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A Berry Holiday Treat
by Arleen M. Kaptur

Description: Berry recipes and home decorating ideas for the holiday season.

A tiny berry and so traditional! Its very color is perfectly suited to all Holiday mealtimes and home decor as well. A string of cranberries mingled with popcorn, dried fruit, baubles, and sprigs of holly or ever- green add a nostalgic touch to your home. Dried cranberries are fragrant and emit an essence that reminds everyone who enters your home that the true Holiday Season is here and is being celebrated.

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A quick idea: put cranberries into the water in a clear vase before adding your flowers and greenery- instantly you have a Holiday accent!

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There is the very basic cranberry sauce: 2 cups sugar, 2 cups water, 1 lb. (4 cups) fresh cranberries

Combine sugar and water in pan; stir to dissolve sugar. Heat to boiling; boil 5 mins. Add cranberries; cook till skins pop, about 3 mins. Remove from heat. Serve sauce warm or chilled. Basic, beautiful and a decorative touch of Holiday Cheer to mealtimes.

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Add a historical accent to your holiday meals with a colonial drink called a shrub. The Pilgrims were proud to serve this beverage and so should you - Shrubs served in colonial days were fruit-based drinks liberally spiked with brandy or rum - or whatever spirited drink was at hand!

Today's version:

4 cups raspberry sherbet, softened, 4 cups cranberry juice cocktail, 1/4 cup lemon juice, 3 cups chilled ginger ale

Spoon half of the sherbet into a blender. Pour in half of the cranberry juice and half of the lemon juice. Process until smooth. Pour into 6 glasses. Repeat with remaining cranberry juice, and remaining lemon juice.

Carefully pour some of the ginger ale down the side of each glass. Stir to muddle slightly. A toast to you and your loved ones!

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Cranberries - they generously give of their color, texture, and essence for our enjoyment and our Holiday meal plans. Don't forget our fine-feathered friends - string a few garlands, along with some popped corn for them as well. However you use cranberries ENJOY!

Reprinted with permission.