July has been a wonderful month bringing bounty produce and tons of inspiration to my kitchen. Its a month when all things living bud and bloom to glory. Foliage brim to lush greenness, healthy and flourishing. Weeds crawl themselves on to every inch of wilderness. Flowers burst into frenetic bloom. Markets bustle with vegetable produce in vividness and abundance. Fruits and berries make their way into our lives beyond what we could ask for. There's burst of color and splash of summer everywhere. July pampers you. It makes you feel luxuriant.
Summers here have been all high and at times 94 deg F (34 deg C) feels like 105 F (40 deg C). Yet, I am so much a tropical girl that I make best friends with summer and its givings. There is no moment left to slip away in rambling about heat. Instead we go farm-foraging for fruits with bags and baskets. At nearly the end of berry season, peaches and melons are here to replace them on stands.
In less than a week, the daughter and I are heading back home, to India. Over two weeks ago, our little girl stopped her school here to resume the one she goes back home. She gets a small break before she gets back to track on another routine in India. As we've just begun bag packing, I shudder to think how quickly these three months have flown by, insanely quick, like a flash of lightening. While I'm thankfully lucky to be on a break from work and make a trip here the second time, it feels so unreal that its time to leave D's nest and fly back to another nest far away in another continent. Again, we leave in hopes and prayers for sooner family union.
These three months of vacation time have been wonderful. We witnessed the onset of spring and the way they silently slipped into summers, bringing with them the best of everything we love - the sunshine, the beaches, the road trips, the camping, the late evening partying, the farm foraging, berry picking, the evening walks at parks, the book hunting at the library, the lazying by the porch, the summer cooking, and lots more we did together. Instead of rumbling how much we will miss D and the moments we spent here with him, I leave you with this simple peach puff pastry tart that speaks bounty of summer - golden summery ochre with velvety skin and a delicate sweet aroma. Its so easy that you would be ashamed as put them together and shove them to the oven. Ofcourse that doesn't account for making puff pasty at home. But if you have them handy, you get away with assembling this in under 10 mins and another 20 min to bake, which is the oven's job!
Summers here have been all high and at times 94 deg F (34 deg C) feels like 105 F (40 deg C). Yet, I am so much a tropical girl that I make best friends with summer and its givings. There is no moment left to slip away in rambling about heat. Instead we go farm-foraging for fruits with bags and baskets. At nearly the end of berry season, peaches and melons are here to replace them on stands.
In less than a week, the daughter and I are heading back home, to India. Over two weeks ago, our little girl stopped her school here to resume the one she goes back home. She gets a small break before she gets back to track on another routine in India. As we've just begun bag packing, I shudder to think how quickly these three months have flown by, insanely quick, like a flash of lightening. While I'm thankfully lucky to be on a break from work and make a trip here the second time, it feels so unreal that its time to leave D's nest and fly back to another nest far away in another continent. Again, we leave in hopes and prayers for sooner family union.
These three months of vacation time have been wonderful. We witnessed the onset of spring and the way they silently slipped into summers, bringing with them the best of everything we love - the sunshine, the beaches, the road trips, the camping, the late evening partying, the farm foraging, berry picking, the evening walks at parks, the book hunting at the library, the lazying by the porch, the summer cooking, and lots more we did together. Instead of rumbling how much we will miss D and the moments we spent here with him, I leave you with this simple peach puff pastry tart that speaks bounty of summer - golden summery ochre with velvety skin and a delicate sweet aroma. Its so easy that you would be ashamed as put them together and shove them to the oven. Ofcourse that doesn't account for making puff pasty at home. But if you have them handy, you get away with assembling this in under 10 mins and another 20 min to bake, which is the oven's job!
Simple Peach Puff Pastry Tart
INGREDIENTS
1 sheet homemade / frozen puff pastry
2 medium peaches
1 tbsp. of brown sugar (adjust according to the sweetness of your peaches)
2-3 tbsp. milk, to brush
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Few pecans and mini chocolate chips to scatter
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 420 degrees F. Carefully roll / cut the puff pastry into strip of 4" x 8" inch. Cut the peaches in half and remove the pit. Slice peaches carefully into 1/4 inch. Arrange the peaches on the puff pastry overlapping each other. Sprinkle the peaches with brown sugar, pecans and mini chocolate chips. Brush the edges of the puff pastry with milk (alternative to egg) and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the edges are a deep golden brown. Serve warm, preferably with a dollop of whipped cream or ice cream.
Awesome post mallika!!! Loved the write up and the pictures :)
ReplyDeleteHey Nandita, thank you!!! Big hugs!!!
Deletelovely tart. love the rustic look and the flavours.
ReplyDeleteThank you Sayantani!!! :)
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