Asian Pears With Vanilla Poached Kumquats- Bookmarked Recipes

I was visiting over at Patsy's blog- Family, Friends, and Food, and saw the invite to participate in Bookmarked Recipes. She is hosting this coming Mondays event (where all recipes will be shown), and I thought it a great opportunity to try this recipe I've been thinking about for some time now.

I was looking through a small, free newspaper I had gotten on my way out of our local farmer's market, and was just about ready to throw it in the recycle bin, when I came across this recipe for Asian Pears With Vanilla Poached Kumquats. It sounded light, unique, and fit perfectly into my healthy eating of late- 14.7 lbs lost so far on a totally satisfying healthy eating plan, and daily exercise.

Another thing I liked about this recipe was that I already had most of the ingredients- I only needed some Kumquats, which were easily found at my local Trader Joe's. I called ahead, asking if they had any in stock (so that it wouldn't be a wasted trip), and mentioned that I had my 2 year old in tow, and they kindly put aside the amount I needed by the registers for an easy check out. I love that store!

This was such a refreshing alternative to traditional dessert items. The tartness of the kumquats, paired with the mellow vanilla- lime syrup, and the crisp bite of the Asian pears, left me feeling like I wasn't missing a thing at all in my quest for health. Now, I'm not saying this wouldn't be good over some rich vanilla ice cream, I'm just saying I didn't go there...

Asian Pears With Vanilla Poached Kumquats
1/2 vanilla bean pod, halved lengthwise
1/2 c water
3 Tbs fresh lime juice
1/2 c sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 lb kumquats, about 20, ends trimmed, seeded, and sliced crosswise, 1/3 inch thick
4 large Asian Pears, peeled, cored and sliced lengthwise, 1/4 inch thick

Combine water and lime juice in a small, heavy saucepan. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean pod and add beans and pod to the water, along with sugar and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Reduce heat and simmer for three minutes.

Add Kumquats, cover pot and simmer until they just begin to soften, three to four minutes. Arrange pears in a heatproof bowl. Pour kumquats and syrup over pears and toss gently, then cool. Chill fruit, covered, at least two to six hours. Serves 6.