New Baby-New Treats

 Hi there! 

Well, it's been a year or so and a lot has happened. The start of 2021 was bittersweet. We lost family members, including my cooking buddy Jack, but we gained a few new babies. So with deep sadness, there is also an overwhelming amount of new love. Say hello to Cass, or pandemic baby! 

I decided that I needed to start making treats again and found the perfect book! The Nightmare Before Christmas cookbook and entertaining guide.

So making treats is going to be a bit different this time around. With a new baby, my time is never my own, and doing anything takes a lot longer. With that being said these posts will be fun but a bit shorter haha! 

For my first treat, I chose these Mummy Tartlets. Aren't they cute! 

I started by baking the butternut squash with some olive oil, pepper and salt. Cass had fun watching this stage. I made sure to narrate the process and point out that the oven needed to be at 425 degrees. 

While the squash bakes, I cut out pastry rounds and strips for the mummy wraps. I decided to only make 7 tarts since the dough was pre-rolled. Which, thanks Craig, made things easier but I couldn't roll it out and get even more rounds. To prepare the dough, I used an egg wash.

This was about the time that we needed to take a Mr. Calimari break and then a nap LOL! I had to finish the tartlets alone...but he lasted longer than I thought. Hopefully, the next treat keeps his attention. 

After the squash was baked, smooshed and cooled, I added them to the pastry rounds. 

Next came the delicious goat cheese, two olives for the mummy eyes, and the remaining pastry strips for its wraps. Make sure to smoosh the edges down to attach the round and strips together. Place in the fridge for about 30 mins to chill the dough. 

After that, bake for 25 mins and voila! Mummy tartlets! A fun savory Halloween bite. They were scrumptious and went well with a spinach salad. The goat cheese adds a nice tartness with the earthy butternut squash. 

Looks like I should have made the strips a bit thinner though.

Thanks for reading,

Bunny and Cass

Outlander: Jam Tarts

Happy Holidays! 

Christmas is here and I decided that this holiday season needed some delicious Jam Tarts and boy was I RIGHT!

This Outlander treat called for 1/2 Short Crust Pastry recipe and 1/2 cup of Fraser Strawberry Jam.

To start set the oven to 375 degrees and prepare your muffin tin. For the dough, mix together flour, sugar, salt and butter in a food processor. Pulse until you have mostly pea sized lumps. Then whisk together ice water, egg yolk and lemon juice. Add to the bowl and pulse a few more times. I eventually had to mix a little more thoroughly by hand.

Sprinkle some flour on your counter and knead the dough into a ball. Flatten with a rolling pin and roll to about 1/8 inch thick. Use a 4 inch "cookie cutter" to cut out 12 rounds. If you don't have one, I used a large mason jar. Press the pastry into each muffin tin cup and poke the bottoms three or four times with a fork. Bake for about 5 mins. Don't worry, you will be baking the pastry a bit more once the jam is added. 

The tasty Fraser jam is at the back of the Outlander Cookbook, detailing how to make and can preserves. For this strawberry jam, you will need Granny Smith apples, strawberries, lemon juice and sugar. Start by cutting the apples into 1/2 inch cubes and the strawberries into halves or quarters. 

In a pot of medium heat stir the fruit and lemon juice together. Bring the mixture to a boil and stir constantly to avoid any scorching. Next stir in the sugar until it's dissolved. The jam needs to reach about 212 degrees which takes about 15 to 25 minutes. 

It was kinda fun making a fruit compote, I always see chefs turn to this 'filling' solution on the Food Network and they make it look effortless. Turns out it is pretty easy and quick to create. I'll definitely have to make it again. My mom kept wanting to add in a thickener and I had to convince her that I needed to follow Theresa Carle-Sanders recipe exactly. It was pretty funny!

Hindsight, I should have cut the apples a bit smaller but their size did not take away from the old-fashioned compote-style jam. It was just a bit chunkier and there's nothing wrong with that he he! 

Now you're ready to create your tarts. Fill each cup with about 1 teaspoons of jam (I was a bit heavy handed) and return them to the oven. Bake until the jam bubbles and the pastry is golden. This took about 15 minutes. 

Gently remove the tarts from the muffin tin and set on a cooling rack. The recipe says to let them cool completely and they were right LOL! I didn't want to wait and tried to eat one a bit early. I topped a few tarts with a strawberry slice and plated them. Voila! Outlander Jam Tarts! Thanks Theresa! 

These lovely creations were both savory and sweet. I couldn't get enough and my whole family really enjoyed them. Craig described these as tasting like the original strawberry pop tarts of his youth and he's not wrong!

Thanks for readin!

Cheers, Bun

Vanilla + Meyer Lemon Gin and Tonic

 Howdy Ya'll

A magical thing happened, Sakara came out with a cookbook! I was floored and quickly snatched up a copy. To my joy it not only included one of a kind recipes but life tips and information about how certain foods can better our bodies. Each section focuses on a different part of a meal and an ingredient that is health positive! 

Creating a lovely book full of unique creations.

 For my first post I chose to create their Vanilla + Lemon Gin and Tonic, cause I love myself a good drink!

For this tonic you need a wildflower honey simple syrup, Meyer lemons and some Gin. I am not a big Gin drinker but I thoroughly enjoyed this mix. The proportions were right and the touch of honey was perfect.

This cocktail proved to be refreshing and not overpowering. I can't wait to try more of these tasty cocktails.

Thanks Sakara!