misnomer jones

Just a quick note to refer to later…

It’s that time of year. Pumpkins are in season, which means Pumpkin Pie Spice. Sure, you can buy it at the store, but in a well stocked kitchen, you probably have what you need on hand.

There are many variations on the theme. This one is a little on the spicy side and what I like to use. If it is too spicy for your tastes, you can omit the allspice and/or increase the ratio of cinnamon.

4 teaspoons Cinnamon
2 teaspoons Ginger
2 teaspoons Nutmeg
1 teaspoon Allspice
1 teaspoon Cloves

I recently created an infusion with dried pears that is worth documenting, so here it is.

I used dried pears that were unsweetened, unsulfured & sliced, from Trader Joes. The first batch I was pressed for time so I filled a recycled spaghetti jar with the slices and covered with vodka. It sat 3 days. The second time I used 8 slices and let it sit over a week.

I filtered with a funnel and coffee filter into a clean jar then added about 1 Tbsp vanilla vodka and 1 tsp cinnamon vodka (I had infused previously and had on hand, more extract quality/depth of flavor). I then added less than 1/8 tsp honey (mesquite honey from Trader Joes) and shook.

Note the quantities are estimates, I don’t usually measure. I smell and taste and add very small amounts until it seems right to me. Too much honey will make the mix feel thick and sticky and too sweet so add just a drop at a time, or barely dip a spoon handle into the honey and stir in.

This was well liked, some drank it straight and others had it over ice.