On the first day...

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The Christmas season officially kicked off for me this past Friday when I attended a Christmas cookie decorating party. Someone brought up the estimated cost of the 12 days of Christmas: $98,824! Wow.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find a partridge. Admittedly, I didn't really want to. However, if you're interested, via livestrong, here is the nutritional value:

One serving, 92g
Calories, 123
Total Fat, 0g
Total Protein, 20g

Hee hee! Ok, now that we got that out of the way, let's move onto the better part of what my true love gave to me on the first day of Christmas - pears!

4 kinds of pears

Pears are in the same family as the apple. Did you know, like the apple, there's several types of pears out there? I was able to locate 4 different types at my grocer's store: red bartlett, bartlett, bosc, and D'anjou. And December is National Pear Month.

Pears have so many health benefits, but I'll just list a few below. You can find more about pears at USA Pears.

• Pears are a great source of fiber, which of course promotes digestion and colon health.
• They contain a good amount of Vitamin C and copper which both work as antioxidants. You can also find hydroxycinnamic acid in pears, which has been found to help prevent stomach cancer.
• The flavnoids found in pears may help to protect the lungs against Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder (COPD).
• Pears are a hypoallergenic fruit, therefore many people with several food sensitivities can enjoy this delicious treat!

This time, I was able to create a couple of things with my pears because I bought so many.

First, I made a topping for ice cream! Yum!

A few weekends ago, I returned to the green market to purchase a 12 year aged balsamic vinegar. It's so delicious! The vendor/chef knew who I was the moment I walked up and gave me a cool recipe that tastes incredible!

First, slice or dice up fruits that are currently in season. He said he usually likes strawberries and blueberries, but advised me to use apples and pears for the fall. Marinate them in balsamic vinegar for 15 to 20 minutes. Then use the marinated fruits as a topping for vanilla ice cream!

Balsamic vinegar soaked pears a'la mode

Second, I found a recipe via allrecipes to make Pear Honey. Oh my gosh! I cut the sugar needed in the recipe by half. It took a couple of hours to get the mixture's consistency similar to honey, but it was well worth it!

Pear Honey!

Finally, I created my own version of partridge in a pear tree with partridge with pear honey. Much cheaper than $162 for a real partridge and a pear tree!

Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season so far!