Pear Butter

 We have a really big pear tree in front of our house that gives us lots of pears every year.  These pears are not really good for canning, they are more grainy and tend to fall apart if you try to can them, but they make really good juice.  We use our steam juicer and then we are left with this pear pulp.  Last year we decided to put that pulp to good use, we made pear butter.  When I say "we"  I actually mean my husband.  I may have given him the idea, but he did all the work.  Well, this year he's been gone a lot so I decided to try my hand at it.  I picked a bunch of pears with my sister-in-law and then juiced them.  That was pretty easy.  Then, I looked for a pear butter recipe.  That got a little confusing for me.  There are so many recipes out there and some I had the ingredients for and some I didn't.  So, I made up my own.  I didn't have any clove, so I used some pumpkin pie spice.  Most recipes called for pear sauce, similar to apple sauce.  Well, I blended up the pear that was left in the juicer and it ended up being thicker than pear sauce, so it cuts down a lot on the cooking time.  Also, a lot of recipes called for quite a bit of sugar, since my pears are really sweet, I cut down on that, too.  Oh, and when I juiced the pears, I cored them, but I left the peel on.  When I pureed them, I did it peel and all.

Pear Butter

13 cups of pear puree
1 cup sugar
2 TBSP cinnamon
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
Juice from 1 lemon

Combine all ingredients in a large pot.  Heat through.  If butter is too thick, add some pear juice.  If it's too runny, then just cook on low to reduce.  Be careful, as it cooks it will probably splatter.  You can either partially cover with a lid to let steam escape, or stir constantly to keep air bubbles from building up.  Since it's already pretty thick it doesn't take long to reduce.  Once you get it to the consistency you want, ladle it into hot jars leaving 1/2 inch head space.  Process in a water bath for about 25 minutes for pints.

Verdict:  Just so you know, this recipe has not been tested for canning, but I adapted it from recipes of others who have used and tested them for years.  Follow at your own discretion.  If in doubt, you can freeze the pear butter, or store in your fridge for up to 2 weeks.  This is really good.  It still seemed pretty sweet to me, but I think it's just because my pears are sweet like candy.  It's really good to use with peanut butter on sandwiches, or my favorite, on some toast with butter.

Eggplant Parmesan

Yeah, a recipe!  A good friend of mine gave me some eggplants from her garden.  I was so excited and couldn't wait to make this recipe.  I like this recipe because it doesn't use crumbs for the breading.  It is gluten free, even.

Eggplant Parmesan

1 medium or 2 small eggplant
1 egg
1 TBSP water
Parmesan cheese
jar spaghetti sauce

Peel the eggplant and slice 1/2 inch thick.  I cut mine lengthwise, but you could also cut rounds if you want.  In a shallow bowl or container crack egg and beat it up with the water.  In another shallow bowl put the Parmesan cheese.  I didn't have enough real cheese, so I had about 1/2 grated cheese and 1/2 of the powdered kind.  Dip eggplant into the egg, and then coat with the cheese.  Place in a greased dish.  Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Cook eggplant for 20 minutes.  Turn over and cook for another 10 minutes.   Cover the eggplant with spaghetti sauce and put back in the oven for another 15 minutes.  Enjoy with a big tossed salad.

Verdict:  I loved it!  I love the flavor of the Parmesan.  I used my own canned spaghetti sauce on top and it was fabulous.  My 2 year old had thirds.  My 8 year old told me it wasn't as bad as she thought it was going to be.

This Week's Bounty

1 bunch celery
2 heads lettuce
1 container mushrooms
7 sweet potatoes
2 yellow squash
1 head garlic
4 tomatoes
5 avocados
4 apples
11 plums
9 bananas
1 bag grapes

My 6 year old's favorite thing to eat is plums.  She is very happy this week.

This Week's Bounty

 I'm thinking tacos at least  once this week.

2 head romaine lettuce
2 bunches broccoli
3 bags carrots
5 avocados (2 were for volunteering)
3 garlic bulbs
5 tomatoes
2 cucumbers
13 bananas
5 plums
6 apples
7 pears

I need to find something really yummy to do with the pears.  They aren't my kids favorite and always get eaten last after all the other fruit is gone.  Anyone have any really great pear recipe ideas?

This Week's Bounty

I'm glad my kids like grapes.

2 clamshell of concord grapes

7 ears of corn

8 bananas

5 pears

6 tomatoes

1 cantaloup

2 head lettuce

3 green bell peppers

4 red bell peppers

1 bunch celery