Vanilla Pear Butter

Mmmmmm, pear harvest.

There are many things to do with pears: poach, slice, bake, dice...

but I prefer to make pear butter.

Since the end of summer is upon us, it is a great way to usher in fall and fall's flavors.

This recipe is for a simple, easy, and quick Vanilla Pear Butter that can be whipped up in an afternoon and doesn't have to be canned and all that mess.

Yes, this can be made gluten free (make sure you use certified gluten free ingredients if you need to).

I used a bushel of pears from a relative's backyard tree. 

Local, fresh, organic!

Much better than what's at the grocery store right now. 

And much cheaper.

Beautiful shades of green and yellow!

Make sure to use the ripest pears you can; if they are not ripe, your butter will be grainy and not as smooth. Not good.

This recipe makes 4 cups of Pear Butter. You can spread this on toast, fruit, cookies, 

or even eat it like applesauce. This pear butter also has a lot more flavor, and includes a SECRET ingredient to make it taste that much better!

Let's begin.

-Makes 4 Cups of Pear Butter-

Step 1: Gather pears. Needed are:

-20 pears (mine were small because they were organic)

Peel and core pears. Chop into small pieces.

Add pears to food processor (I had to add half, then the other half) and

process till totally smooth, like a puree. 

                         

Step 2: Add pear puree to large pot. 

Add next ingredients:

-Juice of 1/2 a lemon (I used organic, it was smaller)

-About 1/2t. lemon zest

-About 1/4t. fresh grated ginger (omit if you don't like)

-1c. brown sugar (I didn't pack down tight) (sub. turbinado, vegan sugar or certified gf sugar for gluten free)

-1T honey (sub. agave or maple syrup if needed)

You can use a little more lemon zest if you want, if you like lemon.

I do, and I did.

Step 3: The SECRET ingredient.

What makes the vanilla the Vanilla.

Mexican Vanilla.

Spicier, more vanilla-y, more FLAVOR. Much better than regular vanilla extract.

If you haven't tried Mexican vanilla, you are missing out!

Of course, if you don't have it, feel free to sub. regular vanilla.

-1T of vanilla should be added to the pot now.

Step 4: Mix all ingredients well. Add pot to stove. Cook on 

the LOWEST heat setting you can, covered, for 1 hour.

This has a tendency to bubble and splatter if it's on too high of a heat. Not good.

You will have to stir intermittently to keep everything moving.

We are just cooking it to meld all the flavors together.

Take off heat after 1 hour, let cool, then add to an airtight container (I used a glass Pyrex with cover)

and refrigerate. 

For serving, I recommend heating- the flavors are better than when cold.

Of course, if you like it cold, don't heat.

Top with some fresh lemon zest - fancy!

Mine didn't last for more than a week. 

Make sure to eat it soon, because without preservatives it won't keep long.

All photos and instructions copyright Allison Cooling for Quiet Lion Creations.

If you share/use/post this tutorial, please link back to me. It is much appreciated!

Strawberry Basil-Ade

My second recipe post- another summery drink!

It's 100+ degrees in Chicago. This summer calls for 'em.

This time, it's my take on a strawberry-lemonade-basil combination. I thought if strawberry and basil went together, and strawberry and lemonade went together, and basil and lemons go together....

wouldn't they all compliment each other?

Turns out the combination is very exotic-tasting. Well, at least for a suburbanite like me. 

Anyways, I used sweet basil that I grow on my deck. Do not use other types of basil (like Greek basil or Thai) because these are spicier and I really don't know how your drink would turn out!

Again, feel free to alter some of the measurements to fit your taste; like my last drink, there are no totally specific measurements.

This drink is NOT going to be super sugary sweet and fake tasting, like many bottled lemonades and such. We are using real lemons here people, and no corn syrup. It will be more like a tea of sorts!

This makes one drink.

Step 1: Gather ingredients. You need a half of a lemon, a leaf or two of sweet basil, and a handful of strawberries. The strawberries I used were from my garden, so they were the size of grapes! If you use bigger ones, it will give it more good strawberry flavor, so that's ok. I used an organic lemon so it was a bit smaller as well.

If you don't like the flavor of basil, feel free to swap in raspberries or maybe even mint, but I can't vouch for the taste here. Experiment!

Step 2: Place all chopped ingredients (except lemon) in bottom of glass. Squeeze lemon juice over top, discard lemon.

Step 3: Muddle with a wooden spoon or if you're fancy, use a muddler.

Make sure you muddle till everything is a pulp, get all the juices out.

Step 4: Add in 6 oz of water. You can also swap regular water for club soda if you like the fizz! Mix.

Step 7: Now, strain this mixture through a fine sieve into another cup, pressing down to get all the juices through. Rinse out your first cup, and pour the strained drink back into the cup. Sweeten with honey, raw sugar, or whatever you like. I only used about 1.5t and it wasn't very sweet, but that's how I like it. If you want it sweeter, add more.

Add ice, garnish with a lemon slice!

It turns a beautiful color!

All photos and instructions copyright Allison Cooling for Quiet Lion Creations.

If you share/use/post this tutorial, please link back to me. It is much appreciated!

Pineapple Mint Virgin Mojito

Yes, my first recipe post.

Excited?

Inspired by the summer coming, I've created a virgin "mojito"-type recipe that's light and refreshing. 

This makes one drink.

Yum.....

I used spearmint from my garden...

Step 1: Gather Materials. Needed are pineapple chunks, a lime slice, some mint leaves, seltzer water, sweetener and ice.

Step 2: Place everything but the water and ice into a glass.

I only used one chunk of pineapple, use more for stronger flavor. There are no "exact" measurements here!

Muddle together with a wooden spoon, nothing fancy needed here! Muddle everything 'till the pineapple is completely mashed with the mint and lime. Now, pour in 6 oz. of seltzer water.

Strain over a fine sieve into a measuring cup.... (I don't like to have things floating in my drinks! :) )

And pour the liquid from the measuring cup back into your original glass (you can quickly rinse out the original glass after straining to make sure it's completely clean, yes I am a little OCD!)

You will have a pale mint green drink. Now, add your sweetener; I used only a teaspoon of raw cane sugar. If you like it sweeter, just sweeten to taste. Again, no exact measurements here!

 Top with ice. And maybe a skewer of mint, pineapple, and a lime slice to top it off!

Delicious!

Add a monkey and umbrella and you're in paradise!