Somehow I took a pretty sizable hiatus, sorry everybody! I don’t really know how it happened… I posted the Thursday Stash, and then had a very busy last day of work on Friday, then ran my HALF MARATHON on Saturday, and then headed down to my parent’s house. I’ve been staying with them for almost two weeks and just haven’t gotten around to updating at all. I feel like such a slacker.
Me with my celebratory post-race Its-It
I’m usually really motivated to update, and even though I usually only do it about twice a week (more if you’re lucky), most of the time my updates are sparse because I’m still figuring out how to fit life around blog and blog around life. This time, however, there has been no excuse. I’ve been lounging. I’ve been watching too much food network. I’ve been drinking too many beers. And I’ve just been reallllllly lazy. It’s like I took the fatigue after the run and let it seep into the other aspects of my life… for almost two weeks.
But I’m about to go into a very busy semester, so I’m going to say that it’s a preemptive measure. I’m trying to hit one extreme so that I’ll be ready when the other extreme comes hurtling my way.
Either way, I’m back folks. I’ve been missing the blog, so here I am. Rock you like a hurricane.
I thought I’d share with you all the vegetable tart I made two Fridays ago. It turned out to be a bright, savory meal that was gobbled up almost immediately. It definitely didn’t hurt that I used cherry tomatoes, green bell peppers, sweet corn, and basil that was fresh from the farm. Think of it as an apology for the unannounced break. And believe you me, this would be a great apology for any veggie lovers in your life. Or maybe a great way to get some non-veggie lovers to become veggie lovers. Really, what better way to convert somebody than with a buttery crust and cheese-sprinkled vegetables? And it can be easily altered depending on what’s fresh and in your fridge.
I first got inspiration from this post on Sweet Pea’s Kitchen. I knew that I wanted to make a vegetable entree for a potluck, and after a few brainstorming searches I settled on a savory vegetable tart. I used Christina’s recipe for the crust as well as her idea of using basil and goat cheese as a base. Then I adapted the actual filling to fit with what I got in my CSA box. The result? Vegetable perfection in a pie crust. Yep, it doesn’t get any better than that.
So, again, I’m sorry for the long break. But hopefully this lovely little dish will make up for it!
Summary: Versatile and fresh, this tart is the best way to gobble up those summer vegetables that are bursting with color and flavor.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 9 tbsp cold butter, cut into pieces
- 3 tbsp ice water
- 1 1/2 cups chopped basil
- 2 cups shredded goat cheese
- 2 sliced green bell peppers
- 1 cup sliced cherry tomatoes
- 1 head of corn
Instructions
- Stir together flour, pepper, and salt.
- Add the butter either with your hands, a pastry cutter, or a food processor. You want the consistency to be coarse.
- Add the water until everything becomes a thick dough. Don’t over mix.
- Roll the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. (I refrigerated overnight).
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- Roll out dough and line a pie pan or tart pan, cutting off excess dough. I decorated the edges with fork tines.
- Line the dough with aluminum foil and fill with dried beans.
- Bake crust for 25 minutes.
- Remove foil and beans and bake for another 5 minutes.
- Chop your basil, shred your cheese, and slice your bell peppers and tomatoes. Also, cut your corn off of the cob.
- After you take the crust out of the oven, let it cool and then fill the bottom of the crust with the basil and 1 cup of cheese.
- Add your bell peppers, tomatoes, and corn, sprinkling cheese throughout and then on top.
- Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the edges are golden.
Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 1 hour
The Drunk Squash