vegan cooking

hey kids, it’s been a while. sorry for the wait, momma’s been getting her education on. here’s a little something to sate your hunger a bit - “holiday” spiced pears. it’s a spin on a recipe my mom’s been making for a couple of years now. actually, i think it was when i first went vegan that she wanted to make something for the holidays that i could enjoy with the whole family (isn’t she sweet?), and clipped this out of a Sunset, and a new tradition was born.

the original recipe calls for apple cider vinegar, a ton of sugar, and your basic holiday spices - but instead, i’ve used TJ’s Spicy Cider. it’s got essentially the same stuff! after some experimentation, though, i’ll admit it needs a little spicing up. so i’d suggest adding about a tablespoon of either TJ’s pumpkin pie spice blend (or whatever you have around), or 1/4 tsp each of ginger and cinnamon, and 1/8 tsp of cloves to the cider before pouring it on. but i digress. here’s what i came up with last night - enjoy!

you’ll need:
4 firm-ripe pears
1 cup of fresh cranberries
1/2 medium or 1 small lemon, rinsed well and sliced very thin
1 to 1 1/2 cups spicy cider

pre-heat oven to 350. rinse and peel the pears (i know, i know, losing nutrients. eat the skin here if you feel like it, live a little). rinse and pick through the cranberries for any bruised or yucky ones, and toss any stems. it took me probably a good cup and a half to get a solid cup.

cut the pears in half (or quarters if you so wish) and arrange at the bottom of a 2 - 2 1/2 quart baking dish. pour the spicy cider over the fruit - it doesn’t have to be covered, but it should be sorta swimming in it.

cover the dish tightly with foil and park that sucker in the oven for 45 minutes to an hour, until the pears are really tender (easy to slice with a fork). be careful when you lift up the foil, because that stuff’s boiling and the steam can be pretty hot.

that’s it. seriously. i know, right? too easy. i love bringing this dish to last-minute potlucks, because it’s so brainless.

enjoy!