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.