Midweek ramblings

This week, more so than a lot of weeks, I’m looking forward to the downhill slide of Thursday and Friday. It hasn’t been a bad week so far, just a week full of waiting for the poo to hit the fan. I’ve felt like I’ve been ducking all week, and all the while wondering if I’m even ducking in the right direction. The sword of Damocles has been held high all week, but I’m not confident that the thread from which it dangles is all that trustworthy!

Valentine’s Day was on Monday. I hate that I expect anything on this day, but deep down I do. I always go into that day mentally propped up for the worst, just in case, you know, and this year was no different. Of course, all that worry was for naught. Oh how I do love Mr. Boom!

Monday was also The Day That Chirp chirp Got Braces. She’s nearly 14, but has only lost a few baby teeth. Her four canines were pulled two years ago and still haven’t come through. Her mouth is tiny, but she’s definitely got her dad’s twisty curvy oversized teeth. This poor child hasn’t lost a single tooth without hours of trauma and buckets of tears. For her, the pain of a dentist visit begins when the dentist first gingerly puts a finger in her mouth. The numbing gel makes her cry. She’s very---sensitive.

Miracle of miracles, though, she was an absolute dream patient during the procedure to put the braces on. I was so incredibly proud of her, as well as really gobsmacked at how much mature she’s become over the past year. I thought about singing from the rooftops, but that might have embarrassed her….

Monday was also the day I took my grandma in for surgery. She was clearly suffering from a case of the nerves, and decided to take it out on me. I let her go on for a few minutes, then offered her the chance to get her own freaking ride to the hospital and find someone else to take the day off work to care for her afterwards…but maybe not in quite those exact same words. Maybe a little closer than they should have been, but anyway…

Her surgery went fine; I got her home, fed, tucked into bed, and then faced the daunting task of making a wonderful and memorable meal for my dear husband—who needed to eat in 25 minutes. After all he did for me, he got a measly 25 minute meal. I really should do something nice for him…

Tuesday: back to the hospital with grandma; back to the orthodontist with Chirp-chirp; back to work to handle some “situations” that came up while I was gone. Success on all three accounts, but still!

Tuesday also had me helping a rancher I’d just met search a creek for a little calf that may or may not have been born to a nearby cow in distress. There was a sort of “please find it, please don’t find it” track repeatedly running through my head. He called a hand in to take care of the cow (and the unborn calf?) while we continued our stream survey. I wonder how it turned out. Last I saw, the hand was pulling and pulling and pulling, trying to get the calf out.

Today I’m going to try to make pita bread for the first time. I *could* put it off for another day, but I guess I’m getting used to that sword over my head. Would a sword be an accessory? Does it make me look fat? What the heck is a fashion accessory anyway?

And is it Friday yet?

Happy Valentine's Day!

Mr. Boom outdid himself this year.

Theoretically, I don't believe in Valentine's Day.  It's a real trap of a day, which can so easily turn into a crap of a day.  Expectations are raised, attempts are made, hopes and dreams are dashed.  I was once married to a guy who pulled out all the stops on the big days of the year.  Our (three short) anniversaries were epic and public demonstrations of his fiery love for me.  The other days of the year were pretty much hell.  I would have traded the restaurant-full of patrons and staff toasting our love for a couple of turns vacuuming or doing dishes, or at least a little nod of appreciation for me engaging in those activities.

Oh wait, where was I?  Mr. Boom!!!! There for every single little day of the year and pulling out the stops on the big days of the year, too.

Last night, he ran to the grocery store, ostensibly to buy milk.  When he returned, I found he also had brought home flowers and espresso beans.  This morning, he woke me up with a handmade card that he started LAST SPRING!!!!  The piece de resistance?  Four little miniature spring form pans.  How freaking cute!

Obviously, I had to make his favorite dessert, french silk pie.  Miniaturized!  Chirp chirp cut out the little hearts to decorate the tops with.  We forgot to put them on the three we ate, but she remembered in time for the hearts to go on the fourth.

With or without hearts, this dessert is just as sweet.  Which is just nowhere near as sweet as Mr. Boom himself.  I love that man!

FFwD: Orange-Almond Tart

This week's French Fridays with Dorie Challenge was the orange-almond tart from her book Around My French Table.  This dish is made up of three parts--a pate brisee crust, an almond pastry cream, and fresh orange segments.  It's a good late winter recipe, with our markets so full of oranges and not much else.  See those apples on the counter? Those are the last of our stash from Mr. Boom's aunt's orchard.  Here in the north we just don't have all the fresh fruits that people in the southern climes are enjoying.  So yes, an orange tart is perfect here this time of year.

The recipe call for the oranges to be "supremed," or cut into segments minus the membranes.  These oranges were very small, though, and being navel oranges the segments were very twisty and irregular.  Had I supremed the fruits, I would have needed at least a dozen oranges.  Instead, I just cut these five oranges into thin slices.  The oranges are left to dry for a few hours, so I did these earlier on in the day and let them sit out on paper towels.

I did end up buying one "fancy" ingredient for the tart.  Almond flour has been popping up in more and more recipes I've been trying.  I usually just grind up my almonds in the food processor and call it good.  And really, it usually is just fine.  However, the last time I made french macarons, which of course was for a fancy baby shower, the nuts came out too lumpy and caused me no end of trouble.  So, I finally broke down and bought Bob's Red Mill Almond Flour.  This stuff is powdery, light, fluffy, and wonderful.  Should have done this years ago.  The price difference wasn't too much, about another 50% more, and those few dollars are dollars I'd gladly give up for the improvement in texture.

The almond pastry cream recipe was absolutely delicious.  I could have eaten the whole lot of it with a spoon and been on cloud nine.  Better than ice cream, and no ice cream brain freeze, either!

The recipe for the pate brisee, however, was a total bust.  I'll stick to my tried-and-true Nick Malgieri pate brisee recipe if I make this again.  Dorie's recipe kept cracking as I tried to roll it out, refused to hang together when I lifted it to put in the pan, and just wasn't as tasty overall as my go-to recipe. 

After multiple patches and much cursing, it did end up baking just fine. 

The pre-baked crust is filled with the almond pastry cream, and then the oranges are decoratively lain out over the top.  It looked so pretty at this point!  That last statement?  They call if foreshadowing in the biz....

I baked the tart for the called-upon amount of time, and it was nowhere near done.  I set the oven for another five minutes, then another five minutes, then another five minutes, then just plain forgot about it.

Oops.  Despite the heavy browning, the tart still tasted pretty nice.

However, I think next time I'll just make the cream and surreptitiously eat it all myself.