Several years ago, we lived in a home with a huge back yard. Greg built a garden box and filled it with everything from pumpkins and kale to beans and tomatoes. The centerpiece of that yard was a prolific pear tree. Throughout the late summer we enjoyed the bounty, using those pears for everything from a Pear, Onion and Gorgonzola Pizza and Quesadillas with Pears and Prosciutto to the kids’ favorite – Pear Pocket Pies.
We enjoyed our backyard bounty daily, but eventually moved from that home, leaving behind our beloved pear tree. We found ourselves in a home without a yard, without much light, and without much inspiration for creating a container garden.
The town is filled with fruit – a forager’s heaven. So, in the years when we didn’t have a backyard bounty, we foraged the neighborhood for wild blackberries and grabbed the plums off the trees in the spring. In the process, I would gaze longingly into yards around town, and wonder why so many fruit trees were left unattended, with fruit left on the trees. I secretly wanted to become a Night Gleaner, and sneak into those yards in the middle of the night to pick the fruit.
But I get it, nature calls while our busy lives beckon.
Just a few short weeks ago, we moved into a new home, with a wonderful yard filled with fruit trees – including a pear tree which has been dropping pears by the basket. While I’ve spent the past few weeks unpacking boxes and setting up the house, the kids have been enjoying the yard, and begging me to make pear pockets.
Two days after arrival, it was a pear crumble – an easy, dough-free dessert that satisfied the family’s craving for pears. But that didn’t last long, the cry for pear pockets continues.
Each day I carve out some time to gather the pears that have fallen, but I can’t seem to keep up with peeling and processing them all. Today I’ll put peelers in the hands of my kids, while I make my way over to the computer and order an an Mrs. Anderson’s Baking apple peeler (which of course handles pears!). With their help, I know the pears won’t go to waste, and I’ll have time to make one of our family favorites . . . Pear Pocket Pies.
Nature Calls — I’m off to tend to the pear tree.
