In my humble opinion, pear season is far too short. As much as I love to eat them fresh, I do make myself preserve some so that I’m able to enjoy their delicious flavour all winter, and here are a couple of my favorite ways tuck them away for future eating!

Pear & Ginger muffins or bread (Perfect for the freezer!)

2 cups peeled & diced pears

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground cloves

2/3 cups oil

2 tsp vanilla

3 large eggs

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

Directions

Recipe makes 24 muffins or 2 loaves. (Or 1 of each)

Toss diced pears, sugar, ginger & cloves in a large bowl & set aside. Beat eggs, oil, vanilla together and blend in with pear mixture. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, salt, baking powder & soda, and gently combine with pears until fully incorporated. Pour into muffin tin or loaf pans (or 1 of each)

Bake at 325 for 35 minutes.

Pear butter

Peel & dice as many pears as you have (I like to do at least 10-12 which will do 1 small canning jar)

pinch of salt

**optional flavours- Pinch of cinnamon & nutmeg or ginger.

In a thick bottom pot on very low heat, let the pears (and spices if using) break down over the next hour. Use a potato masher to smash up the pieces and continue on very low heat until you have a smooth sauce. Continue cooking, while stirring frequently until it becomes a thick paste that has a slightly darker “caramelized” look. Your purpose is to remove all of the liquid from the pears.

Pack into jars & refrigerate, and now spread it liberally on toast or bread!

Alternate- this recipe (exactly as is) also works great with apples!

Enjoy those beautiful pears while they last….. and here’s hoping you’ll save some so they can last a little longer!

See ya next week!

k

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When it comes to vine ripe, local tomatoes, I’ll take them any way I can get them. Canned, stewed, on toast, or just by the handful as I’m walking through the gardens. They’re versatile, delicious, and…… FINALLY HERE!!!! (Sorry. I get really excited about tomato season.)

I’m going to share my favourite tomato recipe when I have a group of people to feed. It’s easy, adaptable, and can be breakfast, brunch, or even dinner. It’s also a one pot wonder, which is always a winner when it comes to clean up, right?

Ingredients

Tomatoes, chopped into bite size pieces (depending on size, plan for one medium size tomato per person)

salt & pepper

Handful of fresh basil leaves

Handful of fresh parsley

1 egg per person

1 large diced onion

2 or 3 cloves of garlic, diced

A bit of grated Parmesan or feta

**optional- pitted black olives, capers, panchetta, sprinkle of chili flakes

Directions

In a very large skillet, saute the onions in a little splash of oil until they’re soft & transparent. Add garlic & saute for another minute of two. Now add tomatoes, including any juice from chopping and mix everything up really well (if using any of optional ingredients, add them now) Crack eggs individually into pan, leaving a bit of space between each one. Season with salt & pepper & cover. Simmer until eggs are poached to your liking, hard or soft, and scoop an egg and some tomatoes into each bowl. Sprinkle with cheese and top with chopped basil & parsley. Serve with toast, warm bread, or naan.

Enjoy!

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