VeganMoFo #11: Tarting around.

I have a teeny confession to make... I haven't done much work with rolled out pastry. Something about it just scares me a little, for reasons I cannot fathom. Or perhaps it is just that sometimes I get struck by laziness and the thought of having to clean up flour and pastry scraps off the kitchen bench. Perhaps it is even that I find it hard to make it perfectly pretty and can never roll it out into a perfectly even circle, and I am a hopeless perfectionist so I get frustrated. Whatever! Recently though I have been doing it more, it really isn't that hard or scary at all. This is one of my first attempts - it is the Pear and Cranberry Tart from Vegan With A Vengeance.


Ooooohhhhh.... So, I made my dough (which had ground nut in it - super yummy) and chilled it, but when I was rolling it out it crumbled a little bit. I ended up getting a reasonable amount rolled, so when I put it into the tart pan it covered most of it but there were some gaps. I usedthe bits thathad crumbled off to plug said gaps. Then it was into the oven.


Ahhhhhhhhhh.... When it came out, it was pretty darn cute. But I had to get it out of my tart pan, which filled me with dread! I have one of those cute shallow ones with fluted sides and a push up bottom. This was actually the first time I had used it, so I wasn't sure if it would stick or not. But after a few breath holding moments, it came out and slid off and was pretty!


Nomnomnom.... The result? Delicious! I used frozen cranberries, because I've never seen fresh ones, and they were great. I love how tart they are - a great contrast to the sweet pear. Served with a scoop of ice cream? Winner!

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post


This is sweet Garthy! Garthy is a wonderful cat, and we had him at the clinic for a long time. He was one of our blood donors, but we were also trying to find a home for him sooner rather than later because he did not fit in well with out other colony cats. I used to take him upstairs with me when I was on call, and he was awesome! Such a big boofy boy, but so affectionate. When I went to bed he would jump up and plant himself resolutely between my feet, and he didn't wake up until the morning. The lovely Garthy has been rehomed, and has gotten his happily ever after!