Melinda’s Pear Crisp

Pear Pizazz

Recipe adapted from Sunset Light & Healthy

If you’ve got to work for a living, finding a job with people that you enjoy makes it easier. I lucked out at my job with Melinda, who is not only smart, energetic, and forever making me laugh, but also loves food and cooking. When her pear trees were in full fruit, she brought in a pan of pear crisp one morning, still warm from the oven. She said the recipe was reasonably healthy, and that she’d reduced the sugar. Unlike most crisps, it’s flavored with vanilla and nutmeg, not cinnamon. Originally “oatie peach crumble,” her tweaked recipe compliments pears perfectly.

Moscato Poached Pears with Pineapple

Bosc (lower) and D'Anjou Poached Pears with Pineapple

Recipe by Robin

I don’t know about you, but  every winter I start dreaming about the tropics. Imagining abandoning my shoes, socks, jeans, and jacket (but not my hat) to walk carefree on some secluded beach. Donning flip-flops—known as slippers in my favorite locales—and heading over to the local farmers’ market to check out what produce can be grown in red dirt with plenty of rain and sun. Flirting with strange fruits and their vendors, chatting with local craftspeople, and selecting the most luscious from a huge number of pineapples by their scent. Alas, a trip to Kauai isn’t in the budget at the moment, but a can of organic pineapple chunks can add a sun-kissed touch to winter pears here on the mainland, especially when combined with a sweet California wine.