in other words
october16
An Unlikely Culinary Column: Falling in Love with Fall
By Karen Kain
I hope you enjoy these recipes and an
abundance of pears, and as always,
It is officially one year since we please let me know what you are cook-
have moved to Halfway. We are thrilled ing.
to be part of this community and have
learned much in this first year. I am fall- Poached Pears In Red Wine
ing in love with fall and all of its beauty Ingredients:
and gifts. Our neighbors have blessed us • 4 Pears, skinned, halved and the seeds
with a large basket of pears and here are scooped out (using a small melon ball
some of the recipes that I have enjoyed. scoop makes it easy)
One of my old time favorites is • ¾ Bottle of red wine, more if needed
Poached Pears in Red Wine. This is the • ¾ Cup sugar
simplest desert I have ever made. It is • Vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon vanilla
decadent and when topped with cream • Heavy cream
your guests will think that you have Directions:
gone to a great effort. Any kind of red Pour the wine in a medium saucepan
wine works. Leaving the pears, vanilla with the pears, sugar and vanilla. Bring
and wine simmering for hours will fill up to a boil and then down to a simmer and
your home with a lovely aroma. This is cook for 1 ½ to 4 hours, until the pears
the perfect desert for having company.
are soft to poke with a fork. Top with
As a California girl making cream.
Apple Butter has always sounded ro-
mantic. I have made it twice before but
find myself never eating it. I tried mak-
ing Pear Butter for the first time this year
and realized that I prefer Pear Butter to
almost any fruit that I have canned. This
recipe is simple and uses honey instead
of sugar so there is no guilt when you eat
it alone or put it on EVERYTHING!
For those of you who are eating Pear Butter
sugar, chocolate and nuts, this is a fun Ingredients:
recipe that you will want to share sim- • 3 Pounds ripe pears, peeled, cored
ply to keep from eating the entire batch and diced
yourself. I found this a bit messy but • 3 Tablespoons honey
definitely delicious. The temperature of • 1 Tablespoons lemon juice
the caramel is key, testing it in a glass of • 1 Teaspoon ground cinnamon
ice water is the best way to ensure that • 1/2 Teaspoon ground ginger
you get the perfect texture. Be patient, • 1/4 Teaspoon salt
mine should have been cooked longer • Pinch of ground nutmeg
but I didn’t hear anyone complaining.
• Pinch of ground cloves
2014
9
Directions:
Stir all ingredients in a
medium saucepan. Bring
to a boil over medium
high heat and reduce to a
simmer and cook for 50
minutes. Keep covered
with the lid slightly open
and stir occasionally mak-
ing sure the bottom does
not burn. It should re-
duce slightly and become
thickened. Let the mixture
cool then put into a food
processor and pulse un-
til smooth. You can also
leave it chunky if desired.
Transfer to canning jars
and put into a hot bath for
20 minutes. I used this same recipe with
apples to make apple butter and added
a bit of brown sugar. My favorite is the
pear butter.
corn syrup. Stir until
blended and micro-
wave on high for 14-
20 minutes. The to-
tal time will depend
on your microwave.
Stir every 3 minutes.
When it has reached
the right consistency
add the vanilla to the
caramel and stir. If
you cook it too long
the candy will get
hard and too short
will make it sticky.
You can test the
caramel by putting
a small bit on the tip
of a spoon in ice wa-
ter. Wait a few seconds and then test the
consistency. If it falls apart, it needs to
cook longer. If it is too hard it will be
over cooked. Start testing after 14 min-
utes. Once the caramel has been heated
Caramel Dipped Pears
to the correct temperature let it stand for
Ingredients:
one minute. When dipping pears you
• Pears (about 12)
will want to select the pears with long
• 1 Cup butter
stems. Take the pears by the stem and
• 2¼ Ounce can sweetened condensed
dip into the caramel and turn to coat all
milk
the sides. Hold the pear above the cara-
• 1 Cup light corn syrup
mel and let the excess drip off. I used the
• 1 Teaspoon vanilla
aid of a butter knife to scrape the bottom.
• Dolci Frutta, dipping chocolate
Place on a parchment paper. You can en-
(found in the produce isle)
joy with just the caramel or sprinkle with
• Sea Salt
salt and or nuts. If you would like to dip
• Nuts (I used walnuts)
into chocolate, heat the chocolate as di-
Directions:
rected and dip a portion of the pears into
Melt the butter in a large microwave the chocolate and then sprinkle with sea
safe bowl. Be sure that the bowl is large salt or nuts if desired. Enjoy!
enough in case you have caramel over-
flow. Add the brown sugar, milk and
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I’m working to build safe,
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Columbia County. I want local
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local businesses to thrive.
Creating Local Jobs
Focusing on Health and Safety
Here to Serve You
Nearly 75% of our county’s workforce commutes out
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reduces the time people can spend with their families
and in their communities. We need diversity of jobs ---
I am impressed with the “ingenuity Innovation Center,
a new local company focused on building community
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My experience in transit and emergency response
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recent appointment to the Oregon Department of
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and your county commissioner for the past 4
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Proven • Trusted • Accountable
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