“There are only ten minutes in the life of a pear when it is perfect to eat.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson’s thoughts on enjoying the perfect pear may be true for raw pears, although I think his window is a little narrow.  My new favorite way to enjoy pears is roasting them, which I will tell you about in a moment. 

I try to walk most days, and enjoy listening to podcasts on my iPhone while I walk.  I subscribe to a number of podcasts, several which have to do with my favorite subject-food.  Here are some I highly recommend:

These podcasts are all hosted by Lynne Rossetto Kasper, who is an American food writer and radio journalist out of Minnesota.

The Splendid Table– hour long program which is “public radio’s culinary, culture and lifestyle program which celebrates food and its ability to touch the lives and feed the souls of everyone.”
Key 3– a series of discussions with great cooks about the 3 techniques or recipes that they think everyone should know
How to Eat Supper/How to Eat Weekends– short shows {around 10 minutes or less} based upon the 2 books

After I baked a couple batches of Mocha Truffle Cookies Saturday, I turned off the oven and popped in some fruit.  “What’s that?,” you say.  Putting the fruit in after the oven is turned off?  Yes indeed!  I popped some pears into the oven for about 50 minutes, and what emerged was tender, juicy fruit ready to eat in a variety of ways.  Look at the gorgeous browning that occurred in that short period of time. 

The first time I tried this, I roasted Bosc pears and Granny Smith apples, thinly sliced.  My husband thought they needed a little something extra, so he drizzled just a bit of local honey over the fruit, and a touch of freshly ground salt.  As most of us know, a little salt complements the sweetness of fruit.  I sprinkled the fruit with sliced almonds after it came out of the oven, and we enjoyed it with some dark chocolate.  Delicious!  I have also just put the fruit in with no extras, and that’s good too.  Plain yogurt is excellent topped with roasted fruit, nuts, cinnamon and a sprinkle of cacao nibs. 

I got the idea for roasting with the oven off from the podcast How to Eat Weekends {episode from 6 October 2011}.  If you listen to the podcast, you will hear about many other foods that you can roast, but I haven’t tried anything other than apples and pears {yet!}.  The beauty of this method is that it is energy efficient, it is tasty and you can use fruits or vegetables that may not have stellar flavor if eaten raw {think tomatoes, apple or pears that may be a little mushy, etc.}. I hope you will listen to this podcast and then try roasting some of your own fruits and vegetables.  It is quick, easy and delicious! 

Roasted Pears

 Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and fill with thinly {about 1/4 inch} sliced pears.  Slide into the oven after you’ve turned off the heat and let the fruit “roast” for about 50 minutes.  You can drizzle the fruit with honey and sprinkle with a little salt and nuts if you like.  I didn’t put the nuts on before roasting, but think I will start doing this.  Enjoy plain {warm or cold}, with dark chocolate or over ice cream.   

Just for fun-perhaps you will find your city in this list of culinary winners from Saveur Magazine. 

Bon appetit!