caramelized pears

caramelized pears, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

to die for..to caramelize pears. Slice 4 pears into 1/4 inch pieces and place in pan with 2 Tbs of melted butter ( only one layer at a time) and cook on medium high heat for about 5 minutes total, turning only once. Half of the pears go into the soup. The other half is used for garnish. I think these would be fabulous in any salad.

prosciutto, oven baked

prosciutto, oven baked, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

For the crispy prosciutto: place individual slices on a baking sheet and place in 350 deg oven for 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool and get really crispy

Peach & blueberry crisp

peach & blueberry crisp, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

One more yummy dessert and then I am on to salads and soups. My pants are getting a little tight in the wrong places. Merde!
This is one of my favorites: not because of the peaches but because of the topping. It is easy. It is crunchy. It has oatmeal...now that has to be good for you. I use this sparingly on the fruit and put the rest in the freezer. I would recommend using Ina Garten's recipe for the method and use whatever fruit you have or is fresh in the Farmer's Markets in your neighborhood.
The topping"
1 1/2 cup flour. try using whole wheat
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1 cup old fashioned Oats
(see the ratios here?)
1 tsp salt
2 cubes (total 8 oz) cold butter, diced
Mix all ingredients together by hand or a mixer and sprinkle over fruit. A little will go a long way.. We don't ever want to buy the next size jeans!!!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween quilt, 4, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

I hope you all had a spooky and treatful Halloween. There were fun and adorable trick or treaters at my door last night. I think my really scary Jack-o-lantern scared them away though or maybe it was my dog, Sophie. I am not sure. This Jack is the center block of my Halloween quilt made 2 years ago. The starry eyes are buttons.

Ladybug in my hand

ladybug in my hand, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

This was my scribble for Thursday. Who knew bugs had so much detail up close

How to peel a pomegranate????

pom whole, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

What a lovely fruit and the juice tastes so good. But any of you who have tried to open one of these fruits is soon spattered with purple/red juice that is hard to get out of your clothes; leaves your fingernails stained and is sometimes just not worth it.

When I was a child I lived about 100 yards from my grandparents who had a huge pomegranate tree growing behind their massive garage. Oddly landscaped it was growing right next to a heavily thorned cactus my grandfather no doubt transplanted from the desert he so much loved to visit. Needless to say it was really difficult to pick the Poms and looking back I am not sure how much of this fruit my grandparents actually ate. But always at this time of year the 7 grandchildren living on the adjacent properties managed to get our share. Our parents stripped us down to our underwear and we were allowed only to eat them outside. We thought the rules were kind of funny but I certainly understand them in retrospect. Eating pomegranates in our undies. Oh what fun!

I still love this fruit. I look forward to every fall for pomegranate season and it is here! We all know by now that pomegranates are superfruits. They and antioxidant treasures and so many food manufactures are adding them to commonly consumed food and drink. Check out the California pomegranate official website to find out more cool stuff. Let me show you how to get at the inside of this fruit without splattering all over yourself and without stripping down to your undies.....although that may be fun....just keep it inside.

pom, top off

pom, top off, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

Start by cutting off the top end. Then cut into sections....I usually cut into fourths. Cut down the middle. Then lay the cut side down and cut again...Remember we're trying to avoid splatter