Category Archives: Summer

Fresh Cherry Tart + 5 Tart Recipes You Need to Check Out!

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The cherries were on sale.  Fresh from Washington state, Bing cherries, $4.99 a pound! the sign read.  I stared at the individually wrapped 2 lb bags of cherries.  That’s still $9 for cherries.  No keep walking I told myself, but they were taunting me. I could almost taste their sweet, slightly tart juice and meaty flesh.  My mind started racing with recipe ideas: cherry salsa? hand-pies? trifle? I could eat them raw while watching Chopped.  The possibilities were endless.  After much back and forth, I found myself standing at the checkout counter paying for a $9 bag of beautiful cherries.

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I don’t regret it.  We snacked on the raw cherries, the kids taking turns with the cherry pitter, cherry juice staining their mouths and hands.  I managed to save half of the cherries and tuck them safely behind a gallon of unopened milk in the refrigerator.  The next day I made a fresh cherry tart, a Martha Stewart recipe I had my eyes on for weeks.

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I made a couple of changes.  Her recipe called for a graham cracker crust and I opted for a crunchy, sweet and delectable Cracklin’ Oat Bran crust.  My sister-in-law introduced me to this crust when she made Dorothy’s Fresh Blueberry Pie, again swapping out a traditional crust for this bit of crunchy food heaven.

fct588The Cracklin’ Oat Bran crust came together as easily as any graham cracker crust.  Once the crust cooled, I spread a silky honey and cream cheese mixture to the edges of the crackling crust.  I topped the tart with fresh cherries and a bit of raspberry glaze; I placed the tart in the refrigerator to chill and occupied myself with the kids outside.

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Patience is a virtue, but not my virtue…or Bubba’s…or the kids.  I sliced into this tart as soon as 30 minutes of chilling time passed.  Patience and willpower be damned!

Fresh Cherry Tart

Serves 8

recipe adapted from Martha Stewart

Cracklin’ Oat Bran Crust from Food 52

Ingredients for Filling:

6 ounces from bar of cream cheese, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup of honey (mild)

zest of 1 lime

3/4 cup heavy cream

1 lb Bing cherries, pitted and halved

1 tablespoon seedless raspberry jam

Ingredients for Cracklin’ Oat Bran Crust:

1 1/2 cups finely ground Cracklin’ Oat Bran Cereal

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Directions:

Pre-heat your oven to 375F.  Using a food processor with a blade attachment, pulse the cereal until fine.  Be sure to measure the cereal after you grind it.  You want 1 1/2 cups of ground cereal.

In a medium bowl, mix together the ground cereal with the melted butter until evenly combined.  The cereal should look like wet sand.

Dump the cereal/butter mixture into a 9 or 10 inch tart pan with a removable bottom.  Using the bottom of a measuring cup, press mixture evenly along the bottom of the tart pan and up the sides.

Bake the crust for about 9 minutes, but start checking it at 7 minutes.  The crust is ready when it is dry and a deeper shade of brown.  Cool on a wire rack before filling.

Directions for Cherry Filling:

Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese, vanilla and honey on medium speed until light and fluffy.  Slowly add the cream and continue to beat until soft peaks form.  (I switched from the paddle attachment to the beater attachment at this point.)  Gently fold in lime zest.

Spread mixture in cooled crust and top with cherries.

Using a small sauce pan, combine raspberry jam and 1 teaspoon of water.  Heat over low heat until liquefied, a couple of minutes.  Grab your pastry brush and dab the cherries with the glaze.  Cover the tart and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 day.  Enjoy!

5 Can’t Miss Tart Recipes!

If you love key lime pie check out Whisk Kid’s lime curd tart recipe.  This tart looks so refreshing!

I love when stone fruits start popping up at farmer’s markets and the grocery store.  When you see these beauties again why not make a tart?  Head to Apt. 2B Baking Co for a simple stone fruit tartlet recipe.

Pretty soon gardens will burst with beautiful tomatoes and being a tomato lover I can’t wait.  Brooklyn Supper’s tomato chevre tart is on my must make list.

Looking for a healthy spin on a butter tart? Head to My New Roots and check out a better butter tart recipe.  I am fascinated!

When apples are in season again, Flourishing Foodie’s salted caramel apple tart will make an appearance on my table.  I don’t want to wish the summer away, but I can’t wait!

Roasted Zucchini, Black Bean and Goat Cheese Enchiladas + 5 Meatless Mains

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Excerpt from dinnertime most days at our house.  Feel free to swap out chicken for anything else that might have some nutritional value.

“Chicken again?!” C groaned.

“Chicken is disgusting. Yuck!” G chimes in.  I clench my jaw, take a deep breath and remind myself they are little.  Little terrors, especially around dinnertime.

“Dip it in ketchup!” Me.

“No.”  Them.

“Three bites or no dessert.” Me again.

“Mac and cheese please!” G. The boy could eat mac and cheese 3 meals a day, everyday.

“Just eat it!” I yell. 

Insert no dessert threat here.

They acquiesce because, just like me, they have a sweet tooth.  After a bite of grilled chicken they gag.  This is where I give up, offer them a small dessert and eat chocolate alone in our pantry.  Where is my mother-of-the-year award?  And so it goes.  Dinnertime is a bust most days at our house, except of course when we have mac and cheese.

Put the chocolate down and make a plan!

