Pear Crisps

A delightful baked snack and so easy to make, these pear crisps are crunchy, naturally sweet and flavorful. Put out a bowl and watch them disapPEAR. 🍐

Every holiday season, we are gifted with a box of apples, oranges and pears. The apples and oranges get eaten but often the pears languish in the refrigerator since they aren’t really anyone’s favorite fruit. 

But now I’ve found a way to make sure they are enjoyed! Thinly sliced on a mandoline and baked in a slow oven, they come out crispy and delicious. Plus, bonus! If they don’t get eaten right away, they are good for quite a while, stored in an airtight container. 

Pear Crisps

These don’t have any additional ingredients because adding sugar, even a sprinkle, tends to make the pear slices sticky and harder to get crispy. You could add a sprinkle of ground cinnamon which doesn’t affect the moisture levels, if you are so inclined. 

Ingredients

Just-ripe firm pears  – I bake two at a time which fit nicely on my two large pans, once sliced

Method

Preheat your oven to 248°F/230°F fan or 120°C/100°C fan and prepare your baking pans by lining them with baking parchment or silicone liners. 

Trim the bottom of the pears. 

Hold the stem end of each pear and slice (about 1mm thick) as uniformly as possible. This is easiest with a mandoline. You will end up with the little stem ends as the cook’s bonus to eat while the slices bake. 

Lay out the pear slices on the prepared baking pans ensuring that none of the slices are overlapping.

Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour.

After 1 hour, turn the pear slices over and return them to the oven for a further 1 hour. 

After they have finished cooking, turn the oven off but leave the pans in the oven for a further hour so the pear slices become fully crisp. 

Once completely cooled, the pear crisps should be stored in an airtight container, to keep them crunchy.

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we celebrating National Pear Month. Many thanks to our host, Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm. Check out the links below. 

• Arugula and Pear Salad from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Brûléed Posset-Filled Pears from Culinary Cam
• Gluten free Frangipane Pear Tarts from Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
• Pear and Cherry Sourdough Bread from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Pear Crisps from Food Lust People Love
• Protein Packed Winter Veggies & Fruit Salad from Sneha's Recipe
• Roasted Pear & Beet Salad from Amy's Cooking Adventures

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Yamitsuki Addictive Cabbage

Yamitsuki addictive cabbage, made with furikake seaweed seasoning, sesame oil, rice vinegar and salt, is a dish that is somehow way more than the sum of its parts. It's so good!

Like chai tea, shrimp scampi, naan bread and ghee butter, the title of this dish is repetitive but that’s how it is sometimes in English when the words are foreign. My excuse is that this recipe is adapted from one in New York Times Cooking and yamisuki addictive cabbage is what they called it. 

Yamitsuki means addictive in Japanese so this cabbage is doubly addictive by name, if not in practice. We did love it but to say it is addictive would be a bit much. 

That said, I served it as a side dish with rich, fatty pan-fried salmon and it ably served the purpose it does in Japan at an izakaya – the Japanese equivalent of a pub – where yamitsuki cabbage is said to be a refreshing palate cleanser to balance other richer, fattier foods you might be eating. 

Yamitsuki Addictive Cabbage

As mentioned above, this recipe is adapted from one on New York Times Cooking. 

If you can’t find Taiwanese flathead or Napa cabbage, substitute what fresh green cabbage is available to you. I used Hispi cabbage also known as pointy cabbage.

Ingredients

For the cabbage:

1 lb or 450g cabbage (about ½ head)

1 tablespoon fine sea salt

For the dressing:

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

2 cloves garlic, finely grated

2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

For seasoning and garnish:

1 tablespoon furikake seaweed seasoning, or more to taste 

This is made up of nori (seaweed), toasted black and white sesame seeds, salt and sugar.

Method

Remove any wilted leaves from the cabbage. Halve the cabbage through its core and remove the solid white heart of one half. Wrap the other half up and save for another recipe.

Rip the leaves of the cabbage into rough 1 ¼-inch square pieces. Any really thick bits, like the ribs, can be cut out and sliced thinly.

Wash and drain the pieces of the cabbage in a salad spinner in the sink. 

Put the cabbage pieces in a very large bowl and sprinkle them with 1 tablespoon fine sea salt, then crunch and scrunch the leaves with your hands, making sure they’re all separated, well mixed in with the salt, and beginning to soften. Let the salted cabbage sit for 10 minutes.

While the cabbage sits, finely grate the garlic into a smooth paste into a small bowl. 

Whisk the sesame oil, ⅛ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper into the bowl with the garlic.

After 10 minutes, the cabbage should be slightly wilted and taste slightly salty. Test a leaf by rinsing it under running water and tasting it; it should taste like the leaf absorbed some salt. (If not, let it sit for 10 more minutes and then taste again.) 

