Summer... Baked in a Tart

     My dad loved bakeries.  Actually, what he really loved were baked goods.  If my mom did not keep him supplied in his favorite desserts, he would eventually find his way to a local bakery.  Not all bakeries were created equal in his mind, so different bakeries filled different needs.  Everbest Bakery was the place to go for Sunday morning rolls, coconut buns and danish.  George's was the place to get a California crumb cake to bring to Aunt Ann and Uncle Joe's down in Rockaway on Saturday night.  Riesterers had the best Christmas specialties, like Linzer torte and gingerbread.  Malverne bakery was his go to place for open fruit cakes, tarts and pies.  I loved to go to the Malverne Bakery with him.  On a RARE occasion, he would bring home a 7 layer cake.  I always hoped that he would spring for a chocolate cake, but oddly enough, the man who loved his desserts, hated chocolate cake.  The Malverne bakery had the BEST chocolate cake!  I had experience their chocolaty perfection many times at my friends' birthday parties.  I don't know why I went with him.  It was such a disappointment when he picked the fruit tart or french apple cake.  When I was 8 years old, I firmly believed that fruit had no place on a cake, and peach skin, BLAH!  Now that 8 years old is just a distant memory, I've learned that there is life beyond chocolate and fruit has its place in the world of desserts.
      I love the look of a fresh fruit tart.  I love the delicate golden crust.  I love the perfection of the fruit.  I love the glisten of the glaze.  The perfect fruit tart is a feast for the eyes and as well as the soul.  A fresh fruit tart is a fitting dessert for weekend BBQ or a New England Clam Bake.  It is a celebration of the season baked in a crust.  I usually bake simple tarts.  I choose a fruit in the season, bake it in a sweet buttery crust and lightly brush the whole thing with an orange or apricot glaze.   But every once in a while, I pull out all the stops and go for the bells and whistles.  I'm talking custard, berries, peaches, kiwi and yes, just a touch of bourbon.

Grilled Tequila Lime Chicken

I bought a sack of limes at the market the other day.  After I brought them home, I realized that I now had an obligation.  I hate having a food commitment.  I'm more of a shop-as-you-go kind of person.  What was I thinking?  One cannot live on Margaritas and Mojitos alone, so I decided to grill up some Tequila Lime Chicken, the quick version.  I've made Ina Garten's version many times.  I've also modified it many times.  Ina uses a LOT of citrus in her marinade and she lets it sit in the marinade at least 8 hours.  I've had two major issues with this.  For one thing, all that lime juice reacts with the chicken and starts to "cook " the chicken.  Not cook, in the sense that you will be able to eat it, but the thinner parts of the chicken start to look opaque.   Sure a long marinating time helps to impart flavor into the chicken, but  I'm kind of turned off by that "white edged" chicken.  My other issue with the original recipe was the length of time it needed to marinate.  Long marinating times = planning.  Planning is not always practical, and hey, why shouldn't you enjoy a flavorful grilled chicken that you didn't have to think about the day before?   I figured out that if I give the chicken a little extra kick of spice,  I can marinate it for an hour and get a version of tequila lime chicken that I liked even better.

Meet the main players:

                                           

Peachy Boozy Turnovers

I'm making my adjustment back to the civilized (or so they say it is) world slowly.  After spending some time enjoying the peace and quiet of the Adirondacks, it's hard to dive back into the rat race.   I ran out to the farmer's market early this morning to pick up some lettuce (mine bolted) and corn, then ran home in record time.  I'm not ready to deal with traffic and people just yet.  My mind is stuck somewhere between a mountain lake and a field of wildflowers.

I've spent the day sorting through photos, catching up on my reading and generally wasting time.  I had a brief spurt of ambition and decided to check out the fridge.  Melissa stayed at our house and dog sat while we were away, so I hadn't emptied the fridge before our trip.  I had hoped that she used the produce I left behind.  I bought some very firm peaches the day before we left and I guess Melissa was not into peaches.  A peach dessert,  I thought to myself...but it has to be quick and easy with minimal oven time since the AC is running full blast.  Still in vacation mode, I decided to pair up the peaches with something boozy like bourbon.  Sure I thought, bourbon will do just fine...and so my easy, peachy, boozy turnovers were born.  Hmmm, right before we went away I made Apricot Riesling Jam,  I have chicken marinating in tequila and lime.  Do I see a trend here?

Attack of the Roasted Cherry Tomato Plants

Recipe: Mediterranean Pasta 

I've written about my crazy tomato plants in previous posts, but they have gotten a bit crazier lately.  I'm not quite sure how to describe them, but if they were human, I'd say they are bionic or maybe some kind of mutant possessing super human strength.   Last year I grew one of these crazy Sweet Millions tomato plants.  I named her Audrey II.  Remember Little Shop of Horrors?  It took on a life of its own.  This year I have two Sweet Millions.  Well, two that I planted.  Remember that cult movie "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes"?  I'm beginning to wonder about mine.  Let me show you.

Harvesting Fresh Herbs for Pesto

With every vegetable garden comes responsibility.  I planned for hours, planted the seeds, tended and nurtured the little seedlings, then patiently watched them grow.  The excitement at the appearance of the first flower or fruit, made me feel like a proud mama.  As the days grow hotter,  my garden has begun to look like a jungle.  Now we are into the thick of summer and for the most part my garden has been a success. My herbs did particularly well this year.  I love to use fresh herbs in my cooking.  I feel the addition of fresh herbs to a dish can turn the ordinary into the extraordinary.  Some of the more tender herbs will not be around forever.  I feel like I have a responsibility to use my herbs as they reach their peak and before they go to seed.