Homemade Cranberry-Orange Juice and Sauce

By: Esther Vasa

Ingredients:
Note: If you are making this for a Thanksgiving dinner, multiply your quantities as needed. I usually like to prepare fresh juice and sauce and use it for the day. You can freeze the unwashed leftover cranberries and bottle the sauce for later use.

Cranberries are a good source of Vitamin C and are known to prevent urinary tract infections, bladder infections and kidney stone formation. They are a great alternate to antibiotics and have probiotics to promote the gastrointestinal health. Multiple Sclerosis fighters are prone to UTIs and this berry has the power to fight it off naturally. I have used homemade cranberry juice to fight off my infections and would like to share the recipe with my co-fighters. Please refrigerate the berries for use in the spring and summer months.

For Juice
Fresh or frozen Cranberries - 1 cup
Water - 2 cups
Grated Orange rhind peel - 1 tbsp (or one orange's)
Juice of one whole orange
Brown Sugar or Molasses - 1 tbsp (optional; I don't prefer using)
Himalayan Salt - a pinch

For Sauce
Brown Sugar or Molasses - 1 tbsp
Crushed cinnamon - a pinch

Juice Preparation:
Boil the cranberries and orange rhind peel on medium heat until the berries burst and thereafter a couple minutes. Towards the end, add orange juice and brown sugar or molasses if you are using. Let this mixture boil until sugar melts. If you are not using sugar just boil cranberries and the orange juice for a minute. Strain and let cool in the refrigerator. Serve chilled. Makes two cups.

Sauce Preparation:
Use the strained mixture and mix it with a tablespoon of brown sugar and boil on low for 5 minutes. Add cinnamon towards the end. Let cool and transfer into a glass jar and store in refrigerator. Makes about 1/4th cup. Your kids can use this as bread spread! Goes well with grilled chicken and/or mashed potatoes. Enjoy.