Recipe - Steamed Pears

4 Firm pears
3 tablespoon Sugar
pref. Chinese rock sugar
1/3 cup Water
2 Pieces Chinese cinnamon bark
=OR= Cinnamon sticks

PEEL THE PEARS and cut them in half. Remove the core and seeds. Combine the
sugar and water in a small pot and boil it until the sugar has completely
dissolved. Allow it to cool slightly. Put the pears, sugarwater and
cinnamon together into a shallow bowl. Set up a steamer or put a rack into
a wok or pan. Add about 2 inches of water and bring to a boil. Put the bowl
of pears into the steamer or onto the rack, turn the heat down to a simmer
and cover the wok or pot tightly with a lid. Slowly steam the pears for
about 15to25 minutes, until they are tender. (The cooking time will
depend on the ripeness of the pears.) When the pears are cooked, drain all
the liquid and cinnamon stick or bark into a small saucepan and reduce the
liquid to a syrup by boiling it fast. Remove and discard the cinnamon
stick. Pour the syrup over the pears and serve at once. Or you can let the
mixture cool, cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate until you are
ready to serve it.

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini