Homemade cranberry sauce with a twist

Even when using recipes - I just have to invent something that's uniquely mine, to adjust ingredients and taste to my preferences.


Here's the story about inventing a different kind of homemade cranberry sauce.


About a year or so ago I found this really great recipe how to cook cranberries into delicious sauce. I used the original recipe a few times and the sauce was great: easy to make and tasty. The only thing I have a problem with is that it calls for a lot of sugar (which I try to eliminate from my diet) and orange juice (which is acidic so it's also on my "stay-away list").


That's why I cooked my newly invented sugar free cranberry sauce by replacing sugar with agave syrup and orange juice with grapefruit juice...




... and my 2008 Thanksgiving cranberry sauce recipe is as follows:


* 12 ounces cranberries
* juice of a medium-sized grapefruit
* approximately 1/2 cup of agave syrup*


Directions:

Cook cranberries in grapefruit juice and agave syrup in a medium size pan over medium heat for about 10 minutes (cranberries need to pop). Remove from heat, place in a bowl and let the sauce cool and thicken.


If you like your cranberry sauce more jellied, mash cooked cranberries with a fork.


* The quantity of agave syrup is approximate because the taste will depend on the size and the sweetness of the grapefruit you use. However, with using agave syrup as a sweetener it's easy to add more, even after the sauce cools down.


And the most important thing about this recipe is that it's good for everyone, does not contain any alcohol or any artificial ingredients.


Enjoy!



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Lemon Basil

Here's a little secret, so obvious that most people don't even see it: Lemon Basil is a perfect match with all the beverages and dishes that we usually use the lemon or lime with:

• all kinds of salads
• refreshing beverages
• fish
• pea soup
• and deserts

When you add fresh lemon basil leaves to your beverage as a decoration, go ahead and chew on them slowly and as long as possible. It's great for remineralizing your teeth and that is the case with many kinds of fresh herbs, not just basil.








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How to cool down hard boild eggs - fast

In the video below you can see the fastest way (that I know of) to cool down hard boiled eggs. The same method works just as well for whole cooked potatoes, when you're in a hurry to peel them.





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