Good Old Butter Tart

Hello,

Butter tarts are one of Derek's ultimate favorite comfort foods. I was leaving for the entire weekend last week, and so before I left, I made these for him at midnight!! Crazy, I know. I did not make my own tart dough (shameful), but there was no way that I was going to do that at 12AM. The raisins that I had were gigantic, organic, and super sweet, and i think that made the tarts very special.

12 unsweetened tart shells
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 egg
2 tbsp of butter or margarine
2 tsp vanilla
1tsp white vinegar
pinch of salt
1/4 cup raisins (the best raisins you have)
1/8 cup of chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 450 F
2. Place shells on a baking sheet and place raisins and walnuts in the bottom of each shell
   
3. Whisk all remaining 7 ingredients until well mixed. mixture should be thick and gooey
   
4. poor mixture evenly in the shells & bake for 12 minutes. DO NOT OVERBAKE!
5. Let tarts cool to room temp, the filling will set. ENJOY! We tried ours at 1 in the morning. Couldn't resist.

Interesting note: Used to prevent discoloration, sulfur dioxide is a common addition when processing dried fruit. The chemical destroys vitamin B-1 (a.k.a. thiamine)... If you want to get the most out of dried fruits, buy them organic and sulfur free. They may not look as pretty, but they are definitely the yummiest!!

Blueberry Grumble

Hi Everyone,

Blueberries have always been one of my favorite fruits of life. Just the other day, the little grocery store outside my apartment had blueberries on sale and I jumped on it like nobody's business!! Normally, I would just sit and devour 5 lbs of blueberries without thinking, but that day, I felt extra kind (a very rare occasion), and decided that I should probably save some for Derek...So to pass time, I decided to make this grumble while waiting for Derek to get home.

What you will need:

3/4 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups ground almonds
1 cup rolled oats, toasted **
4 cups blueberries
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp flour

1. Heat the oven to 400°F/200°C. Butter an 8” by 8” baking dish.
2. Make the grumble topping: Cream together the butter and brown sugar. Cut in the ground almonds and the oats. (You could add some cinnamon and ginger if you like)
   
3. Toss the fruit with the sugar and flour and tumble into the baking dish Sprinkle the crumble mixture evenly over the fruit and press to pack it down a bit.
   
4. Bake until the fruit is soft and the top is crisp, about 40 minutes. Let sit about a quarter hour before serving.
   

** To toast the oats: I placed a thin layer of oats in a frying pan and turned the heat to med. high. Flipping the oats frequently until toasted, about 5 minutes.

Recipe adopted from Laura Calder, The Food Network