Meyer Lemon Bars

Lemon lemon. I just love them. I have a huge lemon tree at my backyard but the lemon is not that juicy as for my little meyer lemon plant, it’s not producing any fruits this year. Not sure why. My good friend Maria gave me some Meyer Lemons from her backyard and she told me she love lemon bars. So lemon bars it is. So I made some to share it with her and Linda. I prefer meyer lemons as they are more juicy and less tart. Hopefully my meyer plant will give me some fruits next year but if not I can always get some from Maria.

I used Ina Garter recipe but the next time I make this again I will cut down a bit of the flour for the filling as I like the filling to be softer. For the sugar I cut it down to 2 cups as meyer lemons are not that tangy so needed less sugar.

Pumpkin Tartlets

Is autumn and there are pumpkins everywhere so it is time to make some dessert out of it. I made these cute little tartlets for our Zumba Halloween Party in October. Yes we do eat dessert but in moderation ha ha… After a year of exercising 5 days a week I notice some changes in my eating habits and also my clothing. I don’t over indulge and eat everything in moderation. I do reward myself with some dessert every now and then. I didn’t lose a lot of weight but in some inches all over my body. I intend to keep it that way. I work too hard and make sure I don’t go back to my old habits… oh one more thing; I cut down on eating out. Outside food do have a lot of oil, sodium and also sugar. I guess that helps too.

Now back to these tartlets. Aren’t they cute? I made it into little bit size pieces so that everyone can have 1 or 2 pieces of it rather than having a big slice. But if you want, you can make it into a pie. I know some of you are not a fan of pumpkin but do give this a try. You might like it.

Mixed Fruits Frangipane Tart

I always have weakness for cute and dainty little fruit tarts. I just love baking them when I have overload of berries or stone fruits in my fridge. I usually buy a lot of them during summer and toward end of the week they don’t look too good anymore so I will usually incorporate them into my bake goods like these tarts.

These tarts not only pretty they taste really good too. With the flaky buttery pastry, sweet and nuttiness of the filling and the fruits provides a slight tartness to the tarts. They were just prefect to have it with a cup of coffee or tea after a meal.

Palm Sugar Coconut Tarts

Carlos has been asking me to make some coconut tarts for the longest time and I finally made some for him last week. I think the last time I made these were a few years ago. I used the same recipe for the pastry of my previous coconut tarts and did some changes on the filling. Since I have quite a bit of palm sugar or gula Melaka brought from Malaysia I decided to use it in the filling as coconut always goes well palm sugar. True enough, we prefer this version of coconut filling to the one using white sugar. These little tarts look so cute and great to have it for afternoon tea. I am planning to make some again for our upcoming tea party. If you can’t find palm sugar you can always replace it with dark brown sugar.

Mini Apple Tartlets

I often have to remind myself not to buy too many apples but I still get carried away and overstocked them. I usually used them in juice but my doctor advised me to cut back on that as it is better to eat them than juicing it. Since I still have a big bag in the fridge and I need to clear them up before I fly back to Malaysia I decided to peel them all and cook it down. With 10 large apples I managed to cook it down to 4 cups. This recipe makes about 20 medium size tartlets and I share them with my zumba buddies. These mini tartlets are the perfect little dessert.

Pear Tarts

One of my neighbors gave us some pear a few weeks ago. Carlos is not a fan of pears and as for me I am just too lazy to chew on apple or pear. In order not to let it go to waste I used it for baking. I used some for making these tarts and some for cakes (will post the recipe up later) I am not a fan of soggy filling so I cooked down the pear first. We just love these tarts especially the flaky pastry and not so sweet pear filling. The tart is delicious with a dollop of whipped cream or you can even serve it warm with some vanilla ice-cream.

 

 

Ingredients for Filling:

3 pound of pears (I used Asian pears but you can use any type)
1/2 cup brown sugar (more if you like it sweeter)
1 tsp lemon zest
2 tbsp butter

Tarta De Dulce De Membrillo /Quince Tart

This particular tart is very popular in Argentina. You can see it in every bakery shops or cafes. This is a simple tart feacturing a filing of ruby red dulce de membrillo (mem-bree-yoh) or quince paste. Sometime this tart can be found with dulce de leceh, sweet potato (dulce de batata), guava paste (dulce de guayaba) fillings too but the authentic one is using dulce de membrillo. It is usually eaten with a cup of coffee or mate .

Like most of Argentine recipes, this tart owes its existence to the Italian immigrants who made Argentina their home during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Carlos being an Italian grew up eating this tart and I even bought a few Spanish cookbooks( I can’t seems to find any English cook book there) so I can make some of the Argentinean desserts and dishes for him.

Mini Fruit Tartlets with Mascarpone Cheese Filling

Holiday season is just around the corner and I am sure some of you are planning on what to cook and bake. I just baked some fruit cakes over the weekend and now it is aging in the fridge and I will douse it with a bit of brandy every now and then. I will be giving it away just before Christmas. Hope it will be ready to eat during Christmas.

