It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

Copyright 2011 LtDan'sKitchen blogs

I was in the grocery store tonight and I saw these beautiful pears arranged perfectly  like little soldiers in a formation I just had to buy a couple of each to take home with me. Looking at their vivid colors, It suddenly dawned on me that Christmas is just mere weeks away. It must be the green and red combination. Growing up in our little city, Fiji apples were the most visible signs of the Christmas season as well as red grapes. The green variety were a bit rarer back then. The markets and sidewalks in the city would be filled with the scent of ripening apples in neatly stacked boxes.  

Anjou Pears
Copyright 2011 LtDan'sKitchen blogs

At some point in time when I was in 6th grade, the prices of apples went soaring due the the devaluation of the peso and it was too expensive to buy even one apple so we switched to seedless navel oranges. Grapes were also starting to be more affordable so we were able to buy small amounts without breaking our budget. As you can sense, our family is not well-off but we do enjoy some of life's pleasures every now and then. 

Red AnjouPears
Copyright 2011 LtDan'sKitc

When I graduated from college, apples have become competitive again, price-wise, and it has become part of the trinity of must-have Christmas fruits: apples, grapes and oranges. However, another contender came in the form of a local favorite which to me is the clear winner, Filipino Mangoes. Christmas without mangoes is just not complete and I really miss the mangoes from back home at this time of the year. During my almost 15 years of living in the US, I only have had the one chance to try them in Illinois while vacationing at my cousins. 

Bosc Pears
Copyright 2011 LtDan'sKitchen blogs

As I grow older, it is interesting to note that my appetite for apples, grapes and oranges have diminished in favor of pears. This crunchy fruit is just wonderful eaten fresh off the tree or poached in red wine and drizzled with chocolate sauce. There is just something about this fruit that evokes the feeling of calm and festivity at the same time. Maybe it has to do with it's shiny skin or its graceful lines or the variety of colors it comes in. Regardless of the reason, pears to me now spells Christmas in all ways.