Pears, wine and comfy cozies

Today was a cold day. It was so cold that I swear I saw a snow flake at lunch. When I finally got home, all I wanted to do was get out of my heels, throw on some sweats and catch up on TV with a glass of wine. So how can I turn this into a post for Vegan MoFo? Well on a chilly night I can think of nothing better than eating something warm and sweet and on the menu today is pears.

I don't eat pears very much. They bruise very easily and I find by the time I get to work they are not looking so pretty. In the fall I like to have pears. Even though there a lots that are in season in the summer, something about them makes me think  they are a fall fruit. Maybe because the are similar in texture to apples. This week I had bought an assortment of pears to give them a try and to see how I would do at cooking them; something I have never done before.

I was surprised to find out when looking up the nutritional information on pears that they are a good source of copper. I was told recently that recently on TV someone was saying that a lot of vegan people are not able to get enough copper in their diets because it is not found easily in vegan food. Well... yesterday I noted that pumpkin seeds are a good source and apparently so are pears! They are also a good source of vitamins C and E and a great source of fibre. Pears make an excellent snack and a nice switch from the apple a day philosophy.

So beyond just eating a pear, what else can you do with them? Well I tried baking and poaching pears into quick and easy desserts. both took 30 minutes to make with little prep time and the finish product is a great way to serve a healthy dessert to your family, friends... whoever

Baked Pear Crisp

• 2 pears (I used apple pears, but Bartlett or red would be another good choice)
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 brown sugar
• 1/2 rolled oats (Quick cooking or regular)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup melted butter, plus 1 Tbsp for drizzling

To prep your pears, chop in half vertically and remove the core with a spoon. You can peel the pears if you want, but I didn't. Pre-heat your oven to 375 F.

 Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Pour the melted butter on the dry ingredients (except for about a Tbsp) and mix until everything is combined. With a spoon, scoop the mixture and stuff it in the pears. drizzle the remaining butter on top and bake for 20-30 minutes or until the pears are cooked through. Serve with vanilla coconut ice cream or whip cream (vegan, of course). They are great warm or cold.

Before baking..

And.. After! Imagine ice cream on top of this. I was out

I plan to have these for breakfast tomorrow too :)

Wino Poached Pears

• 2 Bartlett pears, peeled cored and sliced in half
• 1 cup of red wine (get something you would have a glass of too)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 2" cinnamon stick
• 1 lemon, juiced (about 1 Tbsp)
• 1 pinch of salt

Combine all the ingredients expect for the pears in a sauce pot and bring it to a boil. add the pears and pour some of the liquid on top of the pears and reduce it to a simmer. Cook for 15-20 minutes or until you can easily pierce the pears with a knife.

Make sure to pour some of the liquid on top of the pear when they are cooking.

Serve with some of the liquid. They don't need anything else.... except maybe a nice glass of wine :)

If you have fresh mint, it would make a perfect garnish.