I Can Yet Live

Back in November, I set out to decorate my Christmas tree.  I had spent all my money on the tree itself, so I intended to make all the decorations by hand, both to save money and to prove that I could.  I bought popcorn, and popped it on the stove for the first time in my life.  Luckily for me and the fresh air in my apartment, it wasn't hard.  I also bought about ten lbs. of fresh cranberries.  I wanted to string garlands of popcorn and garlands of cranberries around my tree.  When I got home, however, I noticed that the artificial branches weren't necessarily strong enough to support strings of fresh cranberries, heavy and full with juice.  Not to mention I was worried that as the cranberries aged, they would ooze and drip, leaving dangerous consequences on the carpet of my rented apartment.  So I compromised.  I strung garlands that were primarily popcorn with cranberries interspersed like beads.  This  made them lighter, limited the number of cranberries suspended over my carpet, and made the garlands very pretty, if I do say so myself.

This left me, however, with about 8 lbs. of fresh cranberries.  What the devil was I going to do with 8 lbs. of cranberries?  I put them in my freezer, since they freeze well, and figured I'd find a way somehow.  I gradually started adding them to things.  It began with adding them to my muesli one morning on a whim.  I gingerly tipped in a handful and to a hesitant bite.  It.  Was.  Fantastic.  The next morning I put more in, and even more the day after that.  Soon I was get a full serving or more of cranberries every morning.  So I started adding them to more things.  I began to eat an alternate breakfast some mornings: yogurt, a lot of granola, almost a full cup of cranberries, and a liberal helping of chocolate chips. (Judge all you want; it's still probably better for me than most breakfast cereals parents have their kids eat.)  I love my improvised yogurt parfait.  I can pack it when I'm running late and eat it at my desk.

So I added them to more things.  At Christmas time when I was making spiced cider, I put in fresh cranberries.  It made the cider look beautiful, and I had multiple people ask me for "the recipe."  I started making my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, and I decided on a whim to throw in several cups of oatmeal and another cup of frozen cranberries.  I shared them with friends, who loved them.  I took them to work, and got asked for my recipe.

Ladies and gentlemen, the secret ingredient to life is fresh cranberries.

Which is why it was such a problem when I used the last of them two days ago.  Yogurt without them was bland and disappointing.  My muesli was a chore to eat.  But, although you can find mountains of bags of inexpensive fresh cranberries all through Thanksgiving and Christmas, they suddenly disappear after the holidays.  So this week, I frantically started searching for fresh cranberries.  I've seen friends give up cigarettes or alcohol with more equanimity than I was contemplating being deprived of fresh and frozen cranberries.

I searched the super Target...no cranberries, fresh or frozen.
I searched Sunflower Market, enlisting an employee in my search.  We found a $4 half-pound bag of frozen, organic cranberries in a biodegradable bag.
I searched the Good Earth.  I found the same brand of overpriced, overly fancy, tiny amount of cranberries.
I looked at Harmons, and I finally found a few bags of Ocean Spray cranberries, a little old and frozen, as if they were the cranberries that had been out for fresh sale, and then were thrown into the freezer as leftovers when the season ended.  They were $3 a pound, still more expensive than during the holiday season, but a much better price than the tiny organic bags.  I bought all they had, cradling them in my arms as I walked to the check-out line because I hadn't been hopeful enough when I walked into the store to grab a basket.  I got home and tenderly tucked them into the freezer.

At the rate I'm going through cranberries, the 5 lbs. I have will last me only a month or two.  I'm going to check Smith's and a few other grocery stores this week, and see if I can clean out the leftover supplies enough to last me until cranberries come back into regular sale.  But at the moment, I am content to have found the additional 5 lbs.

Fresh or frozen cranberries are the secret ingredient to life, ladies and gentlemen.  I have procured 5 lbs. of them.



I can yet live.