As with pumpkin, I get the warm fuzzies when I think about cranberries. But where pumpkin is warm and comforting, cranberries, ruby red and shivery-tart, add exciting zing. (Yes, cranberries are exciting. Time to get out of the house.) It’s hard to get them fresh any other time of the season — same with pumpkin but at least you can get it unadulterated in a can.

Have some cranberries!:

• Cooked into oatmeal: Reader Melissa H. suggested this, and I’m addicted. You can chop them or just put in them in whole like I do — then you get the fun of popping them all with your fork when it’s cooked. Just like bubble wrap, but tastier!
• As the source of a rousing, nostalgia-driven “canned vs. homemade sauce” debate in the weeks preceding Thanksgiving. (Canned! Canned! Canned!)
• As an incredible source of antioxidants and other stuff we think is probably good, this week.
• Dried and tossed down the gullet in a handful for a pre-workout carb boost. Or as a post-workout pick-me-up (followed by some protein, of course!).
• Completing the sweet/nutty/tart trifecta in the Autumn Harvest Bake (you can use fresh or dried).
• Forming the foundation of this delicious, gorgeous, glistening dessert, which I made last night. Sort of. Since I didn’t have any Earth Balance or soy milk, I used the batter recipe from the Pear-Pine Nut cake to make the cake part. (5 WW pts a serving cut into 8 pieces.) Next time I promise I’ll give the vegan version a go. One warning: Put a cookie pan under your cake pan to catch any drippings. I didn’t and it created so much smoke I could have cured a turkey.

Do you have any “exciting” cranberry concoctions up your sleeve?