Motivational Musing ~

But square-cut or pear-shape, these rocks don’t lose their shape!
~ Leo Robin (1900–1984), U.S. songwriter. “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend,”

She's Got Quite a Pear

Thanks to the miracles of modern science, effective storage methods and swift modes of transport, pears are no longer only available in fall and winter.  They are a serve ‘em up friendly - year round - summer, spring, winter and fall - fruit.

There are 5,000 varieties of pears grown worldwide, almost 1,000 varieties grown in the U.S., but we most likely encounter only six or seven commercially grown pears.

Eighty-four percent of our pears are grown in Oregon and Washington. The combination of the volcanic soil and clean mountain water, coupled with the warm days and cool nights of spring and summer in the Pacific Northwest make this region the ideal growing environment. 

Bartletts are green-speckled and smooth-skinned. They turn yellow as they ripen. Bartletts are good to just eat and/or to bake. .

Bosc pears are brown-skinned and have distinctive, long, tapering necks and fat bottoms. They're sweet, aromatic and are recommended for eating, baking and poaching.

Comice and Seckel pears are harder to come by but worth the effort. The French refer to the Comice as the Queen of Pears - need I say more! She is large, roundish, covered in a thick yellow-green skin with patches of russet. Some consider her the best eating variety. Seckels are small and brown-skinned, with a faint red blush and are generally a cooking pear.

Anjou pears are egg-shaped and their skins are a greenish-yellow color freckled with brown spots. Anjous are great for eating and cooking, and generally available until June.

Pears are loaded with Vitamin C, a good source of the B-complex vitamins, potassium, phosphorous, iodine, and dietary fiber, and a good-sized pear is a bargain at 100 calories. Pears contain about 16 percent carbohydrate and negligible amounts of fat and protein.

Their skin, a delicious source of fiber, provides 5.1 grams or 20% of the recommended daily fiber value. And the skin is rich with phytonutrients.

Did you know that pears are unique in that they best ripen best off the tree?  (This was news to me.  I’m always squeezing fruit at the market, looking for the ripe ones!) Pears should be ripened after purchase.

Pears (with the exception of Bartlett) do not change color as they ripen. The best way to know if these pears are ripe is to apply gentle pressure to the stem end of the pear with your thumb (a.k.a. the neck).  If it yields a bit, it’s ready to eat. 

So, if you’re sitting with a bunch of hard pears, put them in a paper bag or covered fruit bowl.  Leave at room temperature. Check their ‘necks’ every day.  When they yield to the touch, they’re ready.

Once, ripened, if you want to store your pears, put them in your fridge.  They should stay fresh for 3 to 5 days.

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Pious Project™ - Pears Under Water - What a fabulous centerpiece! And so easy, fun and it adds drama to any table.

Ingredients needed:
One glass bowl
Pears (the number needed depends on how large and deep your vase is)
A bunch of flowers
Water, of course!
Pruning sheers or Ikebana scissors.

Instructions:
Fill your glass vase about 3/4 full with pears.
Add water until they are just about covered.
Arrange flowers, tucking in stems between pears.

Elegant, sophisticated and quite beautiful.

 

 

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Fruitful Contest - A two-part True or False PEAR Quiz.:
1.There are more than 5,000 varieties of pears — not all of which are pear-shaped.
2. Pears don’t float.


RULES: The 18th to enlighten Our Lady wins an Our Lady of Weight Loss prize! (Sometimes people send in their answers within minutes - even seconds - of each other. Our Lady declares them all winners!)

Last week's Fruitful query: What does BUTTON ONE'S LIP mean? Answer: To keep quiet. To keep your mouth shut.
The winners are: Ida A. and Jill B.


Write Our Lady.
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Chewing the Fat - How you doin'? Write Our Lady.
If you've written and your letter has not been published, it's probably coming down the pike and will be in next week's KICK or the week after! NOTE: If your letter and/or Weighty Confession and/or Righteous Recipe are published, you will receive an Our Lady of Weight Loss prize! Be sure to send your mailing address with your email.

Dear OLofWL, Our Lady is International indeed! I heard about you from one of my favourite websites - The Brocante Home : Home of the Vintage Housewife. Alison, who writes this delicious website feels much like me about weight gain and weight loss ~ and I love how upbeat your site is! Although I must confess to going along to a slimming club, I do hate the way people talk there. They all talk about being naughty if they have eaten a cream bun. As far as I know, you wont get slammed in jail for such a crime! I fully plan on walking into the next meeting with my own OLoWL shrine and giving them all a kick up the tush! ~ Best wishes, Naomi, U.K.

Dear Naomi, Thanks much for the delightful and enchanting email. So much fun to read something with a U.K. lilt to it! I checked out Alison's site - The Brocante Home, .... and loved it! Keep in touch and hope to see you across the pond. Who knows. My book: Our Lady of Weight Loss's KICK in the TUSH Club ~ Miraculous and Motivational Musings from the Patron Saint of Permanent Fat Removal - will be on the shelves in fall 2006. Perhaps in the U.K., too???? A girl can dream! ~ Kick Tush, Girlfriend!!! OLofWL PS: Directions for making your own Portable Portable Pious (Kick #31) are fab and easy to follow.

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Dear OLofWL ~ More thoughts on lips to pass on to Lusting.   If she is like me, she may have sensitivities to makeup or foods.  I have found LORAC lipstick is the only stuff I can use.  Everything else makes my lips chap and peel and bleed.  Vaseline kills me, as does anything with SPF, except for this stuff I pick up in Mexico on my annual jaunt. Labello.  Also, I can't eat oranges or drink orange juice because the top layer of my lips just dies.  After an orange I need to exfoliate and pray they heal. Just some thoughts. ~ Robin in San Jose

Dear Robin, Thanks much for the luscious lip tips. I'm passing them on and am trying to contact Labello to see where they sell their product in the US! ~ Kick Tush, OLofWL

SPECIAL NOTICE: Many KICK in the TUSH Club members have been directed hit by and are suffering from Hurricane Katrina's and Hurricane Rita's devastation. They desperately need water, food, medical care and shelter. Please help. If you are a KICK member and I can help in anyway, please write me: Our Lady cares At the very least, I can offer an ear and moral support.