Strawberry Pear Cobbler

It is a chilly, drizzly day here in SoCal. I LOVE it! I love rain so much, I think I would really enjoy living in Seattle. Being in San Diego, the weather is perfect 364 days a year so maybe that is why I love the rain so much, it is a break from the monotony of paradise (it's a rough life, I know). Today has been a very lazy weekend day. I started off going out to brunch with an old roommate at a local dive in the village. Then I came home and put on my "fireplace". Netflix has a streaming movie that is just a fireplace that burns and crackles for a couple of hours. That thing is amazing! I have a 42" TV so the fire looks big and lifelike. I know it is my head but I can actually feel the heat radiating from the TV. It is pretty awesome. In addition to the crackling fire, smells of chocolate cake are filling my house. I am making a german chocolate cake for my friend, Ellie's birthday (blog to come). I am pretty easy to please but I have to say- rain, a fireplace, whiffs of chocolate cake, hot tea, blanket and a good book is all I need for the perfect Saturday!

Today is my friend, Dave's birthday (Ellie's husband, incidentally) and I made his birthday dessert last week. He told me to get creative. He wanted a fruit cobbler but wanted me to branch out from my normal blackberry/peach or apple/cranberry (both of which are delicious, by the way) He asked for a pear/rhubarb cobbler. How interesting! I love it!!! I went online and started looking and lo and behold... there are recipes for pear/rhubarb cobblers. Unfortunately, I then realized that rhubarb is not available in January. I am totally bummed out, I have never baked with rhubarb and really think I ought to try. Oh well, I will get to it this summer.  I figured that pear/strawberry cobbler might be a good alternative so that is what I went with. It ended up being very tasty. Thanks, Dave for pushing me out of my box. I love discovering new flavor combinations.

Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler

Filling:

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

3 Tbs. all-purpose flour

1/8 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg

Dash of cloves

2 Tbs. lemon juice

6 medium pears, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced

1 quart diced strawberries

Topping:

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour

3 Tbs. sugar

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. baking soda

3/4 cup buttermilk

4 1/2 Tbs. butter, melted

Combine all of the filling ingredients. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until hot and bubbly, stirring gently. Remove from heat and set aside.

Make topping. Place flour, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda in mixing bowl. Beat on low speed of electric mixer for about 30 seconds. Add buttermilk and melted margarine. Continue to mix on low speed about 30 seconds, or just until blended.

Pour hot filling into 9”x9” pan. Top evenly with large spoonfuls of topping. Sprinkle with additional sugar, if desired. Bake at 375° for 30 to 35 minutes, or until pears are tender and bubbly and topping is golden brown. Serve warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, if desired.