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I almost was NOT going to tell you about this recipe because of how sad I am about my blurry tart picture, but friends, that would be just mean. To rob you of the opportunity to make this dessert, which was a big mouthful of summer perfect, would be unkind. So just use the picture for general knowledge of assembly and make this immediately!
Summer Berry Tarts
(makes twelve four inch tarts)
Sweet Tart Dough
2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Lightly packed 1/2 cup ground blanched almonds
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Place the butter in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade and process, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, until creamy. Add the powdered sugar and process to blend well. Add the ground almonds, salt, and vanilla and continue to process until smooth, scraping the bowl as necessary. Lightly stir the eggs together with a fork and, with the machine running, add them to the work bowl; process for a few seconds to blend. Finally, add the flour and pulse until the mixture just starts to come together. When the dough forms moist curds and clubs and then starts to form a ball, stop. The dough will be very soft, and that’s just as it should be. Divide dough into 12 balls and wrap each in plastic. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or for up to 2 days, before rolling and baking. Butter 12 small tart pans. Roll each ball out and press into tart pans. Roll your rolling pin across the rim of the pan to cut off the excess. Chill for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator. (Repeat with remaining dough, if necessary.)
When you are ready to bake the crust(s), preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the crust with e circle of parchment paper or foil and fill with dried beans.
Bake the crusts for 30 to 35 minutes, or until golden. Transfer to a rack to cool.
Fill with pastry cream (below) and top with berries of your choice. Wait to assemble the tarts until just before serving.
Pastry Cream
1 large box instant vanilla pudding
2 cups milk
1 cup whipping cream
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Mix pudding with two cups milk. Beat for two minutes. Refrigerate until pudding becomes firm.
In a separate bowl beat whipping cream and sugar until soft peaks form. Fold whipping cream into pudding. Gently stir in almond extract. Refrigerate until just before serving.
Sweet Pastry Dough is from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking. The ground almonds in it make it super yummy! The pastry cream is something Anna and I have been making for years, but she perfected it in recent years by substituting real whipping cream for the cool whip we used to use! For shame!
Here are the happy corners of the internet that I’m enjoying…since it’s a rainy Memorial Day.
It was a rainy Memorial Day for me last year too, but at least this year I am in a HOUSE! I can’t believe that this time last year we had just begun our grand adventure. This summer is looking a little boring.
However, Whitney and I are planning a little road trip to Springfield, MO to visit the author of A Beautiful Mess, Elsie Flannigan. She keeps a shop there from which I would like a lot of things.
Particularly this:
And I LOVE her sweet girls: the paintings and…
I almost daily read the thoughtfully written posts at the blog, Holy Experience. And collect book recommendations. Here’s a recent post I enjoyed. I love hearing about how God reveals Himself through the every day tasks on a family farm. Hot coffee+this blog=a great way to start the day!
Oh, and if you’re a little late on teacher appreciation, as I am with some of my kids’ teachers, here is a darling idea for an end of the year gift, courtesy of Creature Comforts:
There is a super great Lisa Leonard giveaway happening at Design Mom. Remember that necklace that Sarabeth won. You could get one too!
Happy Memorial Day!
P.S. If you love to enter giveaways, Simple Mom is doing an entire week of giveaways!
Also, I would really love to win this bike! You too can enter to win it here.
So we planted this garden. And then came the flood. For real! I think it rained for a month. I know it rained for a month of Sundays because I left our Easter clothes hanging on the wall for that long waiting to wear them again on a day suitable for outdoor pictures. Now it’s been so long that I’m not sure I want to fight that battle. Yikes.
It finally stopped raining last week sometime and we were able to assess the damage. The garden was looking a little sad. Lots of yellow leaves on the tomato plants. And the dirt had sunk way down low like it was trying to slither away. And much of it had done just that. Poured on out the sides of our cute little borders.
Some new dirt. Some mending. Some new planting. And things are looking much better.
Simon helped with the dirt.
He loved the dirt. The clean up: not so much.
