Monthly Feature – Cranberries

As the weather turns colder, how about something to warm you up? How about a special! Each month from October to June, I’ll highlight a preserve or two, using a key ingredient of the season, provide flavour notes, a recipe and a discount on selected preserves.

First Up: Cranberries.

The perfect sweet and savoury berry. One of my favourite ways to enjoy cranberries, aside from a preserve, is in a crisp. Sliced firm apples, sparkling red berries and a crunchy oat topping make for a hearty and rustic dessert that’s easy to whip up. Here’s my favourite apple crisp recipe:

Apple Cranberry Crisp

1 1/2 cups large flake oats
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup melted butter
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
4-6 Cortland Apples
1 1/2 cups cranberries

Preheat oven at 350 degrees.

Peel apples, slice and toss together with cranberries. Mix dry ingredients together, add in melted butter to form the topping. Sprinkle a scant amount of topping on the bottom of your pan, add apple-cranberry mixture, pour topping over top. Bake for 30 minutes, or until apples have softened and top has browned (if you like the top crispier, put it under the broiler for a couple minutes, just watch it doesn’t burn).

* This recipe is very adaptable. Different apples will yield different results: Granny Smith’s won’t break down, so if you prefer a firmer apple and more texture, these are your apples. Cortland’s are lovely because they are so sweet and pair nicely with the tart cranberries.  Amazing with vanilla ice cream or freshly whipped cream.

Now onto the savings. Until mid-November, our delicious Cranberry Apple Butter and Sage and Thyme Cranberry Chutney are 15% off! Enjoy our cranberry apple butter spread over your morning muffin or mixed with cream cheese and spread on bagels. Our cranberry chutney is a generous mixture of local cranberries, Gravenstein apples, garden fresh sage and thyme, which combine with the sweet tang of a chutney and is at home alongside a holiday turkey, spread on a leftover turkey sandwich or spooned on top of brie and baked at 300 degrees until cheese has softened. The perfect holiday preserve!

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