What a Tart!

And I do mean WHAT A TART!

Goat Cheese and Basil Tart with Cheese Crust

I am always looking to create (or steal from someone else) a great recipe.  I'll be short and sweet today and just tell you that I made the most amazing GF savory tart last night with what I consider a minimal of effort.  This one is not mine but from a wonderful collection of GF recipes from Shauna at http://glutenfreegirl.com.  She is a wonderful blogger and a fellow (to Libby) Celiac.  This is by no means just a 'gluten free' tart.  It is absolutely delicious and would WOW anyone, gluten free or not.  I made a few tweaks (not that it needed it but I just have to do it) and here it is...

60 grams GF flour blend (I only now use the blend from http://glutenfreegirl.com)
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
40 grams almond meal/flour
1/2 teaspoon guar gum
2 cups finely grated hard cheese such as Romano or Parmesan 
4 tablespoons (57 grams) unsalted butter, frozen then cut into 1/2-inch bits or grated on lg box grater
2 tablespoons ice water   note~ Fill a small bowl or ramekin with filtered water, add a few ice cubes     before beginning and it will be nice and cold by the time you need it.
250 grams soft goat cheese (I used a honey Chèvre that I just found at our Farmer's Market)
10-12 basil leaves, rolled like a cigar and sliced thinly or just rip it into bits
2 large, ripe heirloom tomatoes, sliced thickly
Olive oil to sprinkle on just before serving
Sprinkling of lovely sea salt 

Preheat oven to 375

In a food processor, add the flour, salt, almond meal, guar gum, and cheese and pulse until blended.  Add the butter and quickly pulse until butter resembles small peas.  Remember, there is no gluten so you needn't be afraid of 'over working' the dough.  You do however, want to avoid over handling the dough because of the butter.  You want it to remain visible and as cold as possible.

Here is where restraint comes in to this wonderful process... the ice water.  Add only a tablespoon at a time and go slowly, adding it through the feed tube while pulsing.  This dough should be dry and never sticky.  It should come together when you pinch it between thumb and finger but not stick to your fingers.

Turn dough into a fluted removable bottomed pan, and pressing evenly, push dough up the sides and into bottom of the pan.  

Pop into freezer for maybe 30 mins.  15 if you are in a rush.  Overnight if you are a type A overachieving plan aheader.

Remove from freezer when you are ready to bake the shell and prick the bottom all over with a fork to prevent bubbling up while baking.  Bake for 15 mins and check to see if it is doing the naughty and bubbling up.  If it is, poke it a few more times.  Continue to bake 10-15 minutes more until nicely browned.  Cool in pan.

Mix the goat cheese and basil and a dash of sea salt together and spread carefully into the cooled baked shell.  Carefully as not to pull up bits of the crust.  Add sliced tomatoes on top of goat cheese and splash a bit of olive oil over the tomatoes and finish with a light sprinkle of sea salt.  

Optional~ Run the tart under the broiler a few times if desired to soften and warm up the tomatoes... depending on your mood.  It is equally delicious with the tomatoes au naturel.  My photo clearly shows the darkened edges of the 'run under the broiler'.  Next time i'll run faster!  The darker the crust though, the deeper and richer the flavor.

We four ate the entire thing with a simple butter lettuce salad for dinner last night.  The both of us, the tart and I,  were justifiably fawned over!  

Insteads

Fourth grade end-of-the-year party!  Bowling and pizza!!  Yay!!!  Well, it should be a Yay!!! but the pizza part makes it an Ugh!!! for Libby, and therefore for me.  And let's be honest, it really is all about me right?!     I know I know... but twelve years after eagerly saying  'I Do' and ten & eight years after joyously saying 'It's a girl!' I am sadly still trying to believe it's all about me.  I am tenacious if nothing else.