I am a bit compulsive when come to buying fruits especially when I see nice and plump blackberries or raspberries even though I have no plan to bake anything. Then it will be sitting in the fridge for a few days and then I have to crack my head on what to do with it before it goes bad. So I made some mini tartlets with it. I think these dainty little tartlets are ideal for entertaining; and you can garnish it with any fruits you like. I gave some to my neighbor and she told me that she ate 8 pieces at one go and I told her it is not as bad as they were very tiny ha ha..

Fresh Fig Tarts with Pastry Cream and Walnut Crust

I love the taste and smell of figs especially Mission figs. It is earthy and mildly sweet and I can’t resist buying two boxes of it when I saw them at the Asian supermarket. Then I fall sick and it has been sitting in the fridge for 2 weeks and I finally get to do something with it late last week. Thank god they were all still good except for one of it.

I never tasted fresh fig until I came to America over 15 years ago. It was at the New York Union Square farmers market. I bought a box of it out of curiosity and fell in love with it ever since. I will always buy some when it is in season. Normally I will just have it fresh with yogurt with a bit of honey but this time I decided to make some tarts and garnish it with these fresh beauties. It's almost too pretty to eat but we are not letting this creation go to waste, though and we devour them up in no time ;)

Mini Chicken Pot Pies

I baked these for Diana so she can take it to work when I am back to San Francisco. I was there in New York to take care of her since she had her foot surgery and she will be on crutches for at least 3 weeks. I try to prepare food that can be freeze up so she can just warm it up easily. With lack of ingredients and tools I still managed to bake something decent ha ha... But the area she is living at is very convenient. Shops, supermarkets and produce places are all within walking distance so it is not so bad. I wish I can stay here longer to take care of her but I can’t as I have doctor appointment and also someone very dear to me will be visiting next week before our trip to Argentina to see Carlos family.

I made short crust pastry for these pies and with the little leftover filling I used store bought puff pastry to make a 2 serving pie for us to have it for our dinner with some tomato salad. Like always I just used cream of mushroom soup for the filling to save me the hassle of getting small carton milk just for it since both of us only drink soy milk.

Fresh Salmon and Spinach with Parsley Pastry Lattice Tart

I am a very simple when come to cooking and baking. I don’t like complicated recipes that requires a lot of work or ingredients. But once a while when my crazy mood strike I will attempt something that requires a bit more work especially in baking. Like this tart, the pastry requires an extra step of chopping the parsley and also doing the lattice for the top. Since I have some leftover cheeses in my fridge it is a great way to finish them up too as I used both Ricotta and Parmesan cheese for the filling. Well it turns out pretty good and we had this tart for our dinner accompanied by a green salad and for the other tart I gave it to my neighbor.

Plum Frangipane Tart

I have lots of plums from the backyard tree. They were super sweet and juicy and actually they were the best plums that I’ve even tasted. I Google to find what type of plum this is and they were called Satsuma Japanese Plum. They were a bit smaller than the regular plums, solid red skin, and firm with dark red flesh. They were rich in carbohydrates and Vitamin A and C, calcium, potassium, and iron. It contains high amounts of fiber too. Like other fruits, plums are also low in calories and contain no sodium, saturated fat or cholesterol. We love eating them fresh but with so many of it I reserved some to make jam and also tarts. Actually we are able to finish it all but it is just an excuse for me to do some baking with it :)

I used some of the plums to make frangipane tart. It turns out really well. The pastry dough is buttery and crunchy, the sweet and a hint of bitter tart plums (from the skin) compliment so well with the aromatic sweet almond filling. This is a dessert for summer!

Strawberry Tart

We have been enjoying high 60’s to low 70’s weather here in CA even though it is still winter. I already see a lot of cheap strawberries at the supermarket shelves and they are pretty cheap. I paid only $1.78 a punnet and have been buying it every other day. The one I bought last week were not as sweet so I decided to use it to make tart. The tart turns out beautifully – the slight tartness of the strawberries compliments the pastry cream really well. Carlos said it is one of the best tart he ever eaten. I think he just said that to make me happy ha ha.....

Turkey Sausage with Mushroom Galette

18 more days and we will move out of this house and I am a bit overwhelmed now. Zue came and visit me today and I gave her my curry and kaffir lime plants. It saddens to see it go but I can’t bring the plant into CA but I know Zue will take good care of it. I tried packing up as much as I could especially the personal stuffs and the rest I am just going to leave it for the packers and movers. Carlos will be home next weekend and take care and co-ordinate the move. I miss him a lot and it is no fun being all alone here. I can’t wait to see him. Anyway, back to the galette.

This past two weeks I’ve been trying to clear up my freezer and fridge. Man, there was so much crap I freeze in there ha ha.. From meat, seafood, fruits, vegetables, pastries and etc.. I can use all of it to feed an army without buying anything from the supermarket. I made this galette with some the leftover turkey sausage and pastry I had in there. Galette is a free form pastry that can be filled with savory or sweet fillings. They can be served as appetizer, a meal or dessert. It is incredibly versatile and simply delicious.

