Excited for the Book Event, and Pears.

 

     My book event is ten days away, and I'm beyond excited. Just to remind you, it's at Bailey's Books in St. Albert. That's 29-B Rowland Crescent in St. Albert. It's in an odd placement, but worth the trip. That is easily the coolest bookstore I've ever experienced, and I'm thrilled they asked me to be there. 

     I've rolled over so many ideas in my mind, but I can tell you what I'm planning. 

     As I mentioned, there will be a Door Prize, but I'm not telling you what's in it. That's an 'after ' blog. As I mentioned before, I'm bringing a copy of  "Elaina's Fate" for guests to sign. Not my idea, but I think it's a good one. I've also decided that for mementos sake, I'm going to highlight the part I'm going to read, so I can also remember what I read to guests. Why not? I think it would be a cool thing to remember, especially if I do this again. 

     Here's a little treat...I'm bringing my pear loaf to share. Why not? I have tons of the stuff! I'm not even finished yet, and my freezer is full. 

     For those of you who don't know me well, I live next door to a pear tree. It actually belongs to my friend Ashley, but neither she or her renters have the time or energy to deal with it. She basically let me have it. 

     Over the years, I have experimented with all kinds of recipes and a few canning methods and just anything and everything to do with pears. Here's a funny fact: I hate pears. 

     But I don't hate these pears. Ashley believes them to be a hybrid of apples and pears, so maybe that's why they taste better. I sometimes think I like them because pretty much anything you grow yourself tastes better than anything you buy. 

     I have two go-to favorites: The Pear Loaf and a Pear Custard Pie. This year, I experimented with Pear Cookies, Pear Cobbler, and two different kinds of Pear Muffins. All of these recipes are available on Pinterest, on my 'Successful Board'. That's where I keep all my recipes that worked out well. 

     My favorite is still the pear loaf. I have that one down to almost a one-woman assembly line and can pump out at least six loaves a day, plus my experiments. 

     I have tried to share them on my Facebook page, but it didn't work for some reason. I suspect that I can't because they're not mine. So if you're interested, please check them out on my Successful Board on Pinterest.

     Oh, and I'm playing with the idea of bringing a couple of excepts from unpublished work, like Bad Clown, for example. Is that a thing? 

For the Love of Pears!

It was a cold and rainy summer. Somehow, the pear tree that grows next to me--the one my neighbor has almost decided is mine produced a scary abundance this year. It's good that I wasn't working.
I have no idea how many I picked. I gave away seven bags to friends. I canned, and gave away countless more.

Pinterest was my precious tool...until the end of pear season when I discovered EVEN MORE pear recipes I really could have used. At least I'm fully armed for next year. And I'll be calling Fruit by Sherbrooke as soon as they start dropping.

That's less than half of it.

I got off easier when I found this canning recipe: The Easy Way to Can pears  But I also made my famous Pear Liqueur:http://DIY Pear Liqueur But do you think I could find real vanilla bean anywhere? I used cinnamon sticks until that ran out. Then I went to my local Halal store and purchased real cinnamon, which I can't find now. The universe is telling me to 'Stahp!'.

Not all of it. Just the cool bottles.

I made four of these: Pear Custard Pie and my husband was addicted, until he wasn't anymore. STAHP. And I literally made ten loaves of this: Pear Loaf and a few Pear Dump Cakes, which is a layer of pears with a pre-boxed cake batter and some cinnamon thrown in.

And There's still a third of them lying on the ground, too abused to use because it was also windy this year and they hit the sidewalk and other various concrete garden fixtures with ferocious velocity.

I'm glad it's over before I started dreaming about them. It's true that the last few days have seemed strange because I have not done any pear related chores. Now I can go back to editing.

Oh RIGHT!!   I almost forgot! I can now go back to writing and writing related things that don't involve pears! Enjoy the recipes. I for one don't want to see another pear until next year.