Christine's Honey-Roasted Pears (Can Be Vegan)

These are so delicious it's hard to believe they're free of any processed sugars! It's more of a "procedure" than a recipe, but this is modified a bit from what I was able to get from my friend Christine, who first served these to us. Her take? "They're better the longer they sit." As in days. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Ripe pears*

Cinnamon

Ginger

Walnuts and/or pecans, hand crumbled

Honey (and/or date syrup, pure maple syrup)

Vanilla

Rum (opt.)

Instructions:

1) Halve the pears lengthwise and slightly hollow out a small "bowl" in each, where the seeds are. Leave a good bit of the flesh inside the skin of the pear, but make room for a generous serving of nuts in each. (Reserve the stuff you scoop out for your morning smoothie!)

2) Sprinkle each pear half with cinnamon and ginger. ill each pear "bowl" with crumbled nuts.

3) Thin honey slightly with a little water, maple syrup, vanilla, and/or a splash of rum. You are going for a pourable but still kinda thick consistency. (Maybe 1/4 C. warm water total, and 1 Tbsp. honey per pear half or so. It's really going by feel here.)

4) Drizzle over the pears, keeping it mostly in the "bowls" with the nuts—and on the fruit itself—but not spilling out into the casserole dish. Be generous with this honey mix. Don't skimp!

5) Add a little bit of water in the bottom of the casserole dish to keep things moist and to increase the yummy syrupy sauce that will be created as the pears bake.

6) Bake uncovered at 350 degrees until pears are soft, which depends on their ripeness—maybe 20–30 minutes or so.

7) Let them sit for a good long time before serving. The "sauce" will thicken up the longer it sits. (I've been known to thicken it up with arrowroot powder in a saucepan if I'm desperate for it quickly, or if I've inadvertently added too much water during the cooking stage.)

*NOTE: The pears don't have to be super-soft ripe or anything, but if you would presume that firm, unripe pears might soften up with cooking like apples do, you would be mistaken. Ask me how I know...