A little hay makes the whole garden look happier.
Now I actually want to BE out here.
Watching things grow.
Scarecrows coming soon!!
Boxed Lunch Book Club Today!
My discussion questions are a little slim, but mainly we are just going to talk about sisters! Sisters are the best…and the worst. I love my sister, but we hated each other for several years there before we realized we couldn’t live without one another! I’m hoping that reading this book makes everyone want to share their sister stories!
Questions:
(There are also great questions in the back of this book for a discussion!)
In the first chapter (p.9), the two sisters, Connie and Faith, are left alone in a hotel room by their parents. Their father, Billy, has just told Connie that whining makes her face look ugly. After he leaves, Faith tells her not to belive him, that she his pretty no matter what he says. Connie decideds to believe Faith. How does this scene show what life is like for the two sisters as young girls? How does their relationship with each other help them cope with their dysfunctional parents?
On opening night in New York (p.14), when Connie and Faith get to go along to the show, all dressed up, what do their two different responses to this event tell you about the two girls? How are they different from one another?
Connie is now in high school. Faith is working. They are without their parents. What does the following description tell you about their relationship at this point? They are inseparable, and separate, like parallel lines, defined by the distance between them. Still, the thought of a year from now with Connie gone, chokes Faith a little. She doesn’t think she knows how to live without her. (p.26) Can you share how this description fits one of your family relationships?
p. 28. As Faith’s relationship with Joe blossoms, the author writes that even though she has made out with a boy in the back seat of a car, she has never before knocked a boy on the arm in play. Why are these two interactions so different? What makes the latter mean so much more for Faith?
How do you see the affect of their childhood playing out into adulthood for Connie and Faith?
The family churns around them, with plans and alternative plans and contingency plans for getting her to the hospital in case the baby comes early, or late, or in the morning, or at night. p. 47 Do you think that Faith ever feels like she is a part of Joe’s family? Why or why not?
On p. 48, the author says this about Faith: She will never catch up to his version of the world. This is the beginning of the end of their marriage. What happened? Who is at fault? Do you think they could have saved their marriage at this point? How? The official break up happens on pp.52-53. What about this scene stands out to you?
p.56 It is an unpleasant but strangely welcome feeling: her old, frozen self, finally delivered from the terrible trouble of love. What does this quote say to you about Faith? Why does mean by the phrase terrible trouble of love? What patterns from your early life do find it easiest to fall back into?
Why is Faith able to wait for the chickadees? p.131 she stands the cold, the birds’ indifference, and the inherent foolishness of this act with the patience of one who has not time but well–a whole canyon–of faith
On p. 201, Connie says to Faith about Isadora: I thought I had a real sister. WHY does she say this?? What things have you said to your sister (or other family members) that you wish you could take back?
How does the arrival of Isadora change the story for Connie and Faith? Over the course of the book, how does her presence change Connie and Faith?
On p. 218, when Faith and Joe are talking about where things went wrong, Faith talks about how terrified she was when her children were born that she would turn into her parents. She remembered feeling helpless to take care of Connie all over again. What fears do you face about parenting that you think might be from your own childhood?
With which sister do you most identify? Share why.
I’m down to the wire on getting this written out, so sometimes you just have to put a Trader Joe’s pretzel on a spoonful of peanut butter and call it lunch! Happy Thursday!
I fell in absolute LOVE with rhubarb last summer in Vancouver BC, so when I heard through the grapevine that they had some at the store, I added it to my list. Taido went to the store for me after returning from his adventures in Canada. Perhaps he was feeling a little guilty about being gone for so long, because he bought all the rhubarb they had. Didn’t even look at how much it was. We won’t talk about how much it was, because he also ran kids around to activities, addressed ugly attitudes and dealt with a certain left-until-the-last-minute-gargantuan-research project…guess who?
So I’m on my third rhubarb dessert today. Keep it coming, all the little Chinos say, so we’ll be having rhubarb crisp tonight. Here’s the pie we enjoyed earlier this week. We are having a bit of an ant problem in our house, due to the wildly unusual constant rain showers of the past month. When I asked my family what the best solution would be to keep the little ickies from the rest of our precious pie, they said: EAT IT ALL RIGHT NOW!