Fruity Cake Tarts

How was your Christmas celebration? I hope all of you get all you wanted from Santa. I must be really good this year as I got what I wish for and very happy with all my gifts. I got Canon Macro EF 100mm lens , a GSP (for me to zoom around with it when I am in SF), Nordic Heritage Bundt Pan ,Emile Henry Tarte Tatin Pan and etc…Life is good!! I can’t wait to use all of them.

Ok let’s end the year posting with something pretty and sweet. 1 made these pretty little cake tarts for our Christmas dinner dessert. Instead of the usual tart with pastry I made one with sponge cake. I didn’t bake the cake as I already put away all my baking pans so I just used the store bought plain sponge cake and top it with nutella and fruits. If you like to make this you can always bake your sponge cake in a muffin pan, once it is done hollow out the center and top it with nutella and fruits.

Mushrooms Tarts

I made these tarts as our appetizer before our Thanksgiving dinner. This year we just had something simple as we are in the mid of packing and moving. So there is no turkey for us as I don’t want to have any leftovers. I roasted a Crispy Skin Roast Chicken with a few side dishes. As for this appetizer, I just used store bought puff pastry but if you like to make your own pastry you can always do so. They are easy to make and look sophisticated too and great for party. All you have to do is pre-baked the tart shells, cook the mushrooms and assemble it when your guests arrive.

Portuguese Egg Tarts

These are such a delightful little treats. Diana and I could never resist them whenever we see them at the Asian Bakery or at the dim sum place. I’ve made some egg tarts using the short-crust pastry before and this is the first time I am trying my hand in making Portuguese egg tart which have a flakier type of pastries. I went online to check on the recipe and most of them used store bought puff pastry for the crust which I am not too keen of using. In the end I used the recipe of a Dim Sum book I bought many years ago. The pastry turns out pretty flaky but I wish they were a bit tenderer. I think the next time I will try out Shirley of Kokken69 recipe for the pastry as they look so soft and tender.

I don’t think I will put up the recipe for the pastry here until I perfect it but I am posting up the recipe of the custard filling which I got it from Christine’s Recipe.

Cherry Frangipane Tarts

Cherries are a must have summer treats. They are great in dessert or simply popping them in your mouth. There are still plenty of cherries out there but for now I can only find the Bing cherries and not the Rainier. They are both different in color and flavor. Bing cherry has a deep red skin with similar colored flesh while the Rainier has translucent flesh and yellow skin with a rosy hue. I prefer Rainier because they are bigger, much sweeter and more refined in flavor. They have a very short season of availability, so I will always grab some when I see them. I splurged quite a bit of $$$ each season on this particular fruit as they are the most costly than the regular Bing cherry. Anyway, I reserved some of it to use it in the frangipane tarts. There recipe is the same as Peach Frangipane Tarts and I re-post it here again.

Here is a bit of history on Rainier Cherry.
From WiseGeek

Rainier cherries are especially large, sweet cherries developed by researchers at Washington State University. These cherries are highly prized in the Pacific Northwest for their superb flavor, and several nations, including Japan, also import large amounts of Rainier cherries when they are in season. As a general rule, Rainier cherries are more costly than other cherry varieties, but some consumers feel that the added price is worth the superb flavor.

Thanks Michelle and Karen for the cherry trees pictures.

These cherries were bred in 1952 by crossing the well-known Bing variety with the Van cultivar. The result was an unusually large golden to orange cherry with sweet yellow flesh. The pomologists who developed the Rainier cherry named it after Mount Rainier, a landmark in Washington State, and a number of cherry orchards began producing the crop commercially. Several things distinguish the Rainier cherry from other cherry varieties. The first is the unusual and distinctive color discussed above. Rainiers also have a tender texture which is almost creamy, and their sweetness is much higher than that of ordinary cherries. Many producers wait until their cherries are at the peak of sweetness before picking, so that they can negotiate the best price for them. This can expose farmers to loss, because birds are big fans of the sweet fruit, and they can consume up to a third of a crop.

Peach-Frangipane Tarts

Every supermarket shelves are brimming with summer fruits like nectarines, plums, peaches, cherries, berries and I love them all. I like eating them as it is but at times I will get some not so sweet ones so I will use them in my baking and they taste equally good. I wanted to try my hand at making frangipane tarts and with a handful of peaches left in my fridge, I thought it was time. The tarts taste so good and I regret not making this sooner. I am definitely going to bake this again and it will be with some other fruits.

Ingredients for Pastry:
From My Kitchen Snippets

210 gram flour
113 gram cold butter – cut into cubes
2 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg yolk
1-2 tbsp cold water

Mini Tuna Tarts

We were hit by two snowy days last week. When it snow I like stay at home, curl up near the fireplace with a cup of hot Milo and watch TV. I’ve been watching so much TV especially the Food Channel, TLC and Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) until my head nearly go bonkers. So I decided to take a break from TV and bake something. I made these little mini tarts so we can have it for our afternoon tea.

These quick and flavorful tarts are easy to make. If you don’t feel like making the dough from scratch you can always use store bought short crust pastry or puff pastry. As for the filling, no cooking required. Just used canned tuna and a few other ingredients and you have fresh tarts with you tea. These tarts are great for entertaining too.