I love cranberries yet I (and most Americans) only seem to eat them during the holiday season. Why is that? Perhaps it’s that the cranberry is undervalued in terms of its versatility. Perhaps it’s that most folks have only had it in the jellied form – or as a juice.   We were having a discussion of cranberries over coffee one morning here at Greenfeet HQ and decided the lowly cranberry needed to improve its street cred. 

We know our friends are up for a good challenge so we called out on Greenfeet’s Facebook fan page and through Twitter for your best cranberry recipes – the winner to receive a prize package from Greenfeet.  You didn’t disappoint. We had some great recipes and ideas coming at us from all angles. The winning recipe is posted below.

I have an amazing recipe for cranberries and orange I’ll post a bit later in the holiday season. It’s worth looking out for. But, in the meantime, I’d really encourage you to consider all the different ways you can utilize this seasonal fruit.  Consider cranberry upside down cake, cranberry-tini’s, cranberry chicken salad (YUM!), cranberry quick bread, oh shall I continue? Ok- Throw some dried cranberries in your spinach salad, or add a few to your cookies. Integrating these little beauties into your diet is easier than you think.   Speaking of beauties, cranberries are the divas of the berry world.

I mean did you know the cranberry is one of only three berries native to North America that are grown commercially? Yep. And they’re a festidious little berry. They only grow in certain conditions according to the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers’ Association. Optimum conditions include acid peat soil, plenty of fresh water, sand and a growing season stretching from April to November, including a dormancy period in the winter months providing an extended chilling period, necessary to mature fruiting buds. Hmmm, I could use a ‘chilling’ period for a few months a year myself. I think crannies know what they’re doing.

Cranberries don’t grow in water contrary to popular belief. They grow on vines in impermeable beds layered with sand, peat, gravel and moss. These beds are commonly known as ‘bogs’ and were originally made by glacial deposits.  There are vines reported to be over 100 years old and still producing. Wow – don’t tell that to the Octomom.

Apparently flooding these bogs with water makes harvesting easier and helps with pest control. You’ve probably seen the Ocean Spray commercial with the two dudes standing waist deep in one making their schpeel to drink their juice. Who knew these remarkable little berries were so needy? 

Alright, enough about the cranberry already. Let’s get to the winning recipe, shall we?

Our winning recipe was posted by Sam Squailia on Greenfeet’s Facebook fan page. Come join the fun!  Sam wins a prize pack of kitchen goodies from Greenfeet.com.

Ingredients
2 1/2 to 3 lb boneless pork loin
16 oz can jellied cranberry sauce (we suggest making a double batch of homemade sauce)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup cranberry juice
1 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp ground cloves
2 TBSP corn starch
2 TBSP cold water
1 tsp salt

Directions
1. Place roast in slow cooker

2. Combine cranberry sauce, sugar, cranberry juice, mustard and cloves. Pour over Roast.

3. Cover. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or until meat is tender (i cooked 2 hours on high and 2 hours on low)

4. Remove roast and keep warm.

5. Skim fat from juices. Measure 2 cup juices leftover in slow cooker, add water if necessary.
Add to sauce pan and bring to boil over medium heat.
Combine cornstarch and water to form paste. Add to sauce pan and continue to simmer to create a cranberry gravy consistency. Add salt to taste

6. Serve cranberry sauce gravy over sliced pork loin.

I’d encourage you to read about the health benefits of cranberries. It’s impressive.

I have to go. My stomach’s growling. Let me know what you thought of this recipe and if you have one to share, please post it!

Tags: cranberries, cranberry pork roast, cranberry recipe, health benefits, healthy diet, lower cholesterol

This entry was posted on Monday, November 9th, 2009 at 6:57 pm and is filed under Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.