Put the cabbage pieces in the salad spinner, rinse off the salt under running water, then spin the cabbage dry. Let it sit until you are ready to dress the salad.

When you’re ready to serve the dish, transfer the cabbage to a serving bowl, add the dressing and use two large spoons (or chopsticks) to toss until coated. 

Sprinkle the salad with the furikake seaweed seasoning, again making sure everything is mixed together.

Sprinkle with a little more furikake seaweed seasoning to garnish. 

Enjoy!

Welcome to the 25th edition of Alphabet Challenge 2025, brought to you by the letter Y. Many thanks to Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm for organizing and creating the challenge. Check out all the Y recipes below:

• Dahiwale Aloo Ki Sabzi/Potatoes In Yogurt Sauce from Sneha’s Recipe
• Frozen Yogurt Pie from A Messy Kitchen
• Teriyaki Ahi, Avocado, and Cucumber Salad from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Vegetable Raita | Indian Yogurt Salad from Mayuri’s Jikoni
• Yamitsuki Addictive Cabbage from Food Lust People Love
• Yangzhou Fried Rice from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Yellow Mustard Seed Giardiniera Deviled Eggs from Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Yemarina Yewotet Dabo (Ethiopian Honey Bread) from Culinary Cam
• Yogurt Cornbread from Jolene’s Recipe Journal

Here are my posts for the 2025 alphabet challenge, thus far:

A: Roasted Asparagus Soup

B: Blistered Sugar Snap Peas

C. Jersey Royal Chicken Chorizo Traybake 

D. Small Batch Dried Apricot Jam 

E. Whipped Espresso Cream 

F. Fish Sauce Roasted Chicken 

G. Extra Herby Gremolata 

H. Smoked Herring Spread 

I.  Fresh Cherry Ice Cream 

J. Small Batch Strawberry Jam 

K. Kiwi Tomato Feta Salad 

L. Lobster Butter 

M. Milk-Roasted Chicken 

N. Nocciolata Swirl Meringues 

O. Jersey Octopus Ceviche 

P. Easy Pastina Soup 

Q. Shrimp and Quail Egg Garden Salad 

R. Celeriac Mash with Scallop Roe Butter 

S. Fresh Scallop Sashimi 

T. Roasted Chicken Thighs with Stuffing 

U. Umeboshi Calamansi Lime Juice

V. Mirabelle Plum Vodka 

W. Welsh Rarebit Potatoes with Cavolo Nero 

X. Homemade XO Sauce 

Y. Yamitsuki Addictive Cabbage – this post! 

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Tiny Batch Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins #MuffinMonday

These tiny batch whole wheat blueberry muffins are perfect when you just need three tender, sweet fruity muffins for breakfast or snack time. 

I must confess that when Muffin Monday comes around these days I struggle to find motivation to bake. It’s not that I don’t have a ton of ideas still. Far from it. Muffins are so versatile – sweet, savory or some combination of both - that I don’t think I’ll ever run out of ideas! 

The problem is that with just two of us at home we just don’t eat enough muffins. Back when my husband was working, I’d send in extras for him to share with his colleagues. I do still share with friends and neighbors but now I have a single lady living next door and she’s not a big eater. As I said, it’s a struggle. 

Hence my tiny batch this month and I’m wondering if it’s time to give up Muffin Mondays in the New Year. It might be time. 

Tiny Batch Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins

This recipe makes three regular sized muffins. I baked them in silicone muffin cups rather than using a half empty six-cup muffin pan but that will work too. 

Ingredients

1/2 cup or 60g whole wheat flour

1/4 cup or 50g sugar

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 large egg white, at room temperature

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 tablespoons full-fat sour cream or plain yogurt, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup or 45g fresh or frozen blueberries

Method

Preheat the oven to 400°F or 200°C. Line three muffin cups of a standard 6-cup  muffin pan with paper liners, or use silicone muffins cups on a baking pan. 

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. 

Add in the blueberries and toss to coat. 

In another bowl, whisk the melted butter, egg white, sour cream (or yogurt), and vanilla extract. 

Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and fold until combined and no streaks of flour remain. 

Divide the batter evenly between the three prepared muffin cups. 

Bake the muffins for 5 minutes in your preheated oven, then reduce the oven temperature to 350°F or 180°C. 

Continue baking until the tops of the muffins are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean, about 20 minutes more.

Place the muffins on a cooling rack and allow them to cool slightly before removing.

Enjoy!

It’s the last Monday of the month which means it’s Muffin Monday! Check out the links to the recipes my blogger friends and I are sharing today. 

• Banana Cranberry Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Fig Muffins with Creamy Goat Cheese Filling from A Messy Kitchen
• Pumpkin Apple Muffins from Palatable Pastime
• Seeded Rye Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Tiny Batch Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins from Food Lust People Love

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all of our lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page. 

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Blueberry Muffins!

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