I carry no phone An aspiring Luddite In a wired world. Mastodon Verification Link	Jeff Berry is an early adopter of the Internet and the Web, a late adopter of Twitter, and declines to adopt Facebook. With the death of Google+, he migrated to the Fediverse. He admins a medievalist Mastodon instance. He hates cell-phones.

Around this time of year, my wife and I go camping. Having both grown up out west, sleeping in a tent away from the hustle and bustle of the city with no one else around soothes our souls. As an added bonus, I get to cook over a campfire.

Much of what we eat for the few days we are isolated in the woods is comfort food from our childhood - things stuck on sticks and toasted, one-pot meals and the like. Just because they are simple doesn't mean they aren't tasty, and not all the dishes require glowing coals to make successfully. Such is the case with these roasted pears. Certainly there is a charm to devouring them around the fire, but they are also good even if cooked more conventionally in an oven.

• As many pears as you like
• about 1 tsp of brown sugar per pear
• about 1 tsp of maple butter per pear

Put a teaspoon or so of brown sugar in the cavity of each pear. If your pears are small, you might want to use less, and if large, more. If you are so inclined, you could tuck a few raisins in at this point, if they are handy, however don't in any way feel obligated since the pears will be fine without them.

Top each cavity with a teaspoon or so of maple butter. If you haven't got any maple butter, you can either use a scant teaspoon of butter and a splash of maple syrup, or make some maple butter - the recipe is below.

If you are cooking the pears in an oven, then wrapping them in foil is probably not strictly necessary. It will, however, help them keep their shape and contain the juice should you have accidentally punctured the pear while coring it. For oven baking, place the pears in a pie-plate or baking dish, even if you've wrapped them, lest an error in wrapping or coring result in a buttery mess all over the inside of the stove. If you are cooking outside, then foil-wrapping should be adequate.

Place the pears directly on the hot coals, and leave for ten or fifteen minutes. Then check them,;they are done if the butter is all melted and the flesh of the pears is soft and yielding. If you are cooking inside, then 350F for the same length time might do it, but check to make sure. Peel back the foil, if used, and serve.

This is a great way to use pears that are starting to feel their age. In fact, if they are going a bit soft, it's that much easier to scoop the core out.

You could, of course, add a bit of cinnamon if you like, or other like-minded spices, but I must confess, that just as it was, around the campfire, it was delicious.

This simple condiment is good many places. In the above recipe, to be sure, but also on toast, with roasted squash, and many others.

• 2 sticks of butter, slightly softened
• 1/4 cup of maple syrup (or more or less, to taste)

Maple Butter Sonnet

Take butter just a single stick or two
And place inside a bowl of goodly form
Now hearken as I tell you what to do
Take care! Let not the butter be too warm

With firm yet gentle strokes begin to beat
The butter 'till it starts to come undone.
Then maple syrup add to make it sweet
and gently mix 'till both have joined as one

Then haste to place it into bowl or cup
And chill it lest the butter melt away.
Disturb it not 'till it has all firmed up.
The taste is worth the wait, touch not, I say!

I recommend it with the roasted pears
To sweetly wash away your daily cares