Pear Chutney

This recipe is really just a list of suggested ingredients and could be used for other fruits as well: peaches, plums, etc.

Pear Chutney

2 pounds pears, sliced (I didn't peel them, too lazy)
1/2 cup raisins, or chopped prunes
1/2 chopped lemon
1/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger, or 2 tablespoons fresh ginger root
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cinnamon
A few cloves
1 clove minced garlic
A minced jalapeno or two, or some crushed red pepper, if desired

1 scant teaspoon salt
1 cup cider vinegar
1 cup brown sugar

I made my most recent batch in the pressure cooker:  first I cooked the pears with 1/4 cup of water under pressure for a few minutes, because they were so hard, but if the pears were ripe I would skip that step. Usually I just cook everything except the salt, vinegar, and sugar until tender, then add those things and boil down gently until thick and jam-like.  It usually takes about a half hour or so.  I poured the chutney into four half-pint jars and put them in the freezer.

Fall Dinner

I've been either a lazy blogger or unimaginative cook this week. But tonight we're having a very suitably autumnal dinner at Grandma's. She is making a pork roast and applesauce, and I'm bringing roasted vegetables and a pear tart.

I used Anne Postic's recipe from the Free Times for the tart. My dough didn't hang together because I only had whole wheat flour, so I pressed it into a tart pan instead of making a free-form shape. It smells wonderful.

U Pick Pears

While out running errands I saw this sign in someone's front yard along a busy road. Beneath the sign was a plastic grocery bag full of other plastic grocery bags.

I picked four pears off the pear-loaded tree, though they are quite hard and probably not close to ripe yet. I just wanted to support the idea, you know?