Blue Blazes Mini Tarts

A few Saturdays ago I slept in, missing my normal farmer’s market run.  So instead of traipsing across town to hang with my favorite farmers, I headed across the metroplex to the North Richland Hills Farmer’s Market.  They resell but they also carry local items so it was a decent compromise.  In the process of spending an ungodly amount of money, we picked up some jelly I had been eying for a while. <I really need to learn how to jar jelly>  It contained jalapeño and blueberry, two of my favorite things. YUM  But this jelly was too good for just plain bread, even my bread; I had to come up with something better than toast for this lovely sweet heat.

One of my new vices is Jamie Oliver’s Meals in Minutes show.  He does some pretty amazing things with pre-packaged foods in under 30 minutes.  I’m not a big fan of pre-packaged but I did happen to have some left over puff pastry in the freezer.  So I completely hijacked one of his recipes for my jelly fetish and came up with this very rich tart. 

Make this at your own risk.  It will gobble you up as you stuff more and more into your face.  Oh and did I mention it’s messy? Go figure...

Blue Blazes Mini Tarts
    •    1 cup blueberry jalapeño jelly
    •    1/4 cup lemon curd
    •    2 TBS butter at room temperature
    •    4 TBS flour
    •    1/2 sheet of pre-made puff pastry

Method:
    1.    Set oven to 350 degrees F. 
    2.    Lightly grease 6 bins of a muffin tin. 
    3.    Combine the 1st 4 ingredients together in a small bowl
    4.    Roll out the puff pastry on a clean, lightly floured work surface until about 1/8 inch thick
    5.    Cut the pastry in half and then cut each half into thirds.  You should end up with 6 squares

    6.    Stuff the pastry squares into the muffin bins, pinching the sides and tops together to make cups
    7.    Fill each pastry cup about half way full with the jelly mixture
    8.    Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the pastry is golden and the centers are bubbly

Allow the tarts to cool slightly before serving.  This will be the hardest part - they smell good, they look yummy.  But that first bite is a doozy with squish jelly oozing out the sides.  It tastes better if the jelly ooze isn’t flaming hot. :)

SurlyMuse Blog Hop - A Beautiful Place to Die

I talk about writing all the time; I even post really bad poetry for my own amusement.  But I rarely share my prose, even with the Hubby.  It's a scary thing being critiqued.  Especially for us Type A-ers.  And especially for me since I always seem to go dark (not sure what's up there).

At any rate, I'm throwing in my lot and posting what is called "Flash Fiction" - short fiction telling a fast story in under so many words.  I am mainly doing this because my friend over at SurlyMuse is awesome and found the best inspiration picture ever.  I am partly doing this because I need to just suck it up regardless of the giant ball of panic in my stomach.  Either I'm a writer or I'm not, right? <Bleh>

So the details, Surly Muse and others set up a blog hop for writers using the below picture.  Basically you write a piece of flash fiction, poem, or song (300 words or less) using the photo as your inspiration.  (Click here for the full details)

Without further adieu, the picture and my prose. <eeek! hides face in terror>.

 

Photo by Luis Beltran via surlymuse.com

The light bounced off the fog and trees with an eery glow.  Jan had rigged the light using her cell phone battery so she knew it wouldn’t last long. Still, it was better than the pitch black forest.  The light would pinpoint her exact location but she was too exhausted and frightened to care.  It was out there and it would find her with or without the light.  Now that the bulb was secured in the trees like a steampunk artist’s vision, she looked around.  Jan found herself standing in a sea of wildflowers. There was a time this place would have been a beautiful secret for her to share as she saw fit.  Today, it was simply a beautiful place to die.  Funny how fast life changed.

Jan sat in the flowers directly beneath the light.  The fragrance was almost too intense with her nose just inches from the growth but it smelled like home, like cinnamon and apples.  She brushed her hands gently across the top of the flowers, watching the petals ripple like the water of her home planet.   Jan found her ragged breath slowing, her body calming.  She hated this planet and wanted to go home.  But experience whispered in her head, this would be the last adventure. So she focused her thoughts on everything she missed about Earth.

She heard it then, the small snap of a twig.  It had found her.  But she was done running.  She had run through too many galaxies, across too many worlds, between too many trees just like these.  It was in those trees now, stalking her from above.  She refused to look up.  Instead she focused on a single white flower.  The light went out and Jan closed her eyes - it really was a beautiful place to die.
Right, so don't judge.  At least not too harshly. o.O

I know it's not a recipe or a book review and I promise not to do it often.  AND I promise a fab blueberry jalapeno recipe tomorrow and bookclub updates this weekend.  So don't delete me just yet!

Tomato Ice Cube Explosion Extravaganza

I am a mess in the kitchen. And it’s not a hot mess either.  If it can spill, cut, burn, or fill the entire kitchen with a filmy haze chances are I’m cooking with it and messiness will ensue.  So it’s no wonder I had tomato sauce exploding from ice cube trays a few days ago.  You read that correctly - exploding ice trays of tomato sauce.  The Hubby has declared I need to make myself an apron instead of giving them away as gifts.

First, let me explain the tomatoes.  Do you remember a few months ago when I made jalapeño ice cubes? And I said I would try tomatoes?  Yeah, I did that.  And the tomato cubes went fast.  So at the Farmer’s Market this weekend I was on the lookout for more tomatoes.  Which I found; in abundance.  Have I ever mentioned my shopping problem?  No?  It seems I have a problem with sales and impulse buys.  It’s not my fault; the tomatoes were on sale.  If I hadn’t purchased the office box full of tomatoes they would have gone to waste.  Poor little tomatoes with no home.  (My logic isn’t always sound when it comes to shopping but it’s still logic.)



