Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Making time for yourself, Pear Bread

Everyone in my house is sick. We're all stuffy and achy and coughing and sleepy. It is in times like these that a mommy can get stretched a little too thin... and the perfect time to nibble out a few minutes for yourself!


I promised myself as part of my New Year's Resolutions to make time for me. Some days I'm great at it... other days not so great. Some days I have to work to make that time for me.


Last night I took out one of my favorite recipes that I concocted a few years ago for Pear Bread. It is a simple and not overly sweet cake-like treat I used to make when Em was a baby and purees were always in the house. Now that both boys are older, I only make pear puree for this special bread. It takes about 4 minutes to whip up, 47 minutes to bake, and as much or as little time as you have to enjoy it!


Pear Bread - Makes 16 adult or 32 kid sized slices
Can be doubled to make two loaves and freezes well if wrapped tightly.
  • 1 1/2 cups regular white flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon or a bit more cinnamon
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 12 ounces or so of pear puree, or applesauce

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees
  2. Butter bottom and sides of a standard bread pan
  3. Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl
  4. Add eggs to bowl and stir a few times, but not fully mixed
  5. Add pear puree and mix just to combine.  If over mixed, it will still be tasty, but heavy.
  6. Put batter in the bread pan and bake for 47 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  7. Let sit for 10 minutes before removing from pan to cool.

I love pears, but this could easily be made applesauce or apple puree as well. To treat yourself a little more, serve on a nice plate with a cup of tea... I'm enjoying mine with Tangerine tea on my great-grandmothers china right now. :-)