Case Study 73: "The Spiced Pear "

In Greek mythology, the pear was seen as sacred to three goddesses: Hera, Aphrodite and Pomona.  In China it symbolizes longevity and immortality.  But in the culinary world, no fruit symbolizes the mid-October harvest like this sweet succulent pomaceous delight. 

In the summer we savor the offerings of the vine.  Mother Earth's truest candy is a fresh July tomato or ripe summer berry.  But in the fall we pick from the earth. We find abundance in what is rooted to bring warmth and nourishment to our table and we keep this sacred for this season alone. 

"The Spiced Pear" is a gingerbread cupcake under a light vanilla buttercream, crowned with a savory poire épicée.  It is full of flavor and oozing with fruit's own syrupy goodness, spiked with the unmistakable notes of ginger, star anise, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg wrapping up one warm aromatic bite. 

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately - in this month that's ruled by Venus and the symbol of balance - about life, about worth, and about how to measure it all. We spend our days working hard and our nights wondering what weight it all really has in the grand scheme of things.  We wonder if what we expect of ourselves determines the value of our capacity, and we try to tell ourselves that experience that is bad can be experience well learned.  But sometimes we just realize that life is too damn short to not just live it well.  In the season, in the moment, and in the end, we have to live it well.