Pear and Cranberry Compote

I found the Auntie Em's Cookbook at my local library and thought many of the recipes looked interesting.  I also like it because the author's restaurant, Auntie Em's Kitchen,  is located in my old college stomping grounds, Eagle Rock, California.

I kept the book out for a few weeks and copied a few recipes.  Before taking it back to the library today, I skimmed through it again while I had coffee.  I happen to have some luscious pears just ready to eat and decided I should make the Pear and Cranberry compote with a couple of them.  I only needed to pick up some cranberries from Trader Joe's which happens to be right across the street from my library.  When I got home, I realized I'd turned the book in without copying the recipe. So I did an internet search and found this recipe which seems to be identical to the Auntie Em's version as best I could remember.

I only wanted to use a couple of my pears which weighed just about 1 lb so I decided to use 1/3 of all the other ingredients.  I just guessed on the seasonings.  And I cut back on the sugar using less than 1/4 cup.   It is an easy, simple recipe as long as you have the time to cook the fruit down.  

It is delicious!  And, very, very sweet.  Maybe a little too sweet on its own but good with yogurt. And I'm sure it would be good on oatmeal or a biscuit or used in a cobbler.  My pears are particularly sweet and might not need the sugar at all.  Next time, I'll definitely taste before adding sugar.

Roasted Tomatoes and Spaghetti Squash

I had half of a spaghetti squash left over from my spaghetti squash casserole dinner the other night.  I decided to try and recreate a spaghetti squash dinner my daughter made me some time back that I've always remembered.  She just made it up at the time so I had to do the same.

I sprayed the squash with olive oil and seasoned it with some salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.  I roasted it at 400 degrees for 50 minutes.

When the squash was done, I let it cool while I roasted a pound of sugar plum tomatoes at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

I chopped up a half sweet onion and a half orange pepper and sautéed them in a pan that I had sprayed with some olive oil. I added a couple minced cloves of garlic, some red pepper flakes and then some sliced mushrooms.  I had a little bit of spinach leftover from breakfast so I tossed that in too.

I let it cook a few minutes until the veggies were soft and then tossed in the roasted tomatoes.

I shredded the spaghetti squash with a fork and then topped it with the cooked veggies.  The squash served as a great bowl.

There were enough veggies left over for at least one more half spaghetti squash and then some.

And it was delicious.

UPDATE: Adding some Parmesan only makes it better.