Fresh cranberry relish

Couldn't be easier and goes with do many dishes - especially risotto or creamy style noodle casseroles, or millet loaf! Takes basically 10 minutes to put together and needs to chill for an hour or overnight, so it's great to make the day before. I have let this sit since Thanksgiving so even without a photo, I'm posting it! It's so easy and so good!

Fresh cranberry relish

1 bag of fresh cranberries

1 orange - preferably organic so you can use the peeling

1/2 c pecans or almonds

Use a food processor and grind the berries with quartered, seeded orange with peeling and the nuts until all chopped into a consistent texture. It will be fresh and crunchy. We didn't have the requisite orange so we used the inside of one orange and the peeling of an organic clementine - it was great!

Roasted red pepper tapenade

On a late Fall yoga retreat our cook offered up a side dish she was calling "red pepper walnut pate." I was considering side dishes for Thanksgiving that could accompany our mushroom risotto and remembered that rich roasted pepper flavor and color. It was a big hit alongside every part of dinner, and made our next day lunch tacos super special. Here's what I came up with to please the crowd. This needs to be in the fridge at least an hour or two or overnight. It really was great the second day. Sorry I didn't get any good photos of this -- but next time I make it, I will upload them.

Roasted Red Pepper Walnut Tapenade

3 Roasted Red Peppers - peeled & seeded

3/4 cup of water

2-3 sesame rye crackers or 2 toasted slices of bread

1 clove garlic

3/4 cup toasted walnuts

3/4 tsp cumin

1.5 tsp paprika

1-2 tsp olive oil

1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar

3/4 tsp coarse salt

1/2 tsp Black pepper

Break the toast/crackers into the water in chunks. You will be squeezing the water out of it after it soaks to add substance.

Pulse the garlic and nuts until crumbly. Add the spices and peppers and squeezed bread/crackers. Add the balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper and pulse until consistent in texture. Put it in a bowl and drizzle oil on top. Chill and enjoy!