The original recipe called for strawberries and rhubarb, but I substituted blueberries for half of the strawberries and it came out great.
Also, I am a big fan of Martha Stewart’s Pate Brisee (because it is all butter…no thank you on the Crisco), so I used that recipe for my crust.
Rhubarb Berry Pie
1 recipe pate brise (recipe follows)
3 1/2 cups 1/2-inch-thick slices trimmed rhubarb (1 1/2 pounds untrimmed)
1 1/2 cups strawberries, quartered
1 1/2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
Mix filling ingredients together. Let sit while you roll out the crust.
Roll out half of the dough. Place in a 9 inch pie plate. Pour filling into crust.
Roll out other half and either top the crust, or slice first and make a lattice crust.
Bake at 400 degreees for 25 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake 30-40 more minutes, until golden brown.
Pate Brisee
Ingredients
Makes 1 double-crust or 2 single-crust 9- to 10-inch pies
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water
In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, 8 to 10 seconds.
With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream through feed tube. Pulse until dough holds together without being wet or sticky; be careful not to process more than 30 seconds. To test, squeeze a small amount together: If it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
Divide dough into two equal balls. Flatten each ball into a disc and wrap in plastic. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill at least 1 hour. Dough may be stored, frozen, up to 1 month.
I’m pretty sure that Taido was still asleep in his luxurious condo in Whistler BC while these cards were being delivered to me yesterday morning. Mary Polly and Ben instructed me to wake them up at 6am and then to go back to bed. Mary Polly asked me early in the week to write out “the recipes” for coffee and oatmeal. Then she made cards and put Ben in charge of toast. Efforts to involve Cole and Simon were futile and it turned out to actually be a relief to MP that Cole spent the night elsewhere on Saturday night since the only thing he had agreed to do was set his alarm so she and Ben could get up on time. He wouldn’t even sign the card she made.
Simon and I slept in while also listening to the commotion downstairs hoping no one would get burned. I couldn’t believe it but they really managed to fix breakfast and deliver it to me on a tray with flowers completely on their own. NO HELP. I wish I had taken a picture of my tray, but they sat on the bed and watched me eat it. I was pretty much in tears reading their cards and notes. You see, Mother’s Day came at the end of a long week of Taido’s being gone. He left last Monday and so I was way past done by yesterday. But then there were my little sweeties taking up the slack on Mother’s Day. So darling.
Recently I have read about trying to take pictures of the things that might seem ugly in your life but really represent something beautiful. I tried to take a few of these this weekend. Usually when I see these on other blogs, the pictures actually ARE beautiful, but these aren’t necessarily. Still to me they each represent a small victory from a long week.
I made it to storytime where Simon made this dog puppet.
We started a scarecrow project on a rainy day.
Art room remnants.
Dishes from my breakfast in bed. Note the burnt toast.
When I went to turn in for the night, my bed was still unmade and the cards still on it. Cole had even added a note where Mary Polly had left him a spot. He might have even used the word grateful.
Since it’s teacher appreciation week, I thought I should take just a minute to say that how much I LOVE the teachers at Pike View Elementary. Pike View is right across the street from our church, and it also happens to be the school my kids attend. Yesterday we had the amazing privilege of blessing the teachers with a luncheon at our church and since I am often searching the internet for new or creative ways of appreciating teachers, I thought I would share what we did.
Volunteers from church and PTA parents took an hour off to hang out in the classrooms with the kids so that the teachers could enjoy being away a little longer for lunch and eat all together. Our wonderful hospitality queen at church (Rhonda) put together a team of people to serve lunch to the teachers.
The Menu
Pecan Quiche
Fresh Fruit
Varied Fresh Muffins
Tea
Chocolate Torte
They decorated the tables with a summer theme, using colorful straw hats, flamingo plates and balloons, brightly colored floral arrangements and beach towels. Each teacher got to take home their beach towel as a reminder that summer is just around the corner! Only one month left!
