sweet miscellany

seasonal plant-based recipes

Featured Recipes in the Ruche Holiday Cookbook

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Good Friday Afternoon!  Just dropping in to share a link to a beautiful online cookbook that just so happens to have 3 of my recipes featured in it.  It’s a gorgeous book entitled “Sugar & Spice” created by the lovely people over at Ruche.  Take a look:

And, in case you don’t feel like flipping through (though I strongly encourage you to), here are the recipes that are featured:



Seckel Pears in Spiced Honey Syrup

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It’s funny how sometimes, no matter how strict of a list and schedule I make, life gets in the way.  I may have several specific things planned for an evening, but it’s no telling what might throw everything off kilter.  Lately, what seems to happen is that my body will whine in protest, telling me that there’s no way it can keep checking things off the list.  I sometimes have to fight with all of my might to keep it from betraying me and taking a lengthy nap on the couch.  Perhaps the remedy is that I need to slow down and take a minute (or an evening) to myself.  I need to put aside everything work related and enjoy the little things I don’t get to do often.

I think Jacqui’s  post about taking time for normal weekends really struck a chord.  When you have a job (or jobs) that command all of your time, especially when you are partially or fully self employed, it’s really hard to make time for you.  I plan on doing a bit of that this weekend as the chilly weather blows in.  Perhaps I’ll have a cup of tea and enjoy these pears over a bit of oatmeal or yogurt while letting my mind and body have a rest.

Originally, these beautiful pears were destined to be roasted, or incorporated into a pie, but time was slipping away along with their ripeness.  Since I already had my equipment out to make some applesauce, I decided to go ahead and can these beautiful pears in a spiced honey syrup.  I can all the time for my shop and the market, so I figured it was about time to share a recipe that involves it.  It’s really not hard, but it requires a few pieces of inexpensive equipment.  And, the bonus with this recipe is that after you have eaten the pears, you will have a lovely spiced honey syrup that you can use to drizzle over anything and everything.  I’m dreaming about drizzling it over pancakes, tea, and yogurt, but the possibilities are endless.