Howdy Folks, this is @zambereileen, wishing you all a happy Monday, from the mountains of Southern Oregon. I’m currently flipping through my recipe books and trying to decide what to make with a bushel of pears I bought from a local orchard down in the valley. Southern Oregon has a Mediterranean climate with 4 distinct seasons and great soil in the valleys. Some of the industrious settlers who first put down roots in the Rogue Valley also began planting orchards, a few of which are still growing today. If you were to take a drive down one of the many backroads connecting the little towns scattered throughout the valley, you would almost certainly pass wide expanses of well tended orchards and vineyards. The main harvest is over, but if you were to pull over for a closer look you would discover a smattering of surplus pears clinging to the autumn-tinged branches. The local food banks have agreements with some of the larger pear companies and have permission to glean the leftover fruit and distribute it to people in need. The pears I’m cooking with smell like autumn in the valley. They are a greenish yellow with a lovely ruddy blush spreading across the curves of their rounded bells. I’m thinking I shall make a pear tart, sprinkled with warm notes of cinnamon, nutmeg and red pepper. The perfect autumn desert for the end of a chilly October day on the mountain.