Today was my first cleanse day back on food, having shortened the usual three juice days of my cleanse to only one. As I mentioned in my previous post on this day you're supposed to pick a fruit to eat for breakfast which you can then eat throughout the day. I've found that pears work best for me as an easy to digest reintroduction to solid food -- random fact did you know that pears are one of the lowest allergen foods, almost no one is allergic to pears, or so I hear -- I tried apples the first time I did this cleanse and after half an apple felt like I had just eaten an entire harvest feast. While I'm normally pretty good with apples, I guess the high pectin content can be just too much after having given your digestive tract a holiday. Anyway.
Pears it was. And I was oh so very proud of myself to have obtained a bounty of beautiful pears at the monthly winter Farmer's Market yesterday. But as I started cutting up my picturesque D'anjou this morning I realized that in picking my pears yesterday I hadn't really considered the fact that they needed to be ripe by this morning. I chalk that up to the juice only diet. Anyway. My pear was really just a bit too firm to be satisfying as my first solid food of the day, add to that the fact that the only other fruit I had was apples and I decided I needed to get creative. Recalling that my friend Sarah had been advised to steam pears with ginger at one point when she was having some digestive problems I decided to give it a whirl and got a shallow amount of water boiling in a small pot with some fresh ginger and some organic cloves. As it reached a simmer I stuck my sliced pears in and let it all simmer on low heat for about 5 or 6 minutes until the pears were starting to soften, then I turned off the heat and let them sit for another 5 minutes. At this point my kitchen was full of the warming scent of pears, ginger and cloves and I thought my stomach would rumble loudly enough to wake Martin in the bedroom. When I was convinced they were suitably soft I popped those yummy pear slices out of their water, strained the water to drink as a tea and promptly ate the entire pear before I could blink. After sitting on the couch in the silent morning with a tummy full of pears for about ten minutes believing that pears were the best fruit on the planet, I got up and made another one. Equally as delicious.
I'm not sure if it was just the circumstance, but damn that was some fine pear dining. I'm now hooked on steamed (poached?) pears for breakfast, though after this week I may make them as an accompaniment to oatmeal or french toast. The perfect warm winter treat.
. How nutty is that? 
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Sounds delicious whether cleansing or not!
Posted by: Maryam in Marrakech | November 06, 2006 at 02:22 AM
Have you been using a body brush while fasting?
It's one of those long handled brushes with fairly stiff natural bristles, you do a dry brushing of your skin with it.
With all the toxins coming out of your pores you should try it (or let Martin try it on you)
It feels like a good long back scratching, and is also supposed to be good for circulation.
Posted by: Renee | November 06, 2006 at 09:29 AM
mmmmm,craig bought those exact same pears at the market last month... a case of them practically. can you freeze them? i'd love to steam some for garret in 4 months!
Posted by: suzanne | November 06, 2006 at 10:58 AM
You know Renee I'm supposed to be doing that and I totally spaced. Damn it! Now that we only have a tub and not a shower I forget about things like that, as I usually accompany it with hydro therapy: switching between hot and cold water in the shower which isn't as easy in a tub. Off I go to the tub now!
And Suzanne, I'm not sure if you freeze pears how well they'll stay together, I can ask my Grandma this weekend (unless someone here knows). If not, then maybe I could come over and can some for you? Steaming them is much like canned pears flavour wise, and I'd be happy to do that for you, just let me know. I'd hate to see good pears go to waste! And I'm sure I could do a couple of jars for you and Craig with some ginger root in them. So tasty!
Posted by: emira | November 06, 2006 at 10:15 PM
how sweet you are to offer. it just occurred to me that the best thing to do is steam them now, then freeze them in small portions. have a great time in victoria. can you write a blog entry when you get back about your fave places in victoria to shop and eat? i go there often enough, but could use some tips on where to go.
Posted by: suzanne | November 07, 2006 at 09:29 AM
Suzanne, actually on the pear front I was kind of thinking the reverse last night as I thought about it in the bath (where I do my best problem solving). I think if you cut them up now, froze them an then steamed them to aid the defrosting that would probably give you a similar effect. Possibly mushier, but I'm guessing that will be ok with Mr. Garret!
I'd be happy to do a Victoria round up. I'll have my camera back by then too so I can hopefully include photos!
Posted by: Emira | November 07, 2006 at 01:13 PM
oh thanks for this because I have been lamanting that there is really no local food in Texas except for beef or pears. Now my bitterness can eased a bit :D
Posted by: alex | November 07, 2006 at 01:17 PM