Sunday, December 05, 2010

savory sundays

Am stealing a moment of normal in the chaos of living with hospice issues. Last night we had a couple friends over for a spur of the moment dinner. I've been wanting to try Pears Poached in Red Wine for some time now, and happened to have enough pears on hand. I always have wine on hand! This recipe turned out so tasty that I'll definitely do it again. Brew yourself a pot of really good coffee, even if it's decaf, and enjoy!



Pears Poached in Red Wine

4-6 pears, ripe, but still slightly firm
½ cup sugar
2 cups red wine, possibly more
1 cinnamon stick
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 shot grand marnier or orange liqueur
chocolate sauce 

peel pears, leaving stem, and place in saucepan
sprinkle with sugar
cover with wine
add cinnamon stick
simmer over low heat 10-15 minutes - do not boil at a heavy rate or pears will get mushy
remove from heat,  add vanilla and orange liqueur
let cool in the juice
Drizzle plate with chocolate, just a very little
remove core from bottom of pear with a melon baller and slice in half lengthwise
place halves in center of plate and spoon some sauce over

Notes:
I kept the remaining sauce to use on another dessert tonight…. way too yummy to waste!!!
For the wine, I used Campo de Borja Mosen Cleto (buy at Trader Joe’s, it’s the one with the “dusty” bottle.)
Other wine suggestions are:  Zinfandel or Syrah
Next time I will probably halve the pears prior to poaching since it was kinda messy doing so after.
For the chocolate, use something really, really good and kinda thick, almost like a hot fudge type sauce. I used a pinot noir chocolate sauce that was spectacularly good.

For more recipes and great cooking stuff, check out the Weekend Cooking posts at Beth Fish Reads

...may there be mercy in the breaking of bread at your table...




Wednesday, December 01, 2010

big words

In the last 6 weeks, we've been learning a lot of big words around our house.

pneumonia
MRI
pulmonologist
thorocentesis
malignancy
pleurodesis
mesothelioma
oncologist
prognosis
medicare
durable medical equipment
DNR
hospice

Some are words we've used before, some are new. Each one has an emotion attached to the new learning experience.

I hate that all these words apply to my precious father-in-law.

The progression has been swift. The changes in him are almost unbelievable. And as much as we want to stop this rollercoaster, there are no brakes on this ride. We are simply grateful that he has no pain yet. We hope for no pain ever.

We've been told our time is brief - 2 weeks to 2 months. That was 4 weeks ago. We are cherishing every moment with him, allowing him to live as normally as possible for as long as possible. He amazes me with his determination to keep on living while he still has breath.

Over the years, this man has taught me so much about life, living and love. Now he's showing me how to die with grace and peace.

My emotions are raw, but acceptance has come.

...may there be mercy and his life remain pain-free...