Slow Cooker Pears

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups pineapple juice
2 tablespoons grated ginger
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
6 Bosc pears, peeled with stems intact

Directions
In the bowl of the slow cooker, combine the juice, ginger, and butter.
Add the pears and gently toss to coat. Arrange the pears stem up.
Set the slow cooker to high and cook, covered, until the pears are tender and easily pierced with the tip of a knife, about 1 to 2 hours.

I have several variations of how to serve these pears:
1. Warm with Grand Marnier
2. Cold with Vanilla Yogurt drizzled with date syrup and garnished with almonds or walnuts

Recalling Chicago

Chorizos and Mussels Fra Diavolo on Pasta

The most memorable part of our trips are our culinary adventures. While I expected having steaks in Chicago, my most memorable meal was one of Chorizos and Mussels together on a bed of pasta in a fiery tomato sauce.

This is a recipe I built from memory. I added the spinach for health and practical reasons. That's another blog entry. Building recipes from my memory reminds me of one of the greatest cooks in my life - my Tita Ching. This is for you, Tita! My source of inspiration and one of the many role models I have.

Ingredients:
Mussels
3 freshly made hot chorizos
Bunch of spinach
3 garlic cloves
Ginger
Olive oil
Onion
Fra Diavolo sauce

Directions:
1. Saute the chorizos in olive oil and onion.
2. Steam the mussels in a ginger - garlic broth. Take the mussels out. Do not discard broth.
3. Steam the spinach in the same broth. When ready, drain the broth but leave the ginger and garlic with the spinach.
4. Combine all elements in a Fra Diavolo sauce.
3. Serve over linguine.

No need to add parmesan cheese. It will become a distraction!

Back in Time: Health and Happiness

As I approach a milestone in my life, I realize there are really 2 key things I am grateful for: Health and Happiness. The picture above shows a representation of Health and Happiness. My Organic 7-Bean and Barley Soup and my Toys. The recipe for the soup is below. And no, you can't have my toys. Don't even think about it.