A podcast for Pear Season

What a privilege to be invited by Kerrie Penney to be part of this year's Untethered Series for Secret Heart Broadcasting! https://secretheartbroadcasting.com/ !

Talking with Kerrie, in response to her thoughtful questions--- Why Poetry? Why Hag Dances? Why now? , I found myself letting go of all awareness of the recording process and its requirement and simply enjoying a conversation with a good and insightful friend.

At the end of the conversation, Kerrie asked for a contribution to her September newsletter and suggested including a recipe, which took me to our garden, our heavily laden pear tree, and a family favourite--pear ginger upside down cake.

Here's the recipe, adapted from a well-loved and battered (in all ways) copy of Simply in Seasons:

Susan’s Pear-Ginger Upside Down Birthday Cake

Ingredients

about 1/4 cup of maple syrup (or brown sugar if you’re low on maple syrup)

1-2 tablespoons butter

2-4 pears, depending on what is ripe and ready to pick from the tree today

1 cup of flour

½ cup of oat or almond flour (for oat flour, grind some oats in your coffee grinder or your blender)

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 pinch of cloves

¼ teaspoon salt

1/3 cup butter (room temperature so it’s soft and easy to work)

1/3 cup brown sugar (or maple syrup)

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger (or 1 tsp ground ginger if you don’t have fresh)

1 egg

½ cup molasses

½ cup yogurt, buttermilk or soured milk (add a little apple cider vinegar or lemon juice to sour it)

Steps:

1.     Turn on the oven to 350F.

2.     Warm the ¼ c maple syrup and 1-2 T butter gently in a small pot, giving it a little stir so that the butter melts. If you’re using brown sugar, add 1-2 T of water to help it along.

3.     Pour the syrup into a buttered 8x8inch baking dish.

4.     Core and slice the pears, arranging them on top of the syrup mixture

5.     Stir together in a small bowl the flours, baking soda and spices

6.      In another (larger) bowl beat the butter and sweetener together until fluffy.  A hand mixer is handy for this, if you have one.  Add the egg and beat it a little more.

7.     Alternately add to the larger bowl: molasses, dry ingredients, yogurt or milk, mixing it well into the creamed mixture as you go.

8.     Spoon the batter over the pears. Bake for about 30-35 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Turn onto a platter.  Serve warm or cold. For a special treat, add whipped cream on top.

Notes:

*If you love ginger and have candied ginger, cut up a few pieces and sprinkle them on the pears before adding the batter

*Vegan?  Use coconut oil and a chia or flax egg

*Gluten free? Use all oat and/or almond flour or your favourite gluten-free flour mix