Sunday, July 26, 2009

rustic apple tarte


rustic apple tarte, originally uploaded by KristaFromVista.

I guess I've kinda been in a baking mood lately...


By popular demand, I am including the recipe I used to make this. Most of the time when I cook, I am really bad at following recipes or recording exactly what I do. My process is very whimsical. But, I will try to give a basic summary of what I did here.

I started with the dough. It’s pretty basic: flour, cold cubed butter, cold water, a tiny bit of sugar and a splash of agave nectar. Mix, press, fold, refold, repress into a rectangle. (You could also save yourself from time by using a pre-made baking dough from the store.) Then, I took one large egg, 1-2 teaspoons cold water and whisked them together to make an egg wash that I brushed across the entire top of the dough. Finally, I took a sharp knife and scored about a one-inch border along the edge.

Next, I added the apples. I used Fujis here because it’s what I had in my fridge, but granny smith or pink lady apples would probably do well too. I sliced the apple thin lengthwise and then cut the slices in half. Then, I took about 1 Tablespoon butter and ½ teaspoon white granulated sugar (I like using the Sugar in the Raw kind) and microwaved them for about 30 seconds in a small-ish bowl. I added the apple slices to the bowl just to coat them slightly and then layered them on the dough. I poured a left-over butter/sugar mix across the top of the apples, and sprinkled some granulated white sugar along the edges of the dough.

Bake 400 degrees F for 20-25 minutes.

Finally, right after I took the tart out of the oven, I added a glaze. To make the glaze, I mixed about ¼ cup apple sauce and 1 Tablespoon butter in the microwave. Just spread It over the top of the apples and serve warm or room temp. VoilĂ  ! :-)



my yummy apple tarte

Saturday, July 18, 2009

I've entered some of my recent photographs into The Southern California Face and Places Photo Contest, a competition sponsored by the San Diego Union Tribune (and a bunch of other places) that is a showcase of the very best of photography in and around Southern California. In addition to being a juried photo contest that offers great exposure to both professional and amateur photographers, there is "Peoples' Choice" competition where anyone from the general public can vote for entries by category. If you or anyone you know would like to vote for any of my entries, you can do this via any one of the links below.

Amateur--Single Entry--Nature/Environment
Nautilus: San Diego Convention Center
Nautilus
CLICK HERE TO VOTE

Amateur--Single Entry--People
Sister Love in Black and White
Sister Love in Black and White
CLICK HERE TO VOTE

Amateur - Series Entry - People
Slippin'-n-Slidin'
Slippin n Slidin 1 CLICK HERE TO VOTE Slippin n Slidin 2 CLICK HERE TO VOTE
Slippin n Slidin 3 CLICK HERE TO VOTE Slippin n Slidin 4 CLICK HERE TO VOTE
Slippin n Slidin 5 CLICK HERE TO VOTE Slippin n Slidin 6 CLICK HERE TO VOTE

If you are interested in learning more about this contest, here is their main site: http://socalphotocontest.com

Thanks!