Cranberry Salsa

For our family Christmas get-together last Sunday I brought a the previous mentioned veggie tray but I also I wanted to share this amazing cranberry salsa that my friend, Molly, brought to a friends dinner a few weeks ago. Fortunately another friend, Marc, had got the recipe and posted it on his blog. So you can tell that this salsa was a hit!

When I brought it to the family event, I thought "Oh this is a lot. What will I do with all the leftovers?" I shouldn't have been concerned with that. It was all gone before the evening was over. So if you were there and want the recipe or you just want to try something new, here it is:

Cranberry Salsa with Cream Cheese

• 1 bag cranberries
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 green onion
• 1/4 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 of a bunch of cilantro
• 1 med. jalapeño - seeds and veins removed
• 1 lemon
• 1 pinch salt
• 2 blocks of cream cheese at room temperature

Remove soft and rotten cranberries from batch and wash. Chop cranberries, onion, cilantro and jalapeño to medium fine in food processor. Mix in sweetener, cumin salt and juice of the lemon. Cover and let macerate in fridge for 2 - 4 hours to let flavor build and the cranberries to soften. It will sweeten as it stands in the fridge.

Serve at room temperature poured over the top of the blocks of cream cheese with whole grain crackers.

I'm an Adult Now and Adults Have Costco Memberships

Last Saturday I was out running errands. I needed to pick up a veggie tray from Costco for our family Christmas get-together. The only problem was that I didn't have a membership at Costco. On my previous visits (where I actually bought something), I have always had a family member with me and they all have memberships there. Me, being the cheap guy that I am, have never wanted to plunk down $50 so that I can buy two gallons of milk at a time and only to find out that I can't drink milk that fast all by myself. So I debated as to whether I should call my sister, nephew, or my parents so that I could pick up the veggie tray. I began to think to myself, "Really, Brian? You need someone to come with you so that you can make a purchase?!" I then said to myself, "Brian, you are an adult now, and adults have Costco memberships!"

I arrived at Costco and when I told the lady at the front desk that I wanted a membership, she asked if I previously had a membership. I told her, "No." She looked at me in shock and asked again, "Never?!" The answer was still, "No." She look at me a little skeptically. I then confessed to buying items only when I came with family and I asked that she not consider that information as part of my membership application. After all I didn't want to get rejected.

I did not get rejected and I am now a full fledged Costco Member!

(Special thanks go out to Bri for inspiring my blog entry title.)

The Lights: Look How They Shine for You

Thursday night several friends and I piled into my car and drove to Salt Lake City to visit Temple Square. After getting a little nourishment at Olive Garden we walked a few blocks to see the sights. Downtown was all a buzz with The Nutcracker, a Jazz game, the Kurt Bestor Christmas concert, and surely other festivities.

Temple square was pretty and the weather was pretty nice. Even though snow would have made it pretty, it was also nice to not have to deal with that. We wandered around Temple Square and the Main Street Plaza seeing the nativities from around the world, the luminaries, and all the lights. And after lots of photos we headed over to the cafe in the Joseph Smith building for some hot chocolate and to warm up. After downing the big hot chocolate, the walk to the car was anything but cold. It was a great evening. Thanks for the idea Linds!