Rhubarb Tart

In celebration of our new garden, I decided to bake up a rhubarb desert.

We're growing rhubarb in the garden among the veggies and herbs and it's something I don't use nearly enough in my baking. 

Also we're going for dinner at our friends' place tonight so we volunteered to bring the desert. 

After a quick google search ('what parts of rhubarb will kill me?')* and a Pinterest search for recipes, I settled on a rhubarb tart with shortbread crust. 

The picture looked delicious and I'm sure the finished result with taste as good as it looks (in the picture on Pinterest, mine doesn't look super appetizing unfortunately).

*FYI - you can eat the stalks, just don't eat the leaves of the rhubarb plant. Those might kill you.

Rhubarb Tart 

(adapted from Taste of Home recipe) 

1. In a large saucepan bring 3 3/4 cups chopped rhubarb, 1/4 cup sugar, and 2 tbsp water to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook until the rhubarb is tender, string often. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Once cool, transfer to a blender and puree until smooth.

2. Meanwhile, mix together 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup quick oats, 1/3 cup sugar, and 1/2 cup cold cubed butter. Use a pastry cutter to blend until the butter is the size of peas. Pour into an ungreased tart pan with removable bottom and press into the bottom and up the sides. Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes. 

3. In a small saucepan over medium heat, whisk 6 egg yolks, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tbsp lemon juice and the rhubarb puree until blended. Mix in 5 tbsp butter and whisk until melted then remove from heat. Add in a few drops of red food colouring if you're not satisfied with the colour. 

4. Pour into the crust and bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes until the centre is almost set. Cool completely, then refrigerate for at least one hour . Then serve and enjoy!

The Balcony Project

As we start the hunt for a bigger place (our place is too cluttered and we really need a yard for the dog), I've been thinking up ways to make our balcony more liveable.

Last spring/summer our building was undergoing construction, which meant we didn't have access to our balcony from early in May until sometime in September.

It also meant I had to be more careful about lounging around in my bath robe since construction workers could pop up on their platform at any time.

I finally got around to getting rid of the box of empties that we store on our balcony and I swept up the debris left over from the fall. 

I want a place we can entertain or sit with a good book and feel more outside. 

I came across this picture on Pinterest and wanted to recreate something like this.

If I could afford to spring for some new furniture I'd look into this storage bench from Pottery Barn.

Here's what I've done with the balcony so far.

I moved one of our shelving units outside (which uncluttered our living room area a bit) and plan to use it to show off some plants. I'm thinking a herb garden and maybe a few flowers. We had lots of dogwood left over from our wreath decorating party in December so I used what was left to decorate the side of the shelf.

Expect more updates as this project moves along!