Amelia Gallant
Observer Contributor
Season’s eatings! With the holidays upon us, I start to grow homesick for my home on the East Coast. I often catch myself daydreaming about my family’s long dining room table with the bright red tablecloth and the people I love gathered around it. More than just a big Christmas dinner and devouring turkey with all the fixings takes place there – a lot of important family traditions happen around that dining room table. It’s those traditions that mean the most to me. I’m grateful for my family and that I’m able to spend the holiday season with them. Not every family or every year will be the same. Sometimes people celebrate with chosen family, with friends or coworkers, or choose to take time alone and reflect on the passing year.
When we think about eating during the holidays, it’s easy to dwell on the large portions, decadent options and seemingly endless buffets. I encourage you to take holiday eats off the “naughty list,” listen to your body, and take the time to enjoy each morsel. The benefits of preparing and sharing a meal with others are a true holiday gift. For all the years I worried about the contents of the holiday meals or spent my time anxiously trying to make the perfect dish, I barely remember a single meal I ate in great detail. What does last, for me, are the memories, traditions, and the sense of family around that long red table.
One thing that’s always on the table is my mom’s homemade cranberry sauce. She makes it every year to share with family and neighbours and I want to share the recipe with you!
Cranberry Orange Sauce
Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup orange juice
Zest of one orange
1 12-ounce pack fresh cranberries
Instructions:
Combine juice and sugar to a saucepan and heat until dissolved.
Add cranberries and zest, simmer for 10 minutes, until all berries burst. Stir occasionally.
Cover and cool completely.
This article first appeared on the Northern Health Matters blog.