Autumn Olive Ketchup #2 aka spiced cranberry ketchup

Thanks to Uncle D. and "Auntie" K., I just made the second autumn olive ketchup. It's made just a wee bit differently from the first recipe I posted, but it tastes just as yummy.
This afternoon I made a ham sandwich and topped it with the autumn olive ketchup and it was simply delish. I told Hubby about it and when he came home he tried it as well.

He thought it was good too, but sadly he used the beautifully homemade bread that I made the other day but I forgot to add the salt! OMG! That ONE ingredient and the best looking breads I've made to date tastes like bland tofu! I was so sad because I tried a 50/50 mix of white flour and wheat flour and it was gorgeous. After one taste I had to think, in the hubbub of the day, and running back and forth and my mind not focused, I can only blame myself for the slip up.  Going to try and remedy it by using the "bland" bread as a layering agent for 'poor man's lasagna' (an Italian recipe from PBS). I just hope that after toasting in a frying pan with olive oil, garlic and SALT! (gah! I still can't believe I did that about the bread) I can infuse the bread and layer it with some tomato sauce, meat and cheese and bake it.

Here is the recipe coutresy of http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Spiced-Cranberry-Ketchup

Spiced Cranberry Ketchup Recipe (a.k.a. autumn olive ketchup #2):

• 2 1/4 fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1/2 C water
• 1/4 C chopped green onions (I used onion powder, I'm lazy)
• 2 bay leaves
• 3/4 plus 2T sugar
• 1/4 C white wine vinegar (I only  had regular white vinegar, and I used 1/2 the amount)
• 1/4 C balsamic vinegar (I only used 1/2 the amount)
• 1 1/2 tsp dijon mustard (only had regular)
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/8 tsp ground cumin

In a saucepan: cranberries, water, onions and bay leaves. Cook for 15 min or until berries pop. (Since I was using autumn olive juices and pulp, I didn't have to wait for anything to pop, so I just cooked it for about 10 minutes). Cool slightly.

Disgard bay leaves. Strain mixture (I already had done this when I was preparing the autumn olives a while back, plus I was using onion powder so there is nothing to strain at this point). Return to the pan.

Sitr in rest of ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 8-10 minutes or until thickened. (I used the spoon test: put some on a spoon and let it cool. If it's thickened after cooling, you have the consistency you want).Cool and refrigerate.

Side note: I hear that you have to "mature" the ketchup in the fridge for at least a week. This mellows out the vinegar and rounds off the flavor. So far this holds true because the first batch I made weeks ago seems to have gone to a very nice ketchupy tasting phase. Yummy. Also, if the ketchup turns out to be a bit too liquidy, I don't mind using it in other meals that are cooked to give it an unique flavor, especially stews (which I hope to make soon).