Happy Birthday America!

 

Today, America turns 238!

I feel truly blessed to be an American.  

Wishing everyone an enjoyable Independence Day.

 

Let's wave our flags proudly today and everyday!

Fondly,

~Karen

A Patriotic Red, White and Blue Berry Tart

Why not celebrate Independence Day

with a festive berry tart? 

The original recipe came from here and calls for using

a tube of pre-made sugar cookie dough for the shell and

star cut-outs. Sounds easy, but I can foresee the cookie dough

only expanding and puffing in the oven (even after chilling 
awhile) and the stars not looking like stars once baked.  
So, I opted to use a trusted Pate Sucree 
(fancy French for a sweet crust).  If you

want an easy, good, all around Pate Sucree recipe,

Martha Stewart has a great one here.

I blind baked the crust first and baked the cut-out stars 
on another baking sheet.  I also made the 
filling ahead of time and left it in a bowl in the frig 
until I was ready to finish assembling

the tart before taking the picture and serving it.

The just-out-of-the-frig filling makes this finished tart cool and
refreshing, besides being delicious and patriotic!

Here is my recipe:

Red, White, and Blue Tart

Adapted from Recipe.com

Ingredients:

1 recipe Pate Sucree
Sugar for sprinkling
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 cup fresh blueberries
2 cups mixed fresh red raspberries and fresh strawberry halves

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. 

For crust and cookies:
On a lightly floured surface roll out pate sucree to about 1/8" and at least 13 1/2".  Using this rolled out pastry, cut one 10 1/2" x 13 1/2" rectangle and fit into an 8" x 11" tart pan with a removable bottom. With lightly floured hands, gently push the pastry up the sides of the tart pan (being careful not to stretch the pastry). Place the rolling pin on the top edge of the tart pan and gently roll, cutting off the pastry flush with the top of the tart pan.  Using a star cookie cutter, use the remaining pastry to cut out stars. Place the stars on a parchment lined baking sheet and sprinkle with sugar.  Freeze both the tart and stars for 15 minutes.  Prior to baking, place pie weights (or beans/rice) on top of parchment in the tart pan. Bake until sides look like they are beginning to get golden brown, about 12 minutes. Take off parchment and weights and continue to bake until bottom is golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Bake the cookies until golden brown. Cool on wire rack.

For filling:
In a mixing bowl, combine condensed milk, sour cream, lemon peel, and juice. Stir about 3 minutes or until mixture is thickened. Cover and chill until ready to assemble tart.

To assemble:
Loosen and remove sides of pan from crust. Transfer crust to a platter, leaving bottom of pan under crust. Before serving, spread filling onto crust. Top with berries and cookies. Cut into squares. Makes 12 servings.



 What are you planning to eat for Independence Day?

Thank you for visiting.

This week I will be joining:

Rattlebridge Farm for Foodie Friday

Fondly,

~Karen



Flower Lemon Rosemary Tea Cookies

Some of you might be thinking lemon and rosemary in a cookie?

Lemons and Rosemary actually make a great flavor combination. 

It is most often used together in chicken dishes but in this case

it is used together in a tea cookie.

This tea cookie is basically made from a shortbread dough

with a wonderful butter flavor along with the lemon and rosemary.

Using my spritz gun, I made flower spritzes of the dough then

baked them. 

 

Using a small metal spatula, I very carefully lifted the warm

tea cookies onto a cooling rack.  After letting them completely

cool, I drizzled them with some lemon and sugar icing

from a small parchment piping bag.

 

As you can see, they came out as cute little flower cookies.

Crisp and delicious cookies perfect for a tea party!

I would like to give credit for this recipe where credit is do,
so you can click on The Gray Boxwood for this recipe.

Enjoy!

Fondly,
~Karen

 





Equally Famous Banana Bread

Inspired by my recent visit to the World Famous International Banana Museum 
I wanted to make something with bananas.  I remembered I have this really
terrific Banana Bread recipe in my repetroire that I hadn't made in awhile.

My recipe is actually adapted from an also famous recipe for Julia's
Best Banana Bread originated by a gal named Julia and sold in her
bright green treehouse located in a small village called Kahakuloa
on the island of Maui.  You'll want to check out this cute bright
green treehouse which is on her website here.

When a recipe is "adapted" it usually means the current cook/baker has
changed something in the original recipe.  In this case, Julia makes her
famous Banana Bread using whole wheat flour and I use All Purpose white flour.

This banana bakes leaving a crackly and wonderful crust on the top.
I think that is what makes this Banana Bread so special.

It can be eaten just as is or as I like it - with a spread of butter.  Delicious!
I am so happy that I reminded myself of this recipe.

Thank you for visiting,

Fondly,
~ Karen




World Famous Banana Museum

Would you believe there is a Banana Museum in So Cal?

