No need for a reminder; I am aware. It has been over a year. More about that another time.
For today, I want to write about the beauty of fall, harvest, bounty. And pears. Yellow, juicy pears.
Charmed by the folks at our community farmer's market, I bought 20 pounds a few days ago. On the weekend, I made a pear crisp with a hazelnut and gingerbread topping. It was so good I made 5 more. That took about 10 pounds. Today, I quickly searched up a cobbler recipe and to my dismay, I mostly found methods that used cake mixes. I don't have any cake mixes in my pantry and I thought I could do better than that anyway. So I made it up.
Don't let people try to tell you that baking is a precise science. Well, maybe for French pastry chefs it is. But for a passionate home cook like me, it is often an organic process. It starts with an appreciation for the ingredients I have in my kitchen, and being absolutely okay with it if things don't turn out. This is the essence of living a creative life. Find inspiration in what surrounds you and just take the first step - in my case, buying 20 pounds of fruit - and see what happens.
Back to pear cobbler. Here's how to do it.
Wash, core, and slice pears - about 7 or so, whatever you need to heapingly (yes, I just made that word up) the bottom of your greased 9x13 baking dish. No, I did not peel the pears as I feel it is a ridiculous waste of time.
Sprinkle with about 1/4 cup of sugar
In a bowl, mix:
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 tsp of salt
and some warming spices - I used about 1/2 tsp of each cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ground ginger
Add 1 cup of milk
1/2 cup of melted butter
and a glug of the best vanilla you have
Mix it all together, pour over the pears and bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes.
Your house will smell like a cross between an orchard and a bakery and everyone will love you just a little bit more.
I'm back, beautiful people,
hk
