Pear Tart

Fall and Winter months means spending more time on baking. When it's cooler outside, all I want to do is fire up the oven, bake up a storm, and wait for the heavenly aromas to fill the air. Perfect pairing with a cup of tea. I love summer, but I've also been looking forward to whipping out my scarf collection and changing up my wardrobe to cozy sweaters. Watching the leaves on the trees change to gorgeous orange and red hues is also on my Fall favorites list. Along with baking. 

I love cooked (poached or baked) pears. With the crazy number of hours I spend looking up and studying recipes, (trust me... it's probably my biggest time waster), I've come to find a whole lot of pastry recipes that require way too many techniques, steps, and wait-time. As much as I'd love to learn those things too, for the most part, I simply don't have the time. Easy, simple and tasty are the recipes I love to collect. 

Will post the recipe up later. Just about to run out the door for an afternoon coffee with dad. See, I simply don't have the time!

Edited to include recipe : 

Adapted from Real Simple magazine :

Ingredients

1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for the pan, at room temp

1 c. AP flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 c. sugar, plus 1 1/2 tbsp 

1 large egg

2 to 3 bosc pears, peeled, halved and cored ( can use canned)

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 c. apricot preserve

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

whipped cream (optional)

Preparation 

1. Heat oven to 350F

2. Butter a 14-inch rectangular tart pan and set aside.

3. Combine the flour and baking powder in medium bowl and set aside.

4. Using electric mixer, cream butter and 1/2 cup sugar at high speed in a large bowl. Lower speed to medium, add egg, and beat until incorporated. Gradually add flour mixture until fully incorporated. Dough will be soft.

5. Push dough into pan with floured fingers to form even crust. Arrange pear halves, top to bottom, cut-side down. Sprinkle with cinnamon and remaining sugar. Bake until crust is golden brown (45 minutes).

6. Heat apricot jam and lemon juice in small saucepan over medium-low heat. Remove from heat and brush gently over cooled tart. 

(Tart can be prepared and stored at room temp, loosely covered with foil, up to 1 day in advance.)

Vancouver,BC - Summer

Holding on to the last couple days of summer weather. But looking forward to the autumn air.

Lunchbox #1 - Basil Chicken

It doesn't take much for me to crave a certain food. Someone mentions something yummy or I spot someone's delicious lunch, and I'll keep thinking about it until I can get it. (If only I was so driven with more important things). The latest crave was thai basil chicken. (I get cravings so often I don't even remember where it came from originally).

So, I made it for lunch to take to work. Along with the orange yams, green broccoli, and the red peppers that I added to the chicken, I think I had my rule of "eating my colours" down for this one. I compartmentalize the lunch container for my veggies, carbs and protein... making it more neat and appetizing. For me anyway. Or I just like playing with my food. Perhaps next time, I'll make a bento box.

Back To The Past On The Courts

Icing my hand because of a finger sprain. The sprain itself feels oh-so-familiar. Accident prone. That's what I am. 

Back on the vball courts tonight. Since intramurals during my pharmacy school days. It gave me a high back then. Even though I wasn't very good. 

Same thing tonight. It felt pretty amazing to be back. I was wondering if I even remember the rules of the game, but once I was on the court, it all came back pretty quickly. 

I loved it. For an hour and a half, everything else escaped my mind. My new team mates were great. Supportive, nice and fun. The opposing teams were all pretty cool too. 

After a sprain and a skinned knee, I'm feeling pretty awesome still. ( next week, I'll remember to bring my knee pads and tape my fingers).

Fall Weather

It's a London fog kind of day.

Mika Turns One

Last photo : Mikaela with daddy (my cousin). 

Rah @ 2 Years And 4 Months

Seriously... really seriously... who can resist that face??!!

Gosh, I not-so-secretly love her to death. She has a lot of other kids her age, but amongst our close group of friends on her mom's side, she is so far the only toddler. So, when we all got together one night, she was the entertainment of the night.

Us crazing aunties were teaching her how to krump and getting her to say, "I'm baller!". We all have a dozen videos of her that night. And I've watched them over and over again several times. Is that crazy? I'm just so crazy in love with her cuz she's so adorable. She makes you laugh out loud. And who doesn't love a good laugh.

Auntie Kat took a polaroid of her. I asked her if I could see it. Rah replies in her cute little voice, "Nooooo... shake it!! MAGIC!!". It totally killed me (with cuteness). Yet she never hesitates to share her ice cream with me... sticking her spoon in my mouth when least expected.

She's grown so much since this post and this post!