I seriously don’t know what possessed me to buy these cranberries.

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How pathetic is this? I didn’t even know if cranberries could be eaten raw… and whole. I didn’t think it was possible to bite into them without breaking a tooth or something. What the what?

And don’t act so surprised… I come from a long line of women who fully support the Ocean Spray can, and while we’re on the topic, I’m going to admit that I sort of love it. Like want-to-crawl-inside-and-burrow-a-little-tunnel-in-that-sauce love it. Come next Thursday, if I have the choice between lovely, orange-scented, fresh-busting cranberry sauce and the gelled cylinder that just slid out of a can… I’m totally going with the gel. Sue me!

Go ahead and slap me silly. I don’t hate it.

Cranberry Pear Salsa I howsweeteats.com

Since one of the only things I really succeed at in life is spending money, a stupid giant bag of cranberries made it into my cart without any plan or thought last week.

This is typical. I was annoyed by said purchase within five minutes of arriving home and continued to glare at these little NON-JUICY (this is important people) red pearls allll weekend long.

Like… who created a fruit that isn’t juicy when you bite into it?! Or that needs sixteen cups of sugar to taste good? Whatever.

 

So…

First, I baked something flakey with cranberries.

I’ll show you that later.

Then, I dumped 5 pounds of cranberries on the floor.

I’ll show you that now.

And since I don’t really have all these warm and fuzzy loving feelings for cranberries, I didn’t want them to rot in my fridge for the all of eternity. Or, you know… the next four months when I most likely decide to clean the fridge.

Into the food processor they went! I mean, if blueberries can do it… why not cranberries? Oh… because cranberries ARE NOTHING LIKE BLUEBERRIES. Don’t let the circular shape fool you. FYI.

 

But. Wait for it… wait for it…

…it worked! Pretty in color, super tart, sweet from the honey and full of salsa-like qualities… blue corn chips don’t stand a chance near this salsa. Other appropriate vehicles? Melty brie… crispy white fish… turkey paninis (how the heck do you spell that?) and… spoons.

Cranberry Pear Salsa I howsweeteats.com

Cranberry Pear Salsa

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Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries
  • 1 anjou pear, peeled and chopped
  • 1 large apple, peeled and chopped
  • 1/4 red onion, chopped
  • 1/2 jalapeno, chopped
  • 1/3 cup fresh cilantro
  • the juice of two limes
  • the juice of one orange
  • 4 tablespoons honey
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions 

  • Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Taste and season with additional salt or honey if desired.

Notes

Note: this salsa can be very TART depending on your cranberries. Don’t be afraid to add more honey, salt or even a few spoonfuls of sugar (yes, sugar!) to the mix.
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Cranberry Pear Salsa I howsweeteats.com

Thanksgiving is the best day ever.