Roasted Pears & Raisins

By hefk -
This recipe surprised me. It is supremely quick and easy and the pears were perfectly spiced, sweet and delicious. They were so delicious by themselves I didn't even have the urge to use the pears as a topping for ice cream or anything typical of me and the hub loved it too. Score.
It's from an ayurvedic email newsletter called Joyful Belly. (They probably would not have approved of using it as an ice cream topping, so we're in the clear there too.)

1/2 tsp Star Anise
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 c Raisins
2 tbsp Oatmeal
1/2 tsp Cloves
4 pear Pears

Preheat oven to 350. Powder the spices in a coffee grinder or pulverize with a mortar and pestle. Peel and halve the pears, slicing out the core. Place pears in a baking pan. Add 1/4c of water. Sprinkle with spices and raisins. Bake, covered, for one hour or until pears are tender. Uncover, sprinkle rolled oats and, optionally, pecans. Broil for five minutes for a grilled effect.

Comments

gwen said…
OK, be honest: Did you really grind the spices yourself? I am sure it's more ayurvedic that way, but I am so far far far too lazy for it...
7:53 PM
hefk said…
oh whoops! caught. I made it a few weeks ago and didn't reread the instructions that I just pasted. I just broke apart the star anise with my fingers and then removed the bits from the roasted pears. The other spices I used already ground, 'cuz that's what I got on hand.

So that's why I found it so easy; I didn't follow the directions!

I do intend to get a mortar and pestle. I keep going to buy one from the 'zon and then deciding I want to bring one back from somewhere exotic, remember that it'll be awhile before I go somewhere exotic, heave a heavy sigh and forget about it for a few months.
The other (very easy) option would be to get a second coffee grinder that I use only for spices. I could do either of these things...

Anyone have recommendations for mortar and pestle? porcelain? marble? wood? stoneware? How about size?
8:36 PM
Alissa said…
I have a second coffee grinder that I use only for spices. I mostly use it for cloves, and it kind of always smells like cloves, but that's not necessarily a bad thing in my book.

I don't have a mortar and pestle because I go through the exact same process that hefk does in regards to how best to acquire one. :)
7:56 PM
gwen said…
I don't have a mortar and pestle either. I use my mocajete for big things, but then I just mostly use ground spices too...
8:35 PM
Anonymous said…
G - Big things in your molcajete? Like garlic and onions or avocadoes or something else?

A - In your grinder do you just throw the whole clove in and it grinds it all into a powder?

I know where I would keep a mortar and pestle but I can't imagine I would use it all that often. A - how often do you grind spices/cloves?
9:32 PM
hefk said…
whoops. that was me.
9:33 PM
Alissa said…
I just grind spices whenever I need them. I just grind as much as I need. It doesn't grind to a fine powder, but it's good enough for me. Kelly says that an actual spice grinder grinds more finely than a coffee grinder, but that's what I have/use.
1:56 PM
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