Poached Seckel Pears

My mom used to make me a Chinese version of poached pears when I would get sick as a child. Well, it was actually more like pear soup. If I remember correctly, she would slice juicy asian pears into strips and cook them in some water and just a little sugar until the whole apartment smelled deliciously fragrant. I would eat the pears, drink the poaching liquid, and even though I don't think it made me physically better, I always felt better after.

The western version of poached pears is much sweeter, but I thought I would split the difference since I'm not a huge sugar fanatic. I also added a cinnamon stick since I love cinnamon, but it would be great with some vanilla bean seeds or a squeeze of lemon as well.

Earl Grey Ice Cream with a Hint of Lemon

Phillip used to work at a tea house in high school. He loves earl grey and requested to write a poem for this post so here goes:

Black tea and zesty bergamot
A squeeze of lemon and steaming water in the pot
A pick me up on rainy days and situations fraught
There is nothing quite like tea, earl grey, hot

So what do you guys think? Should he make some more appearances? (The last line is a reference to Star Trek: TNG for you nerds out there, I heart Picard).

Cherry Galettes, Personal Sized

This past weekend I went to upstate New York to see my friend at Lake Luzerne. It was such a nice escape from city life. The lake's water was amazingly clear and fresh, the sky was perfect with just the right amount of sun peeking through fluffy, Texas-like clouds (yes, Texas clouds are special, I said it). It would have been nice to spend more time up there. Right as we got back into the city it was stress-central. Cars everywhere, people everywhere, the exact opposite of life at the lake.

I still love the city though. We are a stone's throw away from Brooklyn Bridge Park and walking to Manhattan from where we live has got to be the best 2 hours ever spent, especially if you reward yourself with soup dumplings from Chinatown. Also the food culture just can't be beat. I'm still on the hunt for my favorite restaurants. I know it's going to take a while, since it took us years in Chicago, and we were still finding amazing places right before we left.

Fig & Honey Panna Cotta

My parents used to have fig trees in their backyard. Though my dad currently designs software and my mom is a registered nurse, their backgrounds were originally in agricultural science. They have an enviable garden which grows everything from peppers to eggplants to squash to amaranth. Unfortunately the said fig trees were not as successful as some of the other plants. They were actually more like saplings which my dad was trying to grow into full-fledge trees; they didn't make it through the hot Texas summers and frequent droughts. Even in the few seasons they did produce fruit, my parents rarely got the opportunity to eat the figs they had worked so hard for as the birds would inevitably get to them first.