Kay Wheeler Moore

Welcome to my blog

Hello. . .

The Newfangled Country Gardener is for anyone who has a garden, would like to have a garden, or who simply enjoys eating the garden-fresh way. I don't claim to be an expert; in this blog I'm simply sharing some of the experiences my husband and I have in preparing food that is home-grown.

About the author

Kay Wheeler Moore is the author of a new cookbook, Way Back in the Country Garden, that features six generations of recipes that call for ingredients that are fresh from the garden. With home gardening surging in popularity as frugal people become more resourceful, this recipe collection and the stories that accompany it ideally will inspire others to cook the garden-fresh way and to preserve their own family food stories as well. The stories in this book center around the Three Red-Haired Miller Girls (Kay's mother and aunts) who grew up in Delta County, TX, with their own backyard garden so lavish that they felt as though they were royalty after their Mama wielded her kitchen magic on all that was homegrown. Introduced in Kay's previous book, Way Back in the Country, the lively Miller Girls again draw readers into their growing-up world, in which a stringent economic era--not unlike today's tight times--saw people turn to the earth to put food on the table for their loved ones. The rollicking yarns (all with recipes attached) have love, family, and faith as common denominators and show how food evocatively bonds us to our life experiences.

Monday, October 18, 2010

Piping hot or chilled, Quick Roasted Pears is wonderful, healthy fall dish

From the time Hubby and I were engaged, I heard him extol the ecstasies of his mother's baked apple dish. Baked apples weren't something on which we commonly dined in my growing-up home, but in self-defense I quickly tried to learn how his mother prepared them so I could make my own stab at them. Nobody ever cooked fruits and vegetables the way my mother-in-law did, so I couldn't replicate them, but I did my best to concoct my version.

But pears baked in the oven? Hadn't heard of them or sampled them, but I certainly "got it" in terms of how this might work. The recipe was from my handy booklet, "Celebrating a Healthy Harvest". The "quick" part appealed to me; I needed a healthy, easy side for some sloppy joes I was throwing together for dinner. Plus I had some pears on hand. Plus-plus—we're still dreaming of our pear bounty that we JUST KNOW we'll be enjoying next summer after our pear tree gave us a "teaser" crop this year.

Quick Roasted Pears made a wonderful dish that was great just out of the oven or after having chilled it in the refrigerator as well. Besides being a healthy side for my dinner, the dish also made a great dessert with sugar-free whipped topping accompanying it.

Wish Hubby's mom were still on this earth so I could run a serving of Quick Roasted Pears by her. I think she would be pleased that I, as her daughter-in-law, paid attention.


Quick Roasted Pears

Spray vegetable oil
2 pears, halved and cored
1 tablespoon butter
4 tablespoons brown-sugar substitute

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray oil on baking dish. Place pear halves in baking dish, cut side up. Sprinkle each half with 1 teaspoon of brown sugar. Cut butter into 4 pieces. Place one piece on top of each pear half. Bake for 10 minutes or until pears are soft.


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