Cozy Comfort Food For Cooler Weather

Hawaii Kai residents Susan and Reed Young moved to Hawaii in 1999, when Susan assumed the position of director of nursing at Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children, and Reed was hired as manager of the City Mill store in Kaneohe.

Susan now works for Health Care Association of Hawaii as director of quality and regulatory affairs and recently earned her doctorate in health administration. After Reed retired as training administrator for the eight City Mill stores, he joined the faculty at UH-West Oahu teaching courses in disaster preparedness, information technology and statistics. He will receive his Ph.D. in public administration this year from Northcentral University in Arizona.

In their spare time, the Youngs enjoy dining out at Italian, Chinese and Mexican restaurants all over the island.

This column is dedicated to the Youngs, who never looked back after moving to paradise.

With the cooler weather, this is a good “comfort food” dessert to curl up with. I like to serve this warm from the oven with a scoop of low-fat vanilla yogurt on top. A cup of steaming hot herbal tea is just the right accompaniment.

Cinnamon is one of the world’s oldest known spices. It is mentioned in ancient Chinese writings dating back to 2800 B.C. and in the Bible.

Cinnamon is said to soothe digestive problems and diar-rhea when added to tea or beverages, and contains potassium, calcium and iron.

For a soothing cinnamon tea, pour boiling water over a piece of cinnamon bark and let steep for about 15 minutes.

COZY CINNAMON PEAR CRANBERRY CRISP

• 1/3 cup quick-cooking oats

• 1/3 cup unbleached flour

• 1/2 cup dark-brown sugar, packed

• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts

• 1/4 light margarine (no trans fats)

• 8 Bosc or Anjou pears, sliced

• 3/4 cup dried cranberries

• 1/4 cup dark-brown sugar, packed, for fruit

Preheat oven to 375 degrees; coat an 8-inch baking pan with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, mix together the oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, spices and walnuts. Mix in margarine until mixture is crumbly.

In large bowl, mix the pears and cranberries and sprinkle sugar on top. Gently mix until sugar is incorporated into fruit mixture. Carefully place fruit mixture into prepared pan and crumble the oat mixture evenly over the fruit. Bake for about 45-50 minutes until topping is lightly browned.

Makes about eight servings.

Approximate Nutrition Information Per Serving:

Calories: 220 Fat: 5 grams Sodium: 66 milligrams Cholesterol: 0 milligrams