My friend Nancy hates it when it gets darker in the evening. She doesn’t care much for snow, either. We talked last week and she said she had to turn on the heat, as it was almost into the high 30s.

With me, I just turned off the central air. I opened a window for one day, then turned the air conditioning back on. The heat pump goes by my thermostat.

In the summer I keep the temp at 68; in the winter, I set the heat at 60. If people come for dinner, I pump it to 70 and, if I forget to drop it down at night, I can’t even sleep.

I love fall and winter recipes, too. I adore pears and apples, along with squash and sweet potato soups. Last time I went to the farmstand, I got the last of the tomatoes along with pears for poached pear recipes, one with wine and the other without. Serve poached pears with ice cream, crème anglaise, whipped cream or with a little piece of cake drizzled with the poaching liquid.

Poached Pears with Honey and Spices

Serves 4

4 ripe yet firm Bosc or Bartlett pears

4 cups water

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup sugar

4 pieces of fresh ginger, sliced

1 teaspoon whole cloves

1 star anise pod, broken in half

1 cinnamon stick, broken in half

Peel pears and cut them in half from top to bottom, leaving stems intact. Core each with a melon baller or a spoon.

In a 4-quart pot, add water, honey and sugar and bring to a boil over high heat. Stir until sugar is dissolved, then add ginger, cloves, anise pod and cinnamon stick.

Add pears into liquid and turn heat down to simmer. Cover and cook 20 to 30 minutes, or until pears can be pricked with a fork.

Add pears and liquid into a smaller container, cover and refrigerate overnight. (Actually, they can be served now, but the flavors become deeper overnight or a bit longer.)

The next day, drain the pears and serve.

Cook’s Tip: If you like, reduce the poaching liquid into a syrup by allowing it to simmer for around 30 minutes, or until the liquid is reduced by half.

Poached Pears with Red Wine

From Faith Durand, thekitchn.com, February 2008

Serves 5 to 6

1 bottle of red wine

5 to 6 pears, peeled

1½ cups sugar

2 cinnamon sticks, a few cloves, a few coriander pods

Pinch of salt

Combine all the ingredients for about 30 minutes, or until pears are tender. Let the pears sit in their liquid (refrigerated overnight is fine, too).

When ready to serve, drain the liquid and place the pears in dessert bowls.

Cook’s Tip: In this recipe, you can also reduce the poaching liquid into a syrup by allowing it to simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the liquid is reduced by half.

On the Side

My husband and I often drove distances to find food we wanted. When we lived in Canterbury, we drove to Al Forno in Providence for dinner, drove back home, and the next morning went to Dartmouth to buy donuts, as Al Forno's owners told us this place had the best donuts ever. And sometimes we had dinner at home and went to Providence for dessert.

I recently had a hankering for the maraschino and walnut cake at Angelo's in Colchester. I ordered one the day before and was at the bakery by 9 the next morning. Of course I couldn't leave without choosing six Danish pastries (the size of dinner plates) and two cinnamon rolls.

I took them all to an appointment and left them for friends. I cut the cake, which weighed around five pounds, into slices and shared with neighbors.

I still have half the cake in my freezer. Next time I will order the stuffed breads, some filled with pepperoni and mozzarella, eggplant parm or buffalo chicken. Check the menu on the Internet before you go.

Angelo's Bakery

32 Halls Hill Road, Colchester

(860) 537-2272

Lee White lives in Groton. She can be reached at leeawhite@aol.com.