salted cinnamon dulce de leche tart with whiskey whipped cream

" Another year gone, leaving everywhere 
its rich spiced residues: vines, leaves,

the uneaten fruits crumbling damply
in the shadows, unmattering back

from the particular island
of this summer, this NOW, that now is nowhere

except underfoot, moldering 
in that black subterranean castle

of unobservable mysteries - roots and sealed seeds
and the wandering of water. This

I try to remember when time's measure
painfully chafes, for instance when autumn

flares out at the last, boisterous and like us longing
to stay - how everything lives, shifting

from one bright vision to another, forever 
in these momentary pastures."

~ Fall Song, by Mary Oliver 

There's a peculiar, raw umber coloured piece of gnarled wood on one of my ceiling beams. Depending on what shade of mood I'm in, it either resembles a whimsical Mark Twain with a daisy tucked behind one ear, or the foreboding profile of a clown (aren't most clowns a bit ominous, anyway?).  I stare at this nonconformist bit of gnarled wood as I'm polishing off the last few minutes of yoga (or pseudo napping on the sofa). This morning, whilst enjoying my morning coffee, I happened to gaze upon it from a different angle. Instead of a brilliant, wild-haired writer or psychotic clown, I saw a Celtic ash tree with three stoic ravens + spiraling branches that appeared to be leaning away from a glacial northerly wind. I suddenly felt morose. The newly discovered tree is bewitching, but its bare boned silhouette and stark sentinels remind me of November's abruptness. How is it possible that the leaves have already fallen so completely from every tree? I still have lofty plans for 2014. The me from last March is pacing, anxiously, hoping that this time things will be different. The thought of another unending heartless winter, claustrophobic eight hour days; not being capable of quieting the ghosts who ask me to try the impossible, again & again ...it's almost too much to bear.

This time of year always saturates my thoughts with fevered woes, worries, aspirations & whimseys that were never fully wrung out. Contrary to my contrary self, I'm still ridiculously hopeful. More than likely, it's the remnants of a willful head cold.

Red Grape Tart with Rosemary Almond Cookie Crust

"The clocks of flowers rise, it's April
and yellow and these seconds are an autopsy
of this word,
         suddenly."

~ Bob Hicok, from "So I know" 

Spring is cautious this year. I imagine a cellist who somehow feels estranged from her beloved instrument. When sunlight spills through my morning window, I feel her raising a tentative bow and bringing it to pulsating strings; but as I hold my breath there's a missed heartbeat - - an eleventh hour hesitation. Instead of creating music and violets, she sighs and softly shoves her tidings aside with a slippered foot. Tomorrow, perhaps...

I'm waiting, patiently, for strawberries. Unfortunately the season is too young and off its mark. Every berry-filled green carton I find at the grocery store is a disappointment. This was an unplanned grape tart.

Chocolate Coconut Cream Tartlets

Well hello there, stranger. And a reluctant goodbye to September. Sorry for the brief absence. I have an excuse - it's going to make me appear sloth-like but that's okay (I did go on a few runs in between bouts of lethargy). Ever the late bloomer, I've recently become addicted to HBO's Boardwalk Empire. By addicted, I mean addicted. After watching two seasons (I'm halfway through the third), I'm convinced I was born in the wrong era - in a former life I must have been involved in bootlegging (moonshine?). Also, Richard Harrow is one the best television characters. Ever.

The binge-TV watching trend is new-to-me and I'm on the fence about it. For a few days I lived on coffee, soup, yoghurt, and Netflix. Getting back into the kitchen felt good. Returning to the drama of photography, however, gave me a headache - just as predicted. Which is exactly why I chose to bake something with coconut. When a photo sesh gets feisty, I like to take solace in my tasty subjects. Coconut, with its airy nonchalance, always makes me happy.

Fig Galette

Every now and then I'll wander through the day as though I'm a complete stranger in my own story. Reality feels distant, like hazy winter sunlight. Two hours will pass in what feels like a matter of minutes, bright colours appear muted, and yawns come a little too frequently. I'm not sure why these surreal days occur - too much caffeine the previous evening, strange weather, a shift in the cosmos? Wherever they come from, whatever the cause, they're perfect for reading. Nothing is more appealing to my inner, head-in-the-clouds, introvert like getting lost in a book (preferably when the weather is misty, and grey, and there's a batch of homemade tomato soup and an errant loaf of ridiculously crusty bread on hand).

