Gettin' figgy with it: Fig, pear and cinnamon paste

As the days lengthen, the air warms and the spirits rise, we pick, nibble and graze: pick over picnic spreads; nibble at cheese platters; and graze on tapas over drinks. With this in mind, I decided to make a sweet spread to serve with a sunny Sunday afternoon cheese platter. This is what I did:

First, I grated four lovely green packham pears and popped them in the pre-heated slow cooker.

Next, I chopped eight dried organic figs (after removing the tougher stalk) and added them to the pears.

Then, I poured in two cups of organic raw sugar.

Finally, I added a cinnamon quill and 1/4 cup of water and stirred the mixture to combine the ingredients.

I left the slow cooker on low for about five hours and then turned the slow cooker on high at the end with the lid off to reduce the mixture to a thicker consistency. After removing the cinnamon quill, I used a stick blender to get a more even consistency and then I was done.

The sweet, sticky result was just what I had hoped for, and I ended up with three jars worth of paste for my trouble!

And the sunny Sunday afternoon was just perfect ...