I would bet most Southern Californians don't even know it.  I didn't, but

my sister did. On a recent day trip through the area, she insisted we stop in.

Sure enough, there is an International Banana Museum

World Famous and recorded in the Guiness Book of World Records.

It's official website can be found here.

It is located in the desert Coachella Valley, Southeast of Palm Springs,

on the North Shore of the Salton Sea in Mecca, California.

It made it into the Guiness Book as having the largest

collection of banana-related items.  Do you believe me now?

Everywhere I looked, banana items and more banana items.

Everywhere I looked there was a banana something.

If it were made into a banana - its here!

But not just to look at - but to eat! 

As a foodie, I was all about that.

I jumped on one of those banana and ape stools quickly

to decide what I would have.

Banana Shakes in Banana-Chocolate, Banana Strawberry, or Banana Mango?

How about a Banana Float with Rootbeer, Orange, or Peach Soda?

or a Banana Sundae!!!

My sister and niece split (haha!) a Banana Split

while my mom and I shared a Banana Milkshake but we

didn't wait to take a picture.  Sorry :(. 

But, I did stop this one guy headed out to his

car with this Banana Sundae

(with a cute banana and monkey napkin!)

and he kindly let me take a picture. 

It was a thumbs up for everything that we ate.

I think I will get a Banana Sundae if I ever return.

 

All inspiring, I got home and decided I needed to make

my own banana something.

 

Check back and see what I decided to make...

and if you ever get in the desert -- go see the International Banana Museum.

 

Fondly,

~Karen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Bunny Tails Hopping Down the Bunny Trail

 Here comes Peter Cottontail's - tails!

Hopping down the bunny trail.

  In this month's issue of Southern Living,

I came across these Bunny Tail Bonbons. 

 

 

They reminded me of the

soft cottontail on the back of a wine bunny apron

 

 

 I recently picked up at Pottery Barn. 

You can go back and visit that post of

my Spring visit to Pottery Barn.

 In this recipe, melted white chocolate is mixed with cream

cheese then crushed coconut cookies are added.

 

 

I rolled and scaled each of them at three-quarter's lb.

I made one change to the recipe instructions by

rolling them in the coconut before placing them on  a

half sheet pan to rest in refrigerator overnight to firm up.

The recipe calls for adding the coconut after the night's stay in the frig

then refrigerating for another hour before serving.

 

 

The final tails become these rich and tasty soft balls of sweetness.

I dyed some coconut green to give the tails green "grass" to rest on. 

I did this by putting some coconut into a Ziploc bag along with some

regular liquid food coloring and smooshing and shaking the bag

from the outside until the color was distributd evenly.

 

You can find an easier printable version of the recipe on the

Southern Living's website here.

 

There are so many fun spring ideas out there.

I just love this time of the year, don't you?

 

I will be joining

Rattlebridge Farm's Foodie Friday

and

The Tablescaper's Seasonal Sundays

 

Thank you for visiting.

 

Fondly,

~Karen

 

 



Whats for Dinner? Crock-Pot Chili with Chocolate

 

This chili with fool you!

Going into the crock-pot, it may seem like any ordinary chili.
 

 

It begins with black beans, kidney beans, and pinto beans,

along with cooked ground beef, tomatoes, onions, and spices.

It cooks for 6-8 hours... then for the last 15 minutes it

gets finished with chopped Chocolate - and just a tad of honey!
 

 

It's sure to please the most skeptical palate and would be fun to

serve guests, asking them what they think is the secret ingredient.

Its actually pretty tasty and delicious and, other than seeing the

sprinkling of shaved chocolate on the top for garnish, you would

never suspect there was chocolate in it.  The chocolate really is that subtle.
 

 

I made some seasoned saltine crackers to serve
along side. I often make these with chili flakes but for
tonight I left the spicy-ness off so we could get enjoy
the full spicy flavors of the chili.

 

Come on! Eating can be an adventure. Give this a try!

You can click on this link for the recipe for the

Slow-Cooker Chocolate Chili with Three Beans

and here is the recipe for the crackers:

 

Seasoned Crackers

Source: Unknown
 

1 lb. unsalted saltine crackers
1 cup canola oil
1 (1 oz. pkg) ranch dressing mix
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons chili flakes (optional)

Line crackers on their ends in an air-tight container. In a small bowl, combine canola oil, ranch dressing mix, garlic powder and red pepper flakes. Stir until well combined. Spoon mixture evenly over crackers. Close the lid and gently flip over the crackers.  Flip over every 5 minutes for a total of 20 minutes.  There will be excess oil at first but as they get flipped they will absorb the oil.  The crackers can be stored in a ziploc bag and will last for about a week.

Enjoy and Thank you for visiting!

 

I will be sharing this recipe along with others at

Rattlebridge Farm's Foodie Friday

 

Fondly,

~Karen