A few of my friends make this tart and they have variations that involve adding feta cheese and all are great adaptations, but here’s the original.

Fresh Tomato Tart

• 1 10-inch pie crust
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella
• 3 tbs chopped fresh basil, divided
• 1 large clove garlic, sliced into 8 slivers
• 6-8 plum tomatoes, cut lengthwise into 1/2 inch slices
• 1 1/2 tbs olive oil
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• Freshly grated parmesan cheese, optional

Place piecrust in tart pan or glass pie plate.  Generously prick bottom and sides of pastry, bake at 400 for 5 minutes.

Sprinkle cheese in pie crust.  Top with 2 tbs basil, sprinkle garlic across cheese and basil.  Arrange tomato slices on top. Brush with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Place baking sheet on lower rack in oven.

Bake at 400 for 35-40 minutes(this time varies, mine took 30 minutes tonight). You may need to cover with foil as the crust turns golden brown to prevent burning. Remove from oven and sprinkle with remaining basil. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.  Optional-top with freshly grated parmesan cheese.

With the motivation to keep the tomato tarts coming in the early years, we now have enough children to empty the pie plate in one sitting!

And plenty of volunteers to hold the food for blog pictures.

If you thought the title might suggest a delectable egg inspired recipe, you guessed wrong.  If frittatas and omelets float your boat I’m sorry to disappoint you.  For my taste an egg is at its best when it’s blended, disguised, and then transformed into pancakes, meatloaf, and today, into a muffin.

I went to bed with these muffins in mind(actually with the book open on the counter in the hopes that Mr. Darcy would “surprise” me with a sweet offering). Thinking ahead to a rain-dripped day after two weeks of wintry mix blended with four poor, sick, coughing children and the idea of another long day in the house-only a sunny recipe could get the morning off with rose-tinted glasses.

Dorie Greenspan’s Great Grains muffin recipe has been my go to recipe for a cheerful sunny breakfast over the past month.  Fourth or fifth time in the making, I could already taste the cornmeal and oatmeal texture, the golden maple syrup, the dried fruit and nuts.  Served with a slice of sharp cheddar quickly melting with the warmth, it’s light where the sun don’t shine.  It’s the muffin to get me through the last winter days into the fresh berry muffins around the corner.

I heart Dorie Greenspan+Baking.

Great Grain Muffins
from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking from My Home to Yours

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/3 cup old-fashioned oats
• 1/3 cup cornmeal
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tsps baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk(or regular milk combined with 1 tbs lemon juice to make one cup)
• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
• 2 large eggs
• 1 stick(8tbs) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 3/4 cup moist, plump prunes or other dried fruits and/or nuts(I used dried cranberries and chopped pecans)

1.Preheat 400 degrees.  Spray muffin pan or use muffin liners.

2.In a large bowl whisk together dry ingredients.  In large glass measuring cup whisk together the wet ingredients.  Pour liquid over dry ingredients and with whisk or spatula gently and quickly mix by hand.  If the batter is a bit lumpy, don’t worry.  Stir in fruit or nuts and divide batter amongst the cups.

3.Bake for 18-20 minutes or until tops are golden and thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean(it take less time in my oven, so watch carefully).  Transfer to a rack and cool for 5 minutes and then lift muffins from pan and cool on rack.

4.Serve with butter, cream cheese, slice of cheddar, jam, or plain.

5.Smile, the sun will come out tomorrow.

This a messy undertaking, embrace it from the beginning and it will make the next fours hours less surprising. All in all, aside from a few sketchy moments when the candy thermometer sunk into the boiling concoction on the stove, these impressive little things were not very difficult.  The hardest part was leaving the pan alone for 3 hours before cutting them.  A test of will power, but worth the bragging rights earned on the other side.

For the recipe, along with step by step instructions and a good chuckle, head over to the source of today’s inspiration, Oui, Chef.

The recipe I came across in my new Farm Chicks in the Kitchen cookbook brought a completely new spin to our granola tastebuds.  I perused the ingredients: unsweetened coconut, pecans, crunchy peanut butter, honey, and cinnamon.  Just the change of pace we needed to refresh our yogurt bowls.

I’ve made this recipe twice now and it’s going in the regular granola rotation.

Crunchy Granola
from the The Farm Chicks in the Kitchen

• 6 cups old fashioned oats
• 2 cups shredded unsweetened coconut
• 2 cups pecan halves
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1/2 packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 tsps ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix the granola: Heat the oven to 325 degrees.  Combine the oats, coconut, and pecans in a large mixing bowl. Combine the oil, brown sugar, peanut butter, honey, cinnamon, and vanilla in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir until smooth.  Pour over the oat mixture and stir until well combined.

Bake the granola: Line a large shallow baking pan with foil and spread the mixture in the pan.  Bake until browned-about 50 minutes-stirring every 10 minutes with a large spatula.  Cool in the pan on a wire rack; then stir once more.  Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Notes: The granola comes together quickly.  The cooking time takes patience but it’s the best way to get the granola evenly toasted and yet not burned.  I’ve had the best luck finding unsweetened coconut at Whole Foods.  I don’t recommend storing it in the freezer between uses, it’s very hard to separate a cup of coconut from a white frozen block.  Try the fridge instead.

I don’t have a picture of the fully cooked recipe, so go ahead and make your own and send me a picture when you get a chance.

Hop over here to get the full, printable recipe.

