Extreme Vegan Makeover: Easy Cranberry Sauce Edition

This past Thanksgiving was my first time making my own cranberry sauce. Growing up, we always had the kind that came out of the can and jiggled on the plate. This is a very simple recipe and it takes hardly any time at all to prepare. It is very tart so if you like your cranberry sauce sweeter, you add orange juice or more sugar. Tom actually loves his food sweet and he said it was perfect just the way it was. It's a beautiful and colorful side dish for your holiday table.

Ingredients

12 oz. bag of fresh or frozen cranberries
1 cup raw sugar
2 Tbs. orange zest
2 Tbs. water
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Open a 12 oz. bag of fresh or frozen cranberries and set aside 1/2 cup of them in a bowl.  Put the rest of the cranberries into a saucepan.

Add 1 cup of sugar, the orange zest and the water and cook over low heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves and the cranberries soften, about 10 minutes.

Raise the heat to medium high and cook until the cranberries burst, about another 10 minutes. Reduce the heat back to low and add in the cranberries you had set aside. Add more sugar if you want it, salt and pepper to taste. Let cool (you can refrigerate it if you like your cranberry sauce cold) before serving. Enjoy!

The "V" Word wishes everyone a very Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa and Happy New Year.  Here's hoping that 2011 is a year of love, compassion and cruelty-free living for all living beings.