Natural Living

11/26/2025

11/26/2025

Honey-Baked Pears with Winter Berries & Goat Cheese
Ingredients

3 ripe pears, halved and cored

2 tbsp butter, melted

3 tbsp honey

1 tsp cinnamon

½ cup mixed winter berries (cranberries, blueberries, blackberries)

¼ cup crumbled goat cheese

2 tbsp crushed pistachios or walnuts

Optional: drizzle of balsamic glaze

Optional: fresh mint for garnish

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).

Place pear halves in a baking dish, cut side up.

Brush with melted butter and drizzle with honey. Sprinkle with cinnamon.

Add winter berries around and inside the pears.

Bake 20–25 minutes, until pears are tender and berries burst.

Remove from oven and top with crumbled goat cheese.

Sprinkle with pistachios or walnuts for crunch.

Optional: finish with a light drizzle of balsamic glaze and fresh mint.

Serve warm as a dessert or elegant brunch dish.

Nutritional Information (Approx. per serving)

Calories: 260

Protein: 4g

Fat: 11g

Carbohydrates: 38g

Fiber: 6g

Sugar: 28g

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❄️ Don't let the frost fool you! These cold-hardy herbs are tougher than they look. 💪🌱

We often think the garden "ends" in winter, but many of our favorite medicinals and culinary herbs are built to survive the cold. If you want a garden that comes back year after year, here is the breakdown of the survivors in the chart below! 👇

🌿 GROUP 1: THE HERBACEOUS (The "Sleepers") These die back to the ground completely but the roots stay alive to sprout fresh in spring.

🔹 Echinacea (Coneflower): An absolute tank. It handles sub-zero temps easily. Leave the dried seed heads on during winter—goldfinches love them! 🔹 Borage: Real Talk Alert! ⚠️ Borage is technically an annual (the main plant dies in frost), BUT it is a "self-seeding champion." It drops hundreds of seeds before it dies, so it will return next year as new baby plants. It survives by rebirth, not by staying alive! 🔹 Yarrow: Extremely cold-hardy. The fern-like leaves might stay green in mild winters, but usually, it takes a nap and explodes back into growth in spring.

🪵 GROUP 2: THE WOODY (The "Sticks") These develop hard, woody stems. Do NOT prune these in fall, or water can get into the stems and freeze/crack them. Wait until mid-spring!

🔹 Lavender: Stick to English Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) for true winter survival (Zones 5-9). French and Spanish lavenders often won't make it through a freezing winter outside. 🔹 Sage: The classic culinary sage becomes a woody shrub. It can look ragged by February, but just wait for new growth in spring before trimming the dead wood. 🔹 Hyssop: A tough, semi-evergreen sub-shrub. It handles cold very well and is one of the best pollinators for bees when it blooms.

🌲 GROUP 3: THE EVERGREEN (The "Winter Warriors") These hold onto their leaves, but they need protection from drying winter winds.

🔹 Rosemary: Caution! ❄️ Rosemary is the most sensitive on this list. In Zones 6 and colder, it often needs to be potted and brought indoors, or heavily mulched/covered. If you are in the North, look for the variety 'Arp'—it is bred to be more cold-tolerant! 🔹 Thyme: Low-growing and tough. It often stays green under the snow. Perfect for winter soups! 🔹 Oregano: Often stays green at the base (a "basal rosette") even under snow. It’s incredibly resilient.

🧤 PRO TIP FOR WINTER SURVIVAL: It’s usually not the cold that kills herbs, it’s the wet soil. 🌧️ Ensure your herbs are in well-draining soil. If they sit in an ice block of water, the roots will rot.