Heart of the Matter: Holiday Food: Cranberry Orange Relish

Sarah and I went to BJs today. We had a free trial card, and some extra time on our Philly carshare car we'd rented, so we went. It was pretty lame. We were both very unimpressed. However, I did score a 3 pound bag of cranberries for $5. I love cranberries, if you hadn't noticed. Seriously, I love them. When we got home, I decided to get a head start on Thanksgiving (which I'm so excited about) and make cranberry relish. You know, the kind that's just made with an orange, cranberries, and sugar that we all used to make in kindergarten? At least in New England we did. This recipe is my entry for the Heart of the Matter Holiday Food event. Cranberries are one of the "superfruits", and are really good for you. Check out the Cranberry Institute. Everyone knows you drink cranberry juice when you have a urinary tract infection, but did you know cranberries are also good for your heart and have tons of antioxidants? Yum. Oranges have tons of vitamin C, and are good for your heart. While this recipe does have some sugar, it can be cut down a lot, or replaces with honey or agave nectar or some other healthy sugar substitute.
Cranberry Orange Relish

1 orange
3 cups of cranberries
1/2-1 c of sugar (white or brown)

Remove zest from orange in wide strips, leaving most of the bitter white pith behind. Cut zest up into little pieces. Peel the orange, scrape the pulp from the membranes. Combine both in the food processor, discard pith and membranes. Add cranberries to orange parts in food processor, pulse until pretty well chopped. Add sugar, pulse quickly, then pour into a jar. Let sit in the fridge a few days to let the flavors meld. Enjoy on meat, toast, as a spread on sandwiches, or anything you can think of. I even eat it right out of the jar.