taste: Anjou pear

I wanted a snack just now, so I ate a pear. It was slightly under-ripe, but that was OK, it made it safe to eat while sitting at the keyboard.

I took it from the fruit bowl -- room temperature fruit is just right for me -- I washed it and dried it, and took a bite...

Christmas morning

It was just like Christmas morning.

Following a Polish tradition, we did not get presents or "stocking stuffers" in our Christmas stockings, but beautiful fruit, a few nuts and a silver dollar in the toe. Since Christmas morning was consumed by the discovering and sharing of the presents that Santa Claus had brought, breakfast was not offered on its usual reliable schedule. So, we would eat a piece of fruit to stave off hunger pangs until Mom herded us all into the kitchen for eggs and toast, or perhaps a slice of fruitcake and a cup of tea.

When I was very little I would eat my Anjou on Christmas morning whether or not it was ready, and that sensation of biting into a too-hard pear is one that will never leave me. Later I figured out it was a good idea to let it ripen for a day or two, and then eat it, letting the juice drip down my chin. Self-restraint pays off! I don't remember exactly when I figured it out but sometimes still I don't want to wait for that peak moment -- like tonight, I want a pear, I thought, and so I had one.

I remember, we always got 2 apples, one red, one yellow, both Delicious, usually; two pears, one brown, one green; and an orange or tangerine. They were all beautiful, spotless, perfect. My father spent some serious time picking out that fruit, I know. He was expert at it. He used to pick over every green bean he bought, too. Now that I find myself doing the same things, I admire his patience even more. I'm only feeding a very young family with three children, whereas he was providing -- and shopping -- for a family of seven kids. The enormity of that task is overwhelming. This week I despaired of finding 3 decent Macintosh apples for DH, they were all nicked and bruised. But the Anjou pears were lovely, so when I finally decided on the best possible Macs, I bought the pears, too.

And now here I am, on Christmas morning...