Week 43--Pears

Who doesn't like the sweetness of pears?  They are so reminiscent of Fall and all its bounty.  These days I don't enjoy as much fruit as I once used to (still dealing with blood sugar issues, sadly) but when I do... it tastes sweeter than candy.  This week I once again steal a recipe from my favorite blogger Emily Malone at the Daily Garnish.  To my credit I have made it Gluten Free (the original recipe isn't).  Here is the original: http://www.dailygarnish.com/2012/10/ginger-spiced-pear-bread.html and below is mine.

Ginger Spiced Pear Bread (Gluten Free and Vegan)

Ingredients (changes are noted with an asterisk

• 1 1/2 Bob's Red Mill gluten free all purpose flour*
• 3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum*
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 cup blackstrap molasses*
• 1/4 cup (loose) brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 tablespoons chia seeds + 1/4 cup water (or sub 2 eggs)
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/4 cup sunflower oil (or sub canola/other oil)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 ripe pears, diced small
• 1/3 cup crystallized ginger, minced

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Combine all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl, including the sugar. Set aside.  

2. Select two ripe pears – I used bartlett* variety – and dice into very small pieces. The smaller the better – if the pieces are too big, the bread won’t hold together well. You also want to mince the crystallized ginger.  Ginger is a really strong flavor, so small pieces go a long way!

3. In a small dish, mix the chia seeds and water together and let sit for a few minutes. The chia seeds absorb the water and swell in size, creating a gooey egg-like consistency. If you don’t have chia seeds, you can sub flax seeds or two eggs here. (Insider tip: they sell chia seeds at Trader Joe’s now!)

4. Once the chia-egg has formed, add applesauce, oil, molasses* and vanilla to the small dish, and whisk to combine.  Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients, and mix until combined.  Using a spatula, fold in the crystallized ginger (reserve about a tablespoon) and fresh pear.  Pour batter into a greased loaf pan, and sprinkle the remaining crystallized ginger on top of the batter.

Bake for 45-50 minutes, until golden brown on top and baked through the center.  Allow bread to cool on a wire rack before slicing and serving.

This is Emily's

And this is mine

Not too bad is it? :)