Those of us in the classrooms got a chance to have a little taste of the task these teachers have before them. I cannot imagine showing up day after day after day doing what they do! It is amazing!
I think they felt loved and blessed by their very short little getaway! We love them! Yay for teachers everywhere!
(I meant to take pictures of the gorgeous tables! I will remember next time!)
We are drowning down here in the Central Arkansas area! Sunshine is supposed to be on its way tomorrow. We’ll examine the damage to the garden then. For now, Simon and I are reading this classic from 1946. It’s perfect for toddlers.
Someone recently was asking for parenting advice because a first baby was about to arrive. Specifically, he asked What one piece of parenting advice would you give? Now I know that I should NOT be handing out parenting advice. In addition to the fact that I am no expert, giving parenting advice is a guarantee that you will be falling on your face as a parent in the next hour, but I decided to play along and here’s what I said:
Throw away all the What to Expect books.
Expect that there really isn’t any way to know what to expect, and enjoy the ride.
Oh, and read aloud every day.
Well, someone disagreed. Not only disagreed, but also felt the need to share how very helpful the What to Expect books are. I did not respond, but I wanted to explain that I am not just randomly picking on the What to Expect books, but rather I am alluding to a season of my life when I became so ludicrously obsessed with figuring out how to follow EVERY SINGLE PIECE OF INSTRUCTION within these books that I made myself (and my family) crazy.
A few examples:
I denied my first child the comfort of a pacifier because of a little figment of someone’s imagination called nipple confusion. Instead I listened to him cry nonstop for the first six weeks of his life and nursed him every thirty minutes trying to pacify him that way, lest he become confused. Of course I can prove to you that I am not exaggerating about how much I nursed him because I KEPT A WRITTEN RECORD of every feeding, diaper change and nap per the HELPFUL advice of these same books. I still have the written record in case my family needs some evidence when it’s time to lock me up.
I gave Cole his first bath holding open the What to Expect book to the Bathing Your Baby instructions and illustrations with my elbow. I followed the instructions step by step, reading it all carefully while Cole screamed his head off because the bath was turning cold while I was reading. I did this with my mother present in the apartment, my BRILLIANT MOTHER WHO HAD SUCCESSFULLY RAISED THREE CHILDREN! Why did she not say, um, honey, I’m pretty sure I can just walk you through this. Because you can’t talk to a mom who has just given birth and is CRAZY! Especially when the constant reading of all instructions she can get her hands on makes her even MORE CRAZY! I mean how could she have possibly known anything? She had never even heard of the What to Expect books.
My final act as an insanely addicted to THE MANUAL mother was to prepare the SUGAR FREE CARROT CAKE listed in the book for Cole’s first birthday. Dear friends, I do not have to tell you that I love to bake. Surely you know, if not by the frequent mention of cookies and cakes, then by the spreading thighs. I still cannot believe I wasted a baking opportunity on such a sorry excuse for a dessert. And while I don’t advocate filling up the bottles with soda pop, I think a real cake on the first birthday isn’t anything to get all worked up about.
These are my most memorable failures related to close adherence to the What to Expect books. I’ve been studying Moses this year in Bible Study and as we have read through Leviticus and Numbers and Deuteronomy, I’ve been like…Oh, all these rules. They make my head hurt. How did anyone EVER keep up?
My experience with the What to Expect books is a little like how I imagine it would be for me to start keeping the Mosaic Law. It might make me crazy.
I will admit that the What to Expect books were truly helpful for looking up questions like, At what point do you take your baby to the emergency room? But I have to wonder if people are still using them today for looking up childhood illnesses, because since Cole was born 11 years ago they invented this really helpful thing called GOOGLE.
Let me reiterate that I know I should not be handing out parenting advice. That being said, I am blaming the fact that Cole got kicked out of the state chess tournament last week on the fact that he had to wait 2 months for a pacifier.
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