So i asked Libby what she would like instead of the cursed pizza.  Libby's whole existence is about 'insteads'.  It sucks.  So she decided on a salami sandwich from a new deli, Rubicon's on India, because we had been there before and they have GF rosemary focaccia that really is pretty decent.  As I was heading down the hill and trying to run through all of the potential hazards of ordering from a 'regular' place I was feeling pretty confident.  Clean hands, clean tray, clean knife, remind them NO free cookie...then it hit me!  What about the mayo and mustard!  Is it from a central vat type of container?  Is there a shared knife?  Ahhhhhhh!  I called Hugh in a panic and with his ever-so quick assessment of my possible oncoming hysteria, he told me to just ask them.  Just ask them??  Are you nuts??  More worry and angst is clearly needed here!  Ask them but then do what when they say yes, it's shared???  What then smart man, huh?!  I have to be at a bowling alley with lunch for your daughter, you know, like in 20 minutes!!  Then I started thinking about the other 'safe' sandwiches we've ordered in other places?  Dear God I was a mess by the time I burst through their doors.  Squeeze bottles.  They use squeeze bottles.  They.  Use.  Squeeze.  Bottles.  They also put down a separate clean piece of parchment, donned new gloves, washed the knives and they made my baby a GF sandwich using squeezed on condiments!  I took my GF salami sandwich and went bowling.  Have to remember to tell Hugh he was worried for nothing!

Breakfast of gluten free champions

Breakfast of gluten free champions

'What to have for breakfast' is so often what I wake up thinking.  Well, okay maybe not actually when I wake up, but it comes to mind pretty quickly after rolling out of bed.  Rolling is not to be confused with bouncing energetically!  I am not a bouncer.  A slow roller maybe...  

After rousing the girls from their coma-like slumber, I head downstairs to the wonderful smell of fresh brewed coffee with the anticipation that Matt and Anne will probably have some exciting news for me.  Or maybe Al will tell me Southern California is going to get rain for the next week. Now that is my idea of good news!   I stand staring at the small TV in the kitchen, cup in hand, and the slow realization dawns 1) Al has once again let me down and 2) the girls will be down in a few minutes and that I must figure out something for breakfast.  BUT ~what will they eat?   ~what haven't i made lately? ~and what do i actually have in the house that can be made into a healthy scrumptious breakfast that can be consumed in less than 2 minutes?!  Matt?  Anne?  Surely you Al???  Nothing.  It's all me.  Familiar ring to it.    




Eggs. Organic, free range eggs are a naturally gluten free friend. Versatile. Easy. Healthy within limits. And 


Libby loves her eggs. Particularly fond of poached, will accept basted, and not a big fan of scrambled, which are Eleri's favorite. So let's talk poached. There are books written about the perfect poached egg. Hungry publisher? It is not difficult to poach an egg. No special egg poacher needed. Just a pan with water at least 2 inches deep. Bring to a boil.  Add a bit of salt.  Some add a splash of vinegar but I have never found it overly helpful.  Take a spoon and with a quick circle motion create a gentle whirlpool and gently slip the egg (already cracked into a small bowl) into the center of the whirlpool.  Repeat with up to 3 or 4 eggs, depending on the diameter of your pan.  Don't crowd.  The whites may still start to feather away from the yolk but just gently scoop them back to the egg.  Simmer gently for about 3 minutes or turn off heat and cover pan for 5 minutes.  Adjust timing for a softer yolk, or a little longer for a firmer yolk.  Remove with a large slotted spoon and  ~ here is where my grandmother proved her worth in the kitchen past grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup ~ take the heel from a loaf of GF bread and slide the egg from spoon to heel.  It's a great absorber.  A folded paper towel works just as well but that just doesn't evoke nearly as many memories!

Okay... your GF toast should just be popping up about now, butter it with some lovely fresh salted butter and slip that beautiful egg on its new perch.  Give a light sprinkle of sea salt, a grind of pepper (as long as you aren't serving it to my children!!), maybe a shaving of nice parmesan and hide the ketchup bottle from Eleri and my mom.  Eeeewwwww... whatever!