Spiced Pears in Red Grape Juice

Spiced Pears in Red Grape Juice 

Eaten hot (which I prefer) or cold, this simple dessert smells of Christmas and the holiday season. It's so tasty on a cold winter day eaten warm it's to tasty to also be good for you. Equally good served cold in the summer.
As red grape juice is used instead of wine unlike most poached pear recipes, children and adults wishing not to drink alcohol can also share in this tasty and healthy dessert. Plus it's one of your five a day :)
Any left over liquid can be used on ice cream :)


Ingredients

• 750mls Red Grape juice
• 4 Ripe firm pears (peeled and insides removed from the bottom of the pear, keep any juices and add to the saucepan)
• 1/2 orange (cut into 4 leave peel on again add any juice to the saucepan)
• 1 Cinnamon stick
• 2 -3 Cloves
• A little ginger (it adds a nice kick, I used fresh peeled ginger about the size of a 1/3 of my finger)
• A teaspoon honey

How To
Put all ingredients except the pears into a medium sized saucepan and heat until it boils, stir well and add the pears, reduce heat so the liquid simmers (a low heat but it bubbles slowly). If you have a lid put it on the saucepan.
Simmer making sure you keep putting the juice mix over the pears for 40 minutes to 1 hour until tender (not to soft but not hard).
Remove the pears and put into bowls add the orange piece for decoration. Heat the liquid on boiling for 10 minutes until it reduces and thickens, spoon some of the liquid over each pear, be careful not to add the ginger, cloves or cinnamon. Leave to stand for a few minutes so the boiling liquid does not burn anyone. Can no be served hot. If you prefer it cold, leave to cool than place in a fridge for 3 - 4 hours before serving.

This post is linked to Cook and Celebrate: Christmas 2014 organised by Yen from Eat your heart out, Diana from Domestic Goddess Wannabe and me from Bake for Happy Kids.
Please link your post with us if you are also cooking something special for your Christmas celebration for the whole of December 2014.

Soda Bread Tea Towel arrived

My tea towel with my mom's recipe for soda bread arrived. I still need to hem it, but I am so happy with the results of the print I thought I would post it anyway.
The recipe printed on it is at http://nezumiworldcakeshop.blogspot.co.uk/2007/09/soda-bread.html
The design is scaled for the cotton/ linen fabric mix and is available at spoonflower at http://www.spoonflower.com/fabric/3056085 as a fat quarter (1 tea towel) or by the yard (4 tea towels)
Now to hem it and make a soda bread.

Pineapple and Coconut Upside Down Cake

The weather is getting cooler and sometimes after a hard week working its just nice to relax with a warm slice of cake with custard or cream. Brings me back to my childhood, when there were some really back winters, my mom always made tasty warm treats to warm us up :)

Preheat the oven to 200°C/ 400ºF/ gas mark 6
Prepare your baking tin (I used a greaseproof paper circle at the bottom of my silicone baking tin for ease of turn the cake out)

Ingredients:
For the cake

• 6 slices canned pineapple (drain the juice reserving 3 tablespoons of the liquid)
• 100 grams/ 4oz/  ½ cup caster sugar/ (superfine USA)
• 100 grams/ 4oz/  1 stick soft butter
• 100 grams/ 4oz/ ⅔ cup plain flour/ (all-purpose flour USA)
•  3 Heaped tablespoons desiccated coconut
• ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
•  1 teaspoon baking powder 
•  2 Medium eggs 

Place your pineapple rings into your baking tin I overlapped my because I think it looks pretty when baked.
Beat together in a large bowl the butter and caster sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the egg and continue beating the mixture.
Fold in the flour, coconut and pineapple liquid.
Mix until just combined (not over mixing)
Spoon mixture onto the pineapple slices and cook for approx. 30 minutes in a moderate heat oven or until brown.


Tip: if you put a knife into the centre of the cake it should come out clean (no mixture sticking to it)
Leave to cool slightly before carefully removing. Can be served it warm or cold, on its own or with custard or cream or both :)