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Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Much ado about ... little, tiny pears.

Yesterday was a day off.  Sort of.  I drove my parents into the city for my mother's annual eye maintenance (that's what we call it).  It is always a pleasant day - I get to spend time with them, we get to stop at their favorite Chinese restaurant for lunch, I take them on a different route each year just to get my dad all excited about new sights.  Yesterday was a perfect fall day - the violent storm on Monday led to clear, blue skies, cool temps and the vistas along the route from Vermont into New York were beautiful.  That being said, it's a lot of driving.

And since I did get home earlier than my usual evening arrival, I thought I would tackle the half-bushel of Seckel pears that had been sitting on my counter since Sunday.  I had gotten a bee in my bonnet about transforming the beautiful little pears into glistening jars of candied brandy pears.  I am constantly amazed at the disconnect between my vivid and wildly romanticized imagination and the reality of what I actually end up with.  There must be Pollyanna in my genes.  In my overheated imagination, I saw perfect, tiny Seckel pears glimmering in a heady brew of brandy-laden, cinnamon-scented syrup.  Are you still with me?  Lots of eye-rolling going on out there?


The Seckel Pears of my dreams...not of my reality.

After four hours of sorting, peeling, cursing, dropping, more cursing, I ended up with a rather puny mound of wounded pear shapes that left me with a mere four pints of pale, weird forms floating in their aromatic, boozy brew.   I mean, really.  Did I actually think about how unlikely it was to find eight pounds of PERFECT pears in a half-bushel of falls that were jumbled in a big plastic bag?  Did I actually consider that these pears were grown organically, with little oversight and just may be less than perfectly shaped?  Did I actually imagine peeling ten pounds of teeny, tiny little lumpy, misshapen pears would be a snap?  Obviously, I must have been under the influence of the boozy content of the syrup.

Next year - same recipe, different pears.

14 comments:

Sue said...

Ha! Oh, you keep such a great attitude through it all. I've been dealing with a bunch of those tiny pears as well, but I am not as good as you. I have decided to eat them fresh and come to YOUR house for the fancy stuff-LOL!

hoosier girl said...

Four pints of organic, brandied pears? Priceless!

Carolyn said...

I agree with Sue, I think we should all come to your place and assist you in "ridding" yourself of such imprefect looking candied fruits.
I've had pipe dreams of making those spiced apples & pears for christmas gifts. Hasn't so much happened yet in the five years since I first thought I'd do it. At least you attempted to make them.

Susan said...

Sue - I'm always rosier in hindsight... :) You are more than welcome - but make it before February, because anything containing alcohol is ALL MINE in February.

Susan said...

Hoosier Girl - You're absolutely right! And it was French brandy, too.

Susan said...

Carolyn - You just put on your traveling shoes and come up here. But, as I pointed out to Sue, anyone arriving after January 31st is on their own...

Tombstone Livestock said...

If your going to do it again next year they must taste good.

Susan said...

TL - Well, the cinnamon/brandy/syrup tastes pretty good...

Michelle said...

I had a friend give me a bunch of those pears. I gave them to another friend. What she did with them I don't know. I do know they were gone two days later. May be we are all playing hot potato with them . LOL

Charade said...

The 35 or so hybrid Kiefer-Bosc pears we got this year (after a late spring frost messed with our anticipated bumper crop) looked too good to be true - which they were, since all were rotting from the inside out. No wonder the raccoons left every one of them for us. Wish I could smell your concoction...

Mama Pea said...

Your first mistake was not sipping a delicate little glass of the French brandy WHILE you were processing the pears! Okay, so you got only 4 pints for all your hours of labor. (Why does this ratio sound very familiar to me?) But I'm betting those 4 pints will taste WONDERFUL! Be very selective with whom you share them. (Sue and Carolyn are worthy in my book!) I so admire you for always trying what I consider exotic food recipes. Not at all like the mac and cheese we're having for dinner tonight. (That's a lie, I just wanted to make a point. We're having a mixed roasted veggie casserole, salmon patties and our very. last. jar. of. applesauce. Waaah.)

Unknown said...

They'll probably taste good, and you can drink the syrup! Or throw it over some ice cream :)

Susan said...

My mind's eye leads me astray quite cruelly. Usually it is with sewing or paint colours or jeans. I would have probably drunk at least one jar of pears by now.

Leigh said...

Have to admire you for your stick-to-it-iveness. If it was me, they would have become candied brandied pear jam!