"Foggy" days, however, are not ideal for making layer cakes, or attempting crossword puzzles with a pen. Last week, after a long day spent reading and several unsuccessful cat naps, I tried to make a birthday cake - it was a disaster. The oven bed still bears a few scars from overstuffed cake pans (I absolutely hate cleaning my oven!). Even on good days my relationship with layer cakes is a shaky one. So until I feel like slipping on the proverbial oven mitts again, I'll stick with what I know. Pies, tarts, and galattes...oh, how I love thee!

Lemon Tart with Lemon-Vanilla Sablé Crust

"I wanted to stay as I was
still as the world is never still,
not in midsummer but the moment before
the first flower forms, the moment
nothing is as yet past-"

~ Louise Glück, opening lines to "The Doorway," in The Wild Iris

Part of me still thinks it's April. That splintered half is always slightly behind - yet always happy, and hopeful. The here-and-now me knows it's June 28th. Very soon I'll hear the *woosh* of hot air balloons overhead and my other, other half - the one who's always a grey spot on a stormy, yellow field - will give me a subtle nod from up ahead, signaling that this is the half-way point of something I don't want to come to an end. (Sometimes it's better to ignore each other.)

Summer. The word itself is light golden, and billowy like a thin sail. Oh, how I love summer. If only I could capture it in a butterfly net and hold it captive for two extra months.

Dark Chocolate & Walnut Caramel Tartlets

Happy Monday! And to my East coast friends who are about to ride out the Frankenstorm, please be careful. (And remember to stock up on the essentials...batteries, blankets, pet supplies, cookies, brownies, and rum!)

Can you believe that Halloween is this Wednesday already?! I love Halloween. I just wish that we could relish the autumn season a little bit longer instead of having to run face-first into a barrage of holiday paraphernalia. As soon as Halloween is over it's a crazy-mad race until the end of December.

I still want to be enveloped by shades of orange, and russet, and earthy browns. And I want to inhale the smoky scent of burning leaves, spiced apple cider, and warm cinnamon-sugar doughnuts. My finger-less Oliver Twist gloves are not ready for retirement. Nor is my desire to bake with pumpkin, and butterscotch, and caramel.

Yes, caramel is an ingredient for all seasons. But its sultry-burnt flavour will always procure swirling images of falling leaves and cadet blue skies tinged with a smoldering, hazy sun.

Caramel-Chocolate Apple Tart

Smitten taste buds are intoxicating.

I can't dig deep enough into my eclectic bag of vocabulary to find the words that will properly convey the jaw-dropping elation that your taste buds will encounter upon biting into this tart.

If you're familiar with the delirious, beautiful anxiety that's felt just before seeing someone you're madly in love with, it's kind of like that...only the epic story is unfolding inside your mouth.

And before you know it, the excitement, that giddy feeling of walking on clouds, has spread to your stomach and your hands and finally your toes. Chairs are no longer chairs, but dance partners. Dance partners who won't mind that you're waltzing around with a forkfull of sticky caramel tart. And you won't mind the sticky caramel that's falling on the newly-washed floor, because you'll be too busy listening to your humming taste buds.

You might even be convinced that it's May, and that the sunshine outside is hazy, not icy. And that the coloured leaves are just tree confetti, because the trees are so that You're happy.

Isn't being in love wonderful? Even if it's brief, and especially if it's a caramel-chocolate apple tart.

Lemon Meringue Tartlets

Had I been born a lemon, I would aspire to be made into a luscious tart adorned with a crown of fluffy, toasted meringue. (And I'd advise my lemon boyfriend to avert his eyes when one of those saucy limes rolls by.)

Strawberry Frangipane Tartlets

Don't ever go grocery shopping on an empty stomach. It makes you act like as though you've never had anything to eat before, and that the world is going to come to an end if you don't buy everything in sight...or at least touch it one last time.

What the heck is a grapple? (I don't know, but I still have four of them staring back at me whenever I open the refrigerator.)

One of the perks of my latest hunger-induced, mindless shopping excursions; Almond paste. I hardly ever buy almond paste because I always end up eating it before I can actually bake something.

This time I threw 2 packages in the cart. Thank you, bossy stomach.

Tuesdays with Dorie: Normandy Apple Tart

If you're still trying to undoing some Thanksgiving damage, but you are not going to give up dessert anytime soon, this tart may be just what you're looking for. It's a refreshing break from all the rich, heavy foods that were (and are about to be) consumed during the holiday season.

