Raspberry Lemon Tart

"The Queen of Hearts,
she made some tarts,
All on a summer day:
The Knave of Hearts,
he stole those tarts,
And took them quite away!"

- Lewis Carroll


This week, I made a Raspberry Lemon Tart that I found on http://www.sassyradish.com

Her tart looks much nicer than mine did, even though I did try to get rid of the air bubbles. My oven also has developed a mind of its own, so I am dealing with spiking or dropping temperatures. The taste was heavenly, light and summery. I served it with a dollop of whipped cream.

I used the same tart dough as for my Rhubarb Streusel Tart although the recipe she used sounds pretty foolproof.

Filling:

2 medium lemons
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 cups raspberries

Preparation:

1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 300°F.

2. Finely grate the zest of both lemons; set aside. With a small knife, cut off the top and bottom of each lemon and then carefully cut away the cottony white pith and a tiny bit of flesh from each lemon–the juicy sections of lemon should now be completely exposed. Lay the lemons on their sides and cut each lemon crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices; remove the seeds.

3. Place the lemon slices, eggs, yolks and sugar in the container of a blender and puree until smooth. Strain the mixture into a bowl and whisk in the reserved zest and the cream. Give the bowl a good rap against the kitchen counter to de-bubble it–if there are bubbles in the cream now, there will be bubbles in your tart later. (It’s not tragic, but neither is it attractive.)

4. Scatter the berries over the bottom of the crust and pour over the filling. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the filling is set in the center. Transfer the tart to a rack and cool to room temperature.

To serve: Cut the tart into 8 wedges and serve as is with some lightly sweetened whipped cream, raspberry coulis or even a spoonful of berry marmalade.

Makes 8 servings

Paris, the city for lovers...

What better place to celebrate 34 years of marriage than Paris?

Fortunately, my hubby agreed and off we went last weekend. We had gone to Paris a few times before, but Gerhard's last visit was over 30 years ago. The buildings still look as beautiful as ever, but the city has lost some of its 'French-ness'. There were too many tourists, the kind that don't blend in very well.

We strolled around Montmartre, hoping to find the same magic we felt when we were younger. Had it changed or had WE changed?

We decided to visit the Louvre early Saturday morning, as Gerhard had never been inside.


Here are two of my personal favorites:


Does anyone else think this looks strangely like Gerhard?



Umm, not really sure about this one...

Excitement in Lenzhahn

We live in a tiny village where there are several horse farms. Usually by this time of year, there are five horses in the fields next to our house. Two days ago, there was quite some commotion outside. I looked out and saw a tractor literally racing through the fields, mowing down the grass. Gerhard was a little concerned last night about the horses, now that there is no grass for them to graze. A little chat with the horses' owner, Wilma, and I got the scoop. She's bought one of the fields across the road and she's keeping the horses there all summer and fall. Today, the farmer returned with two big John Deeres and they rolled the hay into bales, all the while, the mouse buzzards were circling above...



(Pictures taken from my study)

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

I have been craving Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins for a while now and decided to find a recipe that I could use as a starting point. The muffins should be light and flavorful. Perhaps next time I will add a little lemon juice to the batter for a bit more punch.

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

1 1/2 cups of spelt flour
1/2 cup of whole grain spelt flour
(the original recipe calls for 2 c all-purpose flour)
1 Tbs. poppy seeds
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup of unsalted butter
1 scant cup of sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 pkg of Citro Back by Dr Oetker or zest of one lemon
1 cup of regular plain yogurt
1 tsp. vanilla

Lemon Glaze:
1 tsp. butter, melted
powdered sugar
lemon juice, adjust to how thick you want the glaze

Sift the dry ingredients together and set aside.

Blend the sugar and butter until smooth, add the rest of the ingredients and blend well. Add the dry ingredients, folding them into the batter until just combined. Do not overmix at this point.

Fill into a cupcake pan which is lined with paper. Bake at 375 F for 18-20 minutes. Let them cool about 10 minutes and drizzle with lemon glaze.