We have three pear trees in our yard. For a long time, we only had two. We never got one pear; it was so disappointing to the boys because they were still little.
Finally, someone told us we needed a different variety of pear trees to act as the pollinator. Interesting! What do I know about growing fruit especially growing up in the busiest part of NJ?
We put in a different variety tree, and voila! We had pears on both the other trees. Not great pears, but we finally had pears.
Most of the pears were tiny and funny-shaped with brown marks. Ewwww, the boys would say. Ugh, kids!
Over the years, the pears were still small but got better and better. Sometimes, we couldn’t give them away; we had so many.
This year only one of the trees produced fruit. The pears were the size you find in the store’s produce section.
They didn’t have many spots, so we picked them quickly since Klaus would try to pull the pears off the tree if there were none on the ground for him. Smart little bastard!
All the pears were ripe at once, so Sam suggested I make a giant pan of pear crisp that he could take to his fellow ER night shift nurses who never get any of the goodies dropped off for the day shift.
I made the best pear crisp of my life just by winging it. I made a small one for Marty and me to see how it came out. It came out freaking delicious! I couldn’t wait for Sammy to try it.
Maybe it was because I put so much love into making a treat for the nursing staff using local fruit; Sam said it doesn’t get any more local than this.
The night Sam brought the pear crisp in, he didn’t get to eat more than a bite since the ER was slammed. He said it was perfect, though.
The next night we all know what happened, there wasn’t any left for him, but he was happy everyone loved it so much and said it was the best pear crisp they ever had.
I am a cook through and through. My purpose in this life is to feed people, and I love doing so. When I see people eating my food, I get so happy seeing them enjoying it.
Love is the most important ingredient you can cook or bake with. When people ask how we cook our spätzle, we give them instructions; then we tell them the most important thing of all is adding love.
Our customers think I am kidding when I say that at the farmers market, but love makes everything taste better. It’s funny when the customer’s kid says, “Yeah, mom, you don’t put love in yours.” 😂
This is the first of my short food posts about fall cooking and baking. I’ve been on a roll for a couple of weeks now. Stay tuned.
Recipe? That looks delicious!