Notes: We skipped the tabasco during the cooking phase and added it at our plates, in order to keep this kid friendly.  If you’re feeling brave in this New Year, go for the spice from the start.  The finished pot also needed an extra toss of salt and pepper.  We tried serving these over cooked rice the first night and it was fine but they were actually much better on their own, no stingy rice trying to dull down the flavors.
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You should make these cookies immediately if you:

• Breathe
• Like the combination of chocolate and peppermint
• Are addicted to Trader Joe’s Chocolate Peppermint Joe Joe’s
• Have long curly-hair and live around the corner from me
• Happen to be my best friend who lives in Texas

After planning a cranberry dessert for Mr. Darcy, my sister and I set our minds to find something less fruit-flavored as a second offering.  We decided to give my new cookbook a test run with this recipe for Peppermint Patty Cookies.  Lovely, lovely goodness, and not at all difficult.  Just give yourself an extra hour to chill the dough. Well, hurry, you’ll need to get started now if you’re going to eat them soon.

Don’t let the title, Peppermint Patties, fool you. I don’t even like peppermint patties. Think Peppermint hot chocolate cookie.  Get your beaters ready.

Peppermint Patties(or Peppermint Oreos)
from the The Farm Chicks in the Kitchen

• 14 tbs unsalted butter, softened
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour, plus 2 tbs
• 1/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
• 1  1/2 tsp peppermint extract
• 1 tsp milk or light cream
• 2 cups milk chocolate chips(or bittersweet bar, such as Scharffen-Berger)

Prepare the dough:
Cream 10 tbs butter in large bowl. Add granulated and brown sugars until fluffy.  Beat in egg yolk and vanilla. Add flour, cocoa powder, and salt with the mixer on low speed, beating until combined.  Roll the dough into a 10 x 2 inch log, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Bake the cookies:
Preheat 375 degrees.  Cut dough into 1/4 inch slices.  Place 1 inch apart on sheet(they will not spread).  Beat until just firm to the touch, 7-8 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool(cookies will break if you allow them to cool on cookie sheet).

Fill the cookies:
Cream the remaining butter, confectioner’s sugar, peppermint extract, and milk in a small bowl with mixer until blended. Sandwich the cooled cookies with filling.

(We almost skipped this next step, but decided at the last minute to dip a handful of them and they really completed the taste.)

Dip the Cookies:
Melt chocolate of choice, dip half cookie in melted chocolate and place on parchment or wax paper until chocolate is firm.

Notes: We added the green and red tint to the cream for added snap to these cookies.  Next time, to mimic the TJ’s cookies that we love so much, I’ll crush a few candy canes or peppermints into tiny pieces and mix it into the filling before adding to the cookies.

Last week we jump-started the oven with two days of cranberry recipes to appease the growing dissatisfaction of Mr. Darcy.

Our mission came to a standstill Wednesday when Christmas preparations took full attention.  For our Christmas dessert I had hoped to gain back the momentum with the recipe he’d asked for all along, Apple Cranberry Crisp, but the day ran away from us(as we made Chicken Crepes and steamed carrots with nutmeg) and we ended up with leftover coffee cake and ice cream.  The day after Christmas we lived off of our couch, leftover crepes, and the chocolate in our stockings(okay, apricots for the husband, do you see a fruit theme here?).

Today, Mr. Darcy simply didn’t rise from bed, so like the good wife that I am (ahem, ignoring the cranberry recipe neglect accusations), I made him a special breakfast: Apple Cranberry Baked Oatmeal. I’m finally starting to understand his love for cranberries in the same way he now, after 10 years, doesn’t turn his head at a few bites of cookie dough and brownie batter.  We’ve enlightened each other.

The recipe is from King Arthur’s Whole Grain Baking Cookbook.  It’s actually the same recipe as the Blueberry Baked Oatmeal posted in the spring, so I’ll just show you some pictures and mention how to make this variation, then you can head over to the original post for the details.

It’s best if the now awake husband is willing to clean the dirty dishes involved in making his special, surprise breakfast.

Oatmeal Cranberry Variation(see Blueberry Baked Oatmeal for complete recipe)

Add 1/2 cup dried cranberries(we used about 3/4 cup fresh, chopped cranberries) and replace blueberries with 1   1/ 2 cups of peeled, diced apple.  Replace 2 cups of the water with apple juice or cider.

As I forged through the stores yesterday evening, for my final(fingers crossed)trip through the stores, I called him at home.

“So did you see what we made for you today?”

Baby noises and siblings abounded in the background, “Oh yeah, I noticed something on the counter, I haven’t unwrapped it though.”

“Did you read my blog today?”

Dishes like cymbals joined the symphony behind him, “What? No.”

I took a more plaintive route, “It has cranberries in it.”

“Oh,” his voice lifted, “I’m going to have to get to that soon.”

Surrendering to dinner hour with 4 children and the relentless pull of present hunting, I said goodbye.

Two hours and too many purchases later, one weary body arrived home to greet an equally tired husband.

“It was good,” he smiled at me from the couch.

“Thanks,” I dropped my bags and said silently to myself, “It better be since it’s your only christmas present after I spent the rest of our savings on gifts tonight.”

From my warm nest in our bed this morning, I overheard several fond comments about a breakfast of cranberry bread.  Promising, but I sensed another cranberry recipe was still needed.

Lucky for me it arrived in my rss feeds this morning, Honey Cranberry Cornmeal Quickbread.  I know, you’re thinking, “Another bread?”  But the key, seductive ingredient is the cornmeal.  My husband has recently taken to grinding corn in our grain grinder for everything from porkchops to muffins.  Ready to come home, Mr. Darcy?

For a full, printable recipe, head over to Joy the Baker

Notes: I substituted sucanat with honey for the white sugar, pecans for the walnuts, and made buttermilk with plain milk and lemon juice.  This is a terrific recipe.  I want to say that it’s my favorite of the two, but they are very different breads(cranberry and orange versus cranberry and cornmeal), they each have their place. The second has an extra hint of sophistication.