Oh peach season has passed, so one has to bring on the pears!

Frog Hollow taught us in their last newsletter that pears are most often picked this time of the year and then stored in a cellar so that the starches turn to sugars, making them sweet and more often associated with the colder months. But they have slipped a few of the first pears into our boxes recently-Asian pears. Small, speckled, and crisp. I noticed recently my small pile of peaches and pluots dwindling while the six or seven little pears hung on tight. I tried one sliced up with my oatmeal the other morning but decided it was time for some real fun with these special first of the seasons.

So here comes the result of my dire need to do something with my Asian pears before my next fruit delivery. Ginger Pear Bread. The complementary flavors are excitingly unusual with the sweet pear and subtle ginger. And vegan. And easily gluten-free if you swap out the flour. Just all an around fantastic recipe for cute muffins, muffin tops, mini muffins, or a single loaf. I added some slivered almonds to the top of my muffins and loaf for a nice crunch and I bet rolled oats would be good as well.

Enjoy!

Never-To-Linger-Ginger-Pear Bread

1 ¼ cups pear puree
½ cup sugar or agave nectar
½ cup canola oil
2 Tablespoons soy milk
1 Tablespoon grated ginger
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
3 Tablespoons of hot water mixed with 1 Tablespoon of ground flax seed
1 cup diced pear, peeled
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1 ¼ cups whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon non-aluminum baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda

First, preheat oven to 325F.  Peel and core about 2 ½ medium sized pears and blend or process into 1 ¼ cup of pear puree. Add the sugar, oil, soy milk, ginger, lemon juice and salt and process until smooth.  Add the water and flax mixture and process until smooth.    

Then, in a small bowl, gentle mix together the diced pear with 1 teaspoon sugar, ½ teaspoon cinnamon and ½ teaspoon nutmeg.  Cover the diced pears evenly and then set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder and baking soda.  

Combine the wet ingredients into the bowl containing the dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated.  Stir the diced pear mixture into the dough.

To Make Muffins:
Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners or grease pan.  Pour the batter into the muffin pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.  Makes 6 to 8 muffins.

To Make Bread:
Pour the dough mixture into a lightly oiled loaf pan and bake for about 1 hour or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Adapted from Mattie’s recipe.