Day Ten 2016

Recipe for Disaster.

So today, despite my somehow managing to avoid it, we are in full party prep mode here.  So in the honor of party prep I thought I would share a recipe with everyone.  This is the top secret recipe for my famous cranberry salsa.  I can share it because Kat already shared it with Beverly.  Top secret indeed. 

Cranberry Salsa

1 one lb bag of fresh cranberries

½ an onion

2 or 3 jalapenos

2 oranges.

! cup sugar

1 cup water

First chop up the onion, go ahead and chop up ¾ an onion of that’s what you are working with.  Chop up the jalapenos too.  This is a good time to think about if you want to include the ribs or seeds.  OR wearing gloves, although if you didn’t think this far ahead it is too late for gloves. 

Peel and then section the oranges.  Sectioning is a fancy word for cutting up the orange so that you only get the fruit, you don’t get any of that membrane skin.  I actually do know how to do this, but usually Kat steps in and helps, i.e. takes over on this part.

 

Make a simple syrup of the sugar and the water in a pan on the stove, stirring with a wooden spoon.  

Add some finely chopped orange peel.  Did I forget to mention you need that?  Go ahead and dig it out of the trash can.  Or grab one of those tiny orange cuties and peal that instead, then do a fine chop on that skin instead.  Add that to the simmering simple syrup.

Wash the cranberries and add them to the simple syrup, wait till they all ‘pop’ like 3-4 minutes.  Stir occasionally.  If you go in the other room to talk to Kathleen or Paul, just don’t forget about the cranberries.  After the cranberries are ready, turn the stove off, add the chopped onions and jalapenos.  If you chopped up ¾ of an onion you have too much.  I did tell you just a half an onion but you thought you could wing it.  Typical.  Add the orange now too.  Stir until well mixed, leave to cool.  Once cool put in a clean glass jar or container and refrigerate until ready to serve.

I usually serve it over a block of cream cheese with crackers.  It is also delicious with chicken, or turkey, or pork. 

Now here is the rub. Or rather, if you didn’t wear the gloves, here is where you can’t rub, or scratch, or pretty much touch anything sensitive.  Tonight I mentioned to the boys that once, about six years ago, hours after making the salsa I scratched an itch in a, well, sensitive area.  Big mistake. Huge.  Not even funny. Not by a long shot.

And so, here I sit, with my contacts still in, afraid to touch my eyes to take them out.  I have itches I can’t scratch, and my lips are on fire from where I rubbed them.   

So go ahead, try this for yourself.  Or you could just buy some from Kathleen.