Vanilla Pear Sauce

About a year ago, we moved to a new house.  The improvement in our quality of life was enormous and immediate.  No longer surrounded by noise, trash, and crime, we settled into a house nestled just beside an expansive canyon.  A trail leads from our house to the local elementary school and library.  The lake is a three minute drive.  We wave to our neighbors, and we lounge in our backyard with minimal background noise.

It was sad to leave our garden.  We had poured work into maintaining the flowers, herbs, and vegetables that made our small backyard a retreat from the chaos.  We were emotionally exhausted when we moved here, unwilling to sweat over yet another yard we would have to abandon.  Thankfully, the previous residents had done the sweating for us.  In our two (yes, two!) yards, we enjoy rosemary, mint, endless flowering bushes and vines, and several fruit trees.  During the right season, you can see more dropped fruit on the ground than grass.  And since we picked pears far more quickly than we could consume them, we knew some canning was in order.

When I was in kindergarten, my class took a field trip to a farm.  I don't remember the details, but I do remember that I had been given a few dollars to purchase whatever I liked from the farm's small produce shop.  I was intrigued by the pears.  They were fuzzy and weirdly shaped.  They felt nice in my hands and smelled delightful to my nose.  I selected two and took them home.

I hated them.  They were gritty and flavorless.  I declared that I didn't like pears for a very long time.  Thankfully, I have come around.  Maybe those were bad pears, or maybe my four-year-old taste buds just were not ready for such sensations.  Excellent pears are neither gritty nor flavorless; they are as soft as butter and so juicy, you can't eat them without a napkin.  This pear sauce captures the essence of the pear and adds a subtle hint of vanilla.  And by canning, we can enjoy the flavor of fall long after the trees are bare.

Vanilla Pear Sauce
Makes about a pint

3 lbs pears, peeled, cored, and halved
2 T vanilla
2 1/2 c water

Place everything in a large pot over high heat.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, and cover.  Let simmer until pears are soft, about 30 minutes.  Let cool, and puree in a blender.