“Fun Fact: there are also 3,000 varieties of pears. That’s right. Even pears are more complicated than you thought.” ~ Scott Westerfeld

Pears. I’ve been getting them the last few months in my Misfits Market box. I like pears as an alternative to apples, but they have to be “just right” to make eating them enjoyable.

Warm.

Juicy.

Sweet.

Not just any old pear will do at any old time. But what do you do with pears? My mother used to make a pear crisp, almost like a cobbler but it didn’t have the flaky crust on it. Hers was topped with a rough mixture of oatmeal, brown sugar, and butter.

I had a few pears staring at me from the counter this morning as I debated what treat I should make with them. I settled on caramelizing them and serving them over vanilla ice cream after dinner. A nice change from plain old ice cream, but using up the fruit without wasting it.

I also had a couple of spaghetti squash sitting on the counter. I prepared those as directed in this post, and then will place the pulp in a large ziploc bag to go in the freezer. As long as you squeeze the air out to avoid freezer burn, it should last 7-8 months in the freezer. Of course, when the kids saw what I was cooking I’m fairly certain that it won’t be sitting in the freezer for nearly that long.

I also chopped some cilantro, and placed it into a freezer bag. This will be good for use in my Carnitas recipe as it cooks down during the process. If I were needing cilantro for salsa or guacamole, I’d purchase fresh at that time.

I have done the same with kale or chard that comes in the Misfits Market box. Simply blanch it by boiling it in hot water for a minute, then submerse it in cold water. After it has cooled, I press out as much water as possible using paper towels and then spread it on cookies sheets and place it in the freezer to flash freeze. Once frozen, I remove it and place it into bags in appropriate amounts to be used in my Zuppa Toscano

But . . . back to the pears.