I’m going to participate in Kathleen’s Let’s Dish this week with a table set for Dear’s birthday and a show and tell of what I did with all my pears from my tree.

A combination of lavender and green with the last of the fresh lavender from my bushes for the center of the table. I liked the look of the round shimmery green placemats I bought on clearance at Fred Meyer for 99 cents each. The purple glasses and green glasses are from World Market. The napkins are from Anthropologie but I purchased them at Goodwill.

Now for my pear experiments…

Quartered fresh pears tossed in sugar and quick cooking oats, butter, lemon juice, and a little flour. I topped that mix with pastry shells split and laid on top and baked till the shells were golden.

My first pear tart looked good but the crust was wrong…

My second pear tart that I made for Dear’s birthday dinner was more successful. The crust is a keeper and I’ll be posting the recipe on Mennonite Girls Can Cook in October.

Pear sauce goes a long way. Here it is with buttermilk pancakes. Yummy. We also had fresh cut pears with lemon juice and sugared lightly as a topping for buttermilk pancakes. I finally pulled out those strawberry bordered plates to use before fall is upon us. I bought them at Goodwill.

Last but not least a few cups of fresh pears peeled, cored, and chopped then sugared well for my last addition to my Smirntopf! This will be ready to enjoy at Christmas time personally and as gifts…

Hope your last weeks of summer are going well…