What does one do with a kitchen sink full of tomatoes?  Lots and lots of salsa, tomato ice cubes, sauce - you get the idea.  An entire day of tomato working and I still have tomatoes in my fridge waiting for a task.  I may never get rid of all these tomatoes.  But I did get rid of a large portion of them by creating ice cubes perfect for portioned quick cooking.  Of course being the brilliant cook that I am, I decided to use a turkey baster to get the chopped up tomato puree from the pot into the trays.

Yeeahhh - did you know little pieces of tomato get stuck in turkey basters? And that when those pieces are forced out into small square spaces they create shooting geysers of tomato sauce?  Did I mention I was wearing a white sweater?  I would have made a great zombie film star.  I. AM. A. MESS.

On the bright side, I have plenty of tomato based products to tide me over until summer rolls around again. o.O

Tomato Ice Cubes
    •    12-15 fresh Tomatoes
    •    3-4 pinches of sea salt

Method:
    1.    Wash and dry the tomatoes. 
    2.    Cut the stems off. 
    3.    Place the tomatoes in a chopper or food processor.  Do this in batches if necessary
    4.    Pulse for one minute or until everything is finely chopped.
    5.    Place tomatoes into a sauce pan on medium heat.
    6.    Add salt to sauce pan.
    7.    Allow the mixture to boil then reduce to a simmer; cook for 20-30 minutes
    8.    Remove from the heat and allow the pan to cool completely
    9.    Spoon or funnel the mixture into a clean ice tray (I do NOT recommend a turkey baster) ; freeze overnight
    10.    Remove the cubes from the tray and place in a freezer bag or freezer safe container for storage
    11.    Use cubes as needed in cooking.

Review - Imperium by Nicholas Olivo

Imperium; A Caulborn Novel
by Nicholas Olivo
Publisher: Self-Published
Copyright: 2011
Format: e-reader

Hello Author/Stalker!  That’s right, I have another author I follow on Twitter now.  Nicholas Olivo found me via Rob Cornell (I believe) and used social networking brilliance to increase his readership.  He followed, then I followed, then I purchased and read his book.  I’m telling you, this is a wonderful marketing idea for up and coming and/or self-published authors.  Hook me up Twitter!

Imperium is a fun, fast read.  It is sort of like Men in Black meets Batman meets The Dresden Files; an interesting mix to say the least.  Of course if you like any one of those things it is probably safe to assume you like all three.  There is also quite an assortment of mythology and folklore thrown in; I noticed Classical, Celtic and American myths plus I am sure there are references I missed.  I did enjoy all the Firefly shout outs - shiny!  This book is a geeky reference lovers paradise which makes it hard for someone like myself not to enjoy the read.  The characters are fun-loving; the adventure is creative.  And just for the record - gremlins rock. ^_^

I have to give props on the self publishing.  With all the published trash I’ve read lately, these indie finds like Olivo and Cornell are a treasure.  I am glad there is another avenue for literature now since I don’t agree that good writing is measured by whether or not an agent can mass market the story.

Of course, being the obnoxious reader that I am I do have a few not so flattering opinions.  One of the things that makes this book so entertaining is also a downfall of the storyline - there is so much going on that at times there is too much going on.  I love the references but they made it hard to hone in on any one particular character or subplot driving the story.  It is also a little more fantasy than urban.  This is a personal preference only and in no way detracts from the book.  I just like my vamps, fae and wolves to have a little more street cred.  The only grammar irk I have with the writing is the constant jump in tense.  It’s a difficult rule to police; it pops up in my writing more often than not and I’ve read very famous authors who have the same struggle.  Chances are it’s not even noticeable and I only felt it because I am aware of the issue in my own work.

All in all, Imperium is a good Urban Fantasy read and is worth the time and the money.  I give it a B+ on the Brewed scale.

Happy Reading!

Review - Wired by Douglas E. Richards

 

Wired

by Douglas E. Richards

Publisher: Paragon Press

Copyright: 2010

Format: e-reader

E-books are great. The ones I read are usually fast and easy. Plus, there are a plethora of e-books to choose from; it’s hard not to grab every cheap copy my Nook “recommends”. Wired by Douglas E Richards came across via email as a “steal” deal and for only $0.79 I had to agree. I clicked twice then waited less than 30 seconds for my new book to download. Talk about instant gratification...

I did not know anything about this author or his writing; I should have done some research but the premise of the book was intriguing. The main character developed a mind altering substance that turns the human brain into a weapon of sorts. The idea is similar to the recent movie Limitless. The preface was great and pulled me in; I wanted to know more about the characters, especially the lead female. The problem with the book reared up in the first chapter when I figured out two different twists before things even got started. Everything was formulaic and predictable to a fault. The characters became stiff and stereo-typical; the action was dull because there was no suspense. The writing seemed geared more towards pre-teens and teens even though there were plenty of curse words to indicate this was an “adults only” read. I finished the book quickly, just to be done with it.

I was extremely disappointed. The concept has so many possibilities but I have yet to see the idea executed with any depth. As for the author, I did some research after the fact - turns out he usually puts out YA books. I’m sure he would appeal more to that level of reader so if you enjoy YA books you might give his other reads a try. As for me, it’s probably the last $0.79 buy for a while.