Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

My family LOVES Bartlett pears. (Well, except for the 4-year-old who has suddenly declared herself to be anti-pear.) Which means that when they’re a good price at Costco, I sometimes buy two boxes, hoping that if they’re different levels of ripe when I buy them, they won’t all be ready at the same time, right?

Wrong.

So. I had large quantities of pears to use up a week or so ago, which is why we had these Pear Muffins one night and these Spiced Roasted Pears + Sweet Potatoes (I had one of those to use up as well) another. The muffins were lovely–I used plain yogurt instead of sour cream and subbed in some whole wheat flour, and everyone except for that 4-year-old was a fan. I don’t know that I could really taste the cardamom, but they were good. (Possibly I might experiment with different spices next time? Or maybe cardamom loses flavor quickly when ground?) The Spiced Roasted Pears + Sweet Potatoes were also tasty, although some of my children liked the pears and not the sweet potatoes and some liked the sweet potatoes and not the pears (4-YEAR-OLD!). I left out the pecans, because I kind of like my children alive, and I used maple syrup instead of honey, because I prefer the flavor (and it fits very nicely with those spices). You definitely want your pears to be on the firm side of ripe and your sweet potatoes in relatively skinny pieces–the closer you can match their textures and levels of done-ness, the better–but oh, the flavor!

Bottom line? I would totally make both recipes again, and you should try them next time you have pears. Enjoy your Monday!