tartz

Peach season is short, take advantage of it! Same recipe as this blackberry shortbread tart. Different shape, different fruit. Substituted 1/2 whole wheat flour with good results.

Peach picking should be mandatory.

blue teeth, blue hearts

I didn't make this pie, Briermere Farms did. They have an astounding variety of delicious pies that are affordable only if you're independently wealthy.

Here's the secret: ask if there are any day-old or frozen pies, they're half price but just as good. All you need now is a small scoop of vanilla ice cream.

so simple so good

enough said

peachy

Strawberry season is over, but there were early peaches at the farm stand. Also, most of the blackberries are still green on the bushes, but for some reason the fruit by the creek ripened early, which sounds like a perfect reason for a pie. Heart-shaped pie for my peculiar new little family here at the farm.

Peach and honey pie

1 lb ripe peaches (about 10-15 small peaches)

1 cup blackberries or raspberries (or other berry, if available)

1/4 cup flour

2 Tblsp. honey

2 Tblsp. brown sugar

 

Pie crust

1 1/4 cups flour

1/4 tsp salt

1 Tbsp. sugar

1/2 cup butter

3 1/2 tbsp cold water

Combine the dry ingredients, then cut in the butter. When the mixture is the consistency of course cornmeal, add the water and gently toss. Pour onto a floured surface and roll out flat. Makes one crust and some extra, or two small crusts. Pre-bake for 10-15 minutes at 375 degrees.

When the bottom crust is done, combine all the ingredients for the filling in a large bowl, and pour into crust. Top with more crust (optional), and bake for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees, or until top crust is browning and filling is bubbling.

Katie-lady

I am lucky and have no food allergies (that I know of, knock on wood), but recently I was faced with the challenge of making birthday cupcakes for a friend who was avoiding eggs, dairy, chocolate and tomatoes while waiting for allergy test results.

I was a little sad because Katie's favorite part of a cupcake is the icing, but I couldn't come up with a recipe for vegan icing- maybe next year. These cupcakes look pretty with powdered sugar though, and they're sweet enough without icing.

Instead, I put strawberries in the batter because I had some and they were fresh. It's strawberry season! There's something perfect about a strawberry that's never been refrigerated, so buy two pints- one to eat and one to put in these cupcakes.

Strawberry vegan cupcakes

 3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup applesauce
1 tsp. baking power
1 1/4 cups flour
1/4 cup water or soymilk
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 pint fresh strawberries, halved

In a bowl, mix the sugar, oil, and applesauce. Sift in the flour and baking powder and mix until incorporated, then add the water or soymilk and stir until smooth. Mix in the strawberries (reserve a handful to garnish the tops, if you like), and spoon into 12 greased or papered cupcake tins (double the recipe to make more cupcakes).

Bake for 15-25 minutes, or until brown on top (note that the photo above was taken before they were fully cooked- oops!), and sift powdered sugar over when cooled.

dinner for one

You can tell a lot about a person from what they eat when they're eating alone. Spinach salads and scrambled eggs are two of my go-to solitary dinners, what does that say about me?

Yesterday when I had the house to myself, I mixed things up a little and cooked some broccoli rabe for dinner, one of my favorite things to eat. 

Broccoli rabe with white beans

1 bushel broccoli rabe

1/2 can white beans, drained and rinsed
3 Tblsp. olive oil
1 clove garlic
handful parsley, chopped
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 cup water
salt and pepper

Wash the broccoli rabe, remove the tough outer leaves and the first inch of stem, and cut into 2-3 inch pieces.

Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat, then add garlic and lightly brown. Add the broccoli rabe and saute until wilted, then add water, lower heat, cover pan, and let cook for 5-10 minutes, or until stems are tender.

When stems are tender, remove the cover and add white beans, parsley, and red pepper flakes. When the beans are heated, remove from heat and serve in bowls, finishing with salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.

This combination is also great over pasta or polenta.

pie, reconsidered

The story of my day, in photos:

1. Stopped by the farmstand across the street, which hasn't been open in several years. Sampled a beautiful strawberry, which tasted so so good. The farmer told me the strawberries had come inexplicably early this year. I bought a pint and two stalks of rhubarb, even though I have no idea what to do with rhubarb, or if I even like it.

2. Considered making strawberry rhubarb pie, then decided against it. Are you supposed to peel rhubarb? Not sure, but I pulled off what I could, and made pretty colored ribbons. Diced the rhubarb and a pear, and made a compote.

3. Picked some mint from the garden, and stared at it next to the strawberries, considering just eating the strawberries out of the carton then making mint tea.

4. Meanwhile, ate the entire bowl of compote.

Rhubarb-pear compote

2 stalks rhubarb, outer layer peeled off and cut into inch-long pieces
1 bosc pear, diced into bite-size pieces
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 Tblsp. water

Simmer the fruit, sugar, and water in a medium saucepan over medium heat for 5-10 minutes, or until tender but still holding its structure.

Eat warm straight out of the saucepan, pour over ice cream, or cool and eat with yogurt.

5. Decided to make a strawberry salad. Why do too much to strawberries when they're so fantastic on their own?

Strawberry mint salad

1 pint strawberries, halved
2 stalks mint, leaves pulled off and coarsely torn
1 orange, segmented, and each cut into three pieces

6. Was immeasurably happy.

A sure thing

The best thing in the world happened today! I walked into weshop (campus grocery) and they had blackberries in stock. Weshop is not so good about stocking fresh produce, which makes my life miserable. Their availability isn't seasonal, it's arbitrary. Once a month there's eggplant and about twice per semester I can find parsley. So today, finding blackberries was like a sign. I ate one box and brought three home, and made a blackberry shortbread tart instead of writing a paper.

Most things in my life are messy, especially right now as finals week approaches. If you need proof, take a look at the piles of half-worn jeans on my bedroom floor or the piles of half-read books on my desk.

I have one friend who tries to think of everything in black and white. I tend to think of things in infinite shades of grey, and I firmly believe that a person needs some sort of risk every day. That said, sometimes you just want something to absolutely work out the way you want. This fruit tart is for those days, when you need something definite and steady and simple and, most of all, delicious.

This tart will never disappoint. Make it to impress guests, or make the whole thing for yourself, to eat for breakfast every morning next week. My favorite toppings are blueberry or peach, but apple and pear are great too, and I'm looking forward to trying plum or strawberry when the time is right. I had never used blackberries before today, but I will again and again from now on. The tart berries are too perfect for this recipe, and the purple color was fantastic.

Blackberry shortbread tart

for crust:
1 1/2 sticks butter
2 cups plus 2 Tblsp. flour
2 egg yolks
2 Tblsp. sugar

for topping:
approximately 15 ounces blackberries, halved lengthwise
or, blueberries or strawberries or sliced apples, peaches, pears or plums
or, just about any other fruit you can think of

for glaze:
2 well beaten eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tblsp. milk
1 cup sugar

For the crust, mix the flour, egg yolks, butter and 2 Tblsp. sugar by hand until the dough is the consistency of course cornmeal. Press firmly into a pan. Ideally, you would use a round spring form cake pan. If you're like me and don't have a round spring form cake pan, anything will work that's roughly 9X13 inches and has a big enough lip so that the glaze doesn't spill over.

Cover the crust with fruit- enough for a single layer that almost completely covers the tart surface.

In a separate bowl, mix the beaten eggs, vanilla, and milk, and 1 cup sugar. Pour over the crust and fruit.

Bake 30-45 minutes at 350 degrees, or until bubbling and browned.