Lemon Chess Tart

Why do some drivers insist on keeping their cars 10-inches away from the rear of mine, as though we're caught in some cosmic, magnetic force field. Can't they see the gigantic tank going 10 miles under the speed limit that's right in front of me?

I'm the Jan Brady of the road. It seems like I'm almost always sandwiched between a slow driver and a speedaholic. But maybe we all think of ourselves this way...as good drivers who run into not-so-good drivers. I'm sure if I struck up a conversation with the tortoise and the hare, both would complain about each other, and me for being in the way of their unspoken feud.

Brûléed Key Lime Tartlets

How has your weekend been so far? I'm happy to report that the temperature has finally caught up with the season, although sadly it bypassed spring, completely. Literally overnight, the trees sprouted wee celery green leaves + the annoyingly darling dandelions are peeking through blades of too-high grass. Cold weather has finally relinquished its iron grip there is a lush heaviness that carries the aroma of lilacs & daffodils.

My mother prefers the chill of autumn & early spring, while I relish in the heat and humidity of summer. Oddly enough, her personality is warm and sunny. I'm the one who, at times, can be a bit icy and reticent; except while writing & baking, of course.

I wonder if there is a science behind what season one prefers? They say that what we dislike the most in other people usually depends upon what we see in ourselves. But who are 'they,' and how far can that theory be taken? Certainly not to food, I hope! Because I hate Brussels sprouts & liver and I'd prefer to not think of myself as bitter and nauseating...I'll leave that up for you to decide.

Tuesdays with Dorie: Tortley Apple-Pear Tart

When I first started this food blog, I remember reading somewhere that the word 'delicious' is too common and can become redundant in a food blog. For a while I avoided using it for fear of sounding common and redundant. But I soon became sick of prancing around what I was trying to grasp at with flowery adjectives. So yes, I'm using the word delicious when it's deemed fit. And to cut to the chase, this tart is delicious. It doesn't matter what season is marked on the calendar, apples are always a welcome ingredient in any dessert. And since the cold weather still has an iron grip on poor little Spring, I was more than happy to make a cozy apple tart.

Jam & Peanut Butter-Nutella Tarts

Let's be honest, when it comes to certain forms of food, sometimes we eat it with unnecessary accessories just to make ourselves feel better. Take, for example, the peanut butter & jelly sandwich. Is the bread truly needed, especially when it merely serves as a 'platform' for the good parts? Left to our own devices, we would just as soon be armed with a spoon + two open jars.

Limoncello Cream Cheese Tartelettes

Did you know that food can teach us a little bit about ourselves? Really, it can. Think about your favourite flavour; sweet or savory. Now ask yourself why you like that particular taste - what is it about that flavour that keeps you coming back for more, and do those reasons co relate to who you are or what you're looking for? For example: I crave lemons + limes. They're airy, bright, and spontaneous. I'm controlled, precise and deliberate. So to me, they taste like happiness, because happiness for me is being able to let it all go...and to feel okay about doing it.

Tuesdays with Dorie: Cranberry-Lime Galette

♫ Galette, the best a tart can get. ♫ Since joining Tuesdays with Dorie over a year ago, I have had my eye on this recipe. It's no secret that I love limes and all their relatives, but I've been waiting for something to turn me into a cranberry lover, and I think this recipe has done just that.

Tuesdays with Dorie: Tarte Noire

Silky, chocolate. Simplicity meets decadence, and you wish everything in life could be as harmonious. The photos are not very handsome representations of this particular dessert. My little point & shoot camera fell into a slice of cake.

Tuesdays with Dorie: Chocolate Ice Cream Tart

Hi. First of all, Lost. I'm not sure what to think. The ending was amazing but upsetting all at the same time. I'm still confused about some things but maybe it wouldn't be Lost if it didn't leave a few loose ends, even in the finale.

Tuesdays with Dorie: Quick Classic Berry Tart

Did anyone else go through a Strawberry Shortcake doll phase as a child? No? What about My Little Pony? I used to force the dolls to ride the poor, pastel coloured equines. They also had tea parties with Transformers (I was a girly tomboy.)

Clementine Darling Tart with Chivalrous Chocolate Crust

Yes, Anastasia.

Clementines don't seem to get the attention they so richly deserve. I admit that I love lemons and limes, but I also think that their reserved cousin should have her day in the sun.