very easy and kind a fun.

I haven't abandoned you!!!

 (Bear taking a jump into the pool.)

Hi! Hi!
Oh my lovely blog! I promise I haven't abandoned you. It's been intensely busy in our house with swim classes, doll making, and the regular daily chores and school.

We all need a laugh, so I thought I'd share a bit of my morning failures of the day.

This morning, I let Bun choose breakfast and she asked for oatmeal. No problem! I can make oatmeal. I start everything to bubbling and turn to my oatmeal canister, which contains 1/4 cup of oatmeal. Yeah, no chance of that working out. What can they eat? Oh I know! How about cereal?  

I reach into the cupboard and check and, oh no!!!

That's right, I have only one bowl worth of cereal, which won't work for two hungry children. What am I going to do????

I ended up making them a french toast mug recipe for the microwave. It's really not tasty. Kinda like a dry bread pudding only salvaged by syrup, but the children must have picked up on my frazzled state and said it was good.

Whew! Luckily today was grocery day, so I've replenished everything.

The Children's Favorite Oatmeal Recipe

My children used to hate oatmeal, but I've managed to make a recipe they love. Here's my recipe! It is one adult serving, but fills up two children nicely. I love oatmeal, because it means no grumble bellies before  lunch.

1 cup of milk

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 overripe banana

1/4 c raisins

1/2 c oatmeal

1 tbsp ground flaxseed (optional)

Place the milk, cinnamon, vanilla, banana, and raisins into a small pot. Heat over medium.

Once the liquids are bubbling, add the oatmeal and flax seed. Turn the burner down to low. 

Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, divide between two bowls and stir like crazy to cool it down to child temperatures.

Another option I use is if I have some apple juice hanging around, I'll replace 1/4 cup of milk for 1/4 cup of apple juice. 

We have done all sorts of crazy things with this oatmeal to make it more magical, such as a drop of food coloring per bowl or rainbow sprinkles.