Followers

10/10/09

Berry-delicious


Rich loves strawberries. He likes to buy these at the farmer's market to make strawberry jams or toppings for his ice-cream and sandwiches and sometimes we make strawberry syrup to put over pancakes.

Berries don't last long. You have to prepare your jam or topping right away or you have to eat the berries very shortly after you buy them; they will spoil overnight. Rich discovered a way to extend the life of his berries and has been using this method.  This week he bought a huge amount of strawberries but forgot to follow his method and some of the berries got moldy by the following morning. I decided to make a desert with the ones that were still good. I prepared an adaptation of a recipe I found in my Bon Appétit book. I did not have all the ingredients to follow the exact recipe but I added and substituted with what I had on hand - it turned out berry-delicious.
Strawberry-Chocolate Tart with Nutty Crust 



Crust:
1 1/2  C. mixed almonds and pecans, toasted (original called for 2 C. of pecans)
1/4 C. ground graham crackers (this was my addition)
6 T. light brown sugar
1/4 C. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 325°F. Combine nuts, crackers and sugar in a food processor. Blend until nuts are finely ground. Add butter and process until it forms into a moist dough. Press dough over bottom and up sides of tart pan with removable bottom. Bake crust until golden brown and firm to the touch, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely in pan.

Filling:
3/4 C. half and half (original called for whipping cream)
6 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped

In a heavy bottom saucepan, bring half and half to a simmer. Remove from heat and add chocolate. Stir until melted and smooth. Pour mixture into crust and chill until chocolate is set, about 1 hour.

Topping:
1 Pint fresh strawberries, clean and sliced (original called for raspberries)
2-3 T. seedless strawberry jam (original called for 1/4 C. raspberry jam)
The juice of 1/2 lemon (this was my addition)

Arrange strawberries on top of tart. Stir jam and lemon juice in a heavy small saucepan over low heat until melted. Brush melted jam over strawberries. Remove tart from pan and serve cold.

10/4/09

My Edible Garden

Fruit and Leaves

Pomegranate


Fennel

Papaya Leaves

Lemon


Verdolagas

More Fennel


Herbs

Sage and Bay-leaf

Lemon Verbena

Garlic Chives

Basil

Oregano

Sage, Thyme and Chamomile

Curly Parsley

More Sage

Zucchini and Summer Squash

Flor de Calabaza

Butternut Squash
Courgettes
Marrows


Root Vegetables

Potato and Beet leaves
Beet Roots
Meñique

Sweet Potatoes

Tomatoes

San Marzano

Cherry Tomatoes

Tomatillo
Tomatoes and Peppers

Garden Visitors
Dragonfly

Green Bug
Butterfly