Apple Tart Recipe

Pate Sucree - Sweet Shortcrust Bakery

For approximately 1lb (500g) pastry:
4oz. (125 g) soft butter
1/3 cup (3oz/90g) superfine (caster) sugar
1egg
2 cups (8oz/250g) all purpose (plain) flour
2 pinches salt

1. Cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the egg and mix for 30 seconds. Add the flour and salt and mix until a smooth dough forms.
2. Place the pastry on a work surface and knead, pushing it out with the palm of the hand and then reforming it into a ball, until the dough is smooth and elastic; this should take about 5 minutes. Wrap the ball of dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, preferably longer. Remove from the refrigerator 1 hour before using. Any leftover pastry can be stored in the refrigerator for 4 days or frozen.
3. The egg will prevