cranberry crush

two recipes and the most beautiful bucket list

Rasa Kasparaviciene @ Unsplash

Thank you to everyone who personally reached out about my mother. Your kindness has sustained me through some dark days.

While there is still much to be (medically) determined, I’m grateful she was released from the hospital, that her health is slowly improving, and that we can gather together for Thanksgiving, which has been my primary focus—to be home for the holidays.

Consider this week’s newsletter more of a distraction from our “regular programming” because sometimes, when one is living hard things, it can be challenging to write about them as well.

In the spirit of the season, I’m sharing a few of the recipes that will grace our table, food that repeatedly brings me joy because in a world of pumpkin spice people,

cranberry is my jam!

I mean if you think about it—what is cranberry except for the most perfect blend of sweet and sticky sour practically calling out to a gummy girl like myself?

Let us begin with Recipe Number One:

This is the recipe for my can’t stop, won’t stop cranberry sauce. I’ve been making it since 2009. Rumor has it my ex-in-laws still make it too. Now that’s staying power.

The dressing requires pomegranate molasses, and if you don’t know what to do with the remainder of the bottle, Melissa Clark has some excellent ideas here!

Cranberry Sauce with Red Wine, Pomegranate Molasses and Mediterranean Herbs

1 1/3 c sugar

3/4 c dry red wine

1 12 oz package fresh cranberries

3 T pomegranate molasses

large pinch of dried basil

2 1/2 T each fresh cilantro and mint

• Combine sugar and wine in a heavy medium-sized saucepan; stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves, then bring to a boil until syrup is reduced to approximately 3/4 c, about 8 minutes. Add cranberries; boil until berries begin to pop, about 5 minutes. Stir in pomegranate molasses and basil.

• Cool completely—this recipe can be made up to one week ahead, making it another winner in my book.

• A few hours before serving stir in the freshly chopped herbs. Serve cold

Note: this recipe yields approximately 2 1/4 cups, but we always double the recipe because my kids are “heavily invested.”

Which brings me to an announcement and Recipe Number Two:

Remember my overflowing glass cake dome? Yesterday my sweetheart informed me I had to stop because he was getting chubby, or to paraphrase Sabrina Orah Mark, Fuck the baking. The baking is over. Fair enough.

However, there will be one last hurrah:

Apple Cranberry Crumble

This is actually a riff on another favorite, Back to School Raspberry Granola Bars From Karen DeMasco. For Thanksgiving, I’m going to swap out the raspberry preserves with apple cranberry chutney and serve it with whipped cream. For the purists, here is the original recipe in all its “tastes like a grown-up Pop Tart” glory:

1 c pecan halves, coarsely chopped

1 ¹/₂ c all-purpose flour

1 ¹/₄ c old-fashioned rolled oats

¹/₃ c raw sugar

¹/₃ c packed dark brown sugar

1 t kosher salt

¹/₂ t baking soda

³/₄ c unsalted butter, melted

1 c raspberry jam (or in this case Stonewall Kitchen Apple Cranberry Chutney)

• Heat the oven to 350°F, with a rack in the center. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan. Line the bottom and sides with parchment paper, leaving a 1-inch overhang on two opposite sides for easier lifting when the bars are done. Butter the parchment. Spread the pecans in a pie plate or on a rimmed baking sheet and toast in the oven until lightly browned and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Let cool.

• Whisk together the flour, oats, sugars, salt, baking soda, and cooled pecans in large bowl. Pour in the melted butter, and using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, stir until well combined.

• Press two-thirds of the oat mixture (about 3 cups) into an even, firmly packed layer on the bottom of the baking pan. Using an offset or rubber spatula, spread the raspberry jam evenly across the surface of the dough, leaving a 1/4-inch border uncovered at the edges (the jam will melt and spread closer to the edges). Evenly sprinkle the remaining oat mixture over the jam.

• Bake until the top is golden brown, about 40 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking. Let the granola bars cool completely in the pan on a rack, about 3 hours. Lift up the overhanging ends of the parchment paper and transfer the granola almost-bars to a cutting board. Cut into 2-inch (5cm) squares. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

And finally, something to read:

Andrea Gibson

is an extraordinary poet. Full stop. She reminds me to repeatedly meet the euphoria of being thankful in moments we are told gratitude is impossible.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been asked to hold a lot of heavy things. It’s disrupted my normal, or at least what I perceive it to be. Sometimes, it feels like an excuse to retreat into myself and not do anything except mindlessly scroll the internet or watch football. Or bake.

But that’s simply another story I tell myself because I know it is a lot to be present. To be acutely aware the moment has arrived when everything changes. The moment every child knows and yet pushes off into the distant future. The moment one observes one’s roles shift, and rather than being purely my mother’s daughter when we sit together in the doctor’s office, I am becoming her mother. And in that moment, my only normal is my to channel a mother’s forgiveness in this spectacular now.

If you don’t have a traditional Thanksgiving “blessing,” or even if you do, you might consider choosing a line or two from Andrea Gibson’s bucket list to share as your own and asking others to do the same. I have a feeling I just might read them all.

This year, what are you looking forward to as your offering? I’d love to know what you will bring—what traditions will you share, either new or old?

as always thanks for reading and wishing you all a happy season of giving and receiving thanks ~ xosew

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if you enjoy this newsletter i’d love it if you spread the word or click the ♥️ and leave a comment so we can grow & get to know one another in community. my deepest gratitude to all who are already sharing, liking, recommending, and restacking narrative threads: from breath to pen.

The Hidden Heart Retreat • February 1-4, 2024 • Finger Lakes, NY

it’s not too late to treat yourself or someone you love to self-care

Join Heidi Kroft and Sarah Webb in the Finger Lakes for an extraordinary weekend of discovery! Through the practices of yoga, meditation, and creative journaling, we will reconnect with ourselves, paying attention to all that makes us sing and explore how to receive our whole heart whisperings in beauty and bravery. 

two rooms available for single or double occupancy