Cranberry sauce and winter hats

I like my Christmas food traditional in the main, but I do like cranberry sauce with turkey, and make it every year; apart from last year when I couldn;t get cranberries for love nor money for some reason. Anyhow, I got mine early this year to make sure I had some, and have just made the sauce. Nice and simple, letting the fruit's sharpness shine through - perfect with turkey, I think.

8 oz or so of fresh cranberries
juice of two oranges
pinch of salt
freshly ground black pepper
small knob of butter
sugar

Rinse cranberries and place in a pan with the orange juice; put pan over a lowish heat, cover, and leave until the cranberries pop and soften to a puree. Add seasoning to taste and the butter and enough sugar just to take the edge off the sharpness. Add more juice if you like a softer consistency. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary, then leave to cool. Will keep in the fridge for up to a week or so, or you can freeze it until required.

Now - hats.
I finished the second of these this morning, and they are now on their way to Inverness as presents for my nieces. They are knitted from the Hat Trick kit available from Alice Starmore's Virtual Yarns (http://www.virtualyarns.com/). The yarn is pure wool, produced in the UK in the most enchanting set of colours, with evocative names such as Solan Goose, Bog Bean, Kittiwake, Driftwood.......... The quality of the wool and pattern are absolutely top notch, and I can recommend the company to everyone. I now need to order another set, as both Bean and I want one, and MrL has ordered one in a manly style. I certainly won't mind knitting these again, they were a pleasure to work up.