In an effort to keep my weekly meals fresh and to serve less chicken, I’ve adapted meatless Mondays and taco Tuesdays.  Oh and I’m bringing back wheatless Wednesdays.  Yup, wheatless Wednesdays was a thing.  In fact, meatless Monday and wheatless Wednesdays started during World War I.  Read more about here.  Thursday through Sunday? Anything goes.

Before meatless Monday rolls around again, I peruse one of my favorite healthy food blogs: The Sprouted Kitchen.  With zucchini now popping up at the market, I choose Sarah’s recipe for roasted zucchini, black bean and goat cheese enchiladas, a meal that is warm, cheesy and, if I’m lucky, kid-friendly.

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Latest excerpt from the witching hour that is dinnertime.

While C and G play in the backyard, I make dinner.  N busies himself with our pots and pans.  I try to ignore the loud clanging sounds that are slowly giving me a headache.  Stay focused!  Make dinner!

The zucchini roasts for 30 minutes and I set it aside to cool.  The black beans, goat cheese, green onions and cooled zucchini are gently tossed together.  I fill each tortilla with a heaping 1/4 cup of the zucchini mixture and placed seam side down in my baking dish.  I pour store-bought enchilada sauce over the top and sprinkle it with a few handfuls of feta cheese. (Cotija cheese will work as well.)  I pop the dish in the oven and bake it at 375F for about 25 minutes.

I do all of this without any interruption.  My kids play independently, never argue or do anything dangerous.  They are angels.  I wish!  I am interrupted constantly and it is frustrating, but occasionally one will say: “It smells good in here Mama,”  and they are back again to angel status.

I pull the enchiladas out of then oven.  The sauce is bubbling, a sure sign the dish is ready.  I place it on the counter, grab my camera and snap a few shots.  I hear splashing and turn to see the baby playing in our dog’s water bowl.

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I have a choice here: ignore the splashing or take the bowl away, continue to take pictures or wrap up for the day.  I let him play and finish shooting.  After my last shot, I remove the bowl and he looses his mind.  Hoping food will emotionally soothe him for a moment, I offer him a bite of the enchilada.  Grunting and gesturing for more, N eats the meatless enchilada with the same gusto as he eats meatballs.

Maybe the delicious smell of the enchiladas lured C and G into the kitchen or maybe it was N’s loud, incessant grunting.  Either way they sat down, lifted their forks and took a bite of something new, and they didn’t complain or gag, because it wasn’t chicken.  However, they did ask: “when can we have mac and cheese again?”

Roasted Zucchini, Black Bean and Goat Cheese Enchiladas

serves 4

recipe barely adapted from The Sprouted Kitchen

Ingredients:

4 medium or 3 large zucchini  1/4′ inch dice (you should have about 4 cups)

3 tsp. extra virgin olive oil, divided

1 1/4 tsp. garlic salt

4 green onions, finely chopped

1 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained

4 oz. soft goat cheese, crumbled

1 oz. crumbled feta cheese

10-12 whole wheat or corn tortillas depending on much you put in each tortilla

12 oz. red enchilada sauce, store-bought

Optional toppings:

1 bunch of cilantro, chopped

2 avocados

squeeze of lime

salsa

Greek yogurt or sour cream

Directions:

Pre-heat your oven to 425F and place diced zucchini on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with 2 teaspoons of olive oil and 1 1/4 teaspoon of garlic salt.  Toss with your hands to coat.  Spread zucchini, one layer, using another rimmed baking sheet, if necessary.  You don’t want a crowded pan because the zucchini will steam instead of roast.  We want to roast.  Roast for about 30 minutes.  Allow to cool and lower your oven’s temperature to 375F.

Using a large mixing bowl, add the finely chopped green onions and black beans.  Crumble 4 oz. of goat cheese in the bowl.  Add cooled zucchini and gently toss everything until well combined.  Set aside.

Lightly char each tortilla over the oven burner, about 1 minute each side.   (You can skip this step if you are running short on time.  If you do have time, go for it!  It adds a nice texture to the tortillas.)

In an oven-proof 9×13 pan, pour 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce covering the bottom of the pan.  Take one tortilla and fill it with 1/4 cup of zucchini filling.  Roll it up and place it in the pan seam side down.  Continue with the rest of the tortillas, placing seam side down.  (You may need to squeeze them in and that’s ok!)  Brush the remaining olive oil over the tortillas.  Pour the rest of the enchilada sauce over the tortillas and sprinkle with 1 oz. of crumbled feta.

Bake for about 20-25 minutes.  Serve warm with chopped cilantro, sliced avocado and a squeeze of lime.  A dollop of salsa and Greek yogurt is also nice.  The leftovers re-heat well and are great the next day for lunch or an easy dinner.  Enjoy!

5 Meatless Main Links

I recently discovered the food blog Foodness Gracious written by a stay-at-home dad with a ton of love for food.  Gerry’s recipe for sweet peas with linguine and parmesan is on my must make list.

If you love portobello mushrooms, check out The First Mess recipe for banh mi with portobellos and pickled vegetables.

Grill your bounty of garden vegetables this summer and make Pioneer Woman’s grilled veggie burritos.

Instead of ordering pizza this week make Seasons & Suppers heirloom tomato pizza or the grilled vegetable and goat cheese pizza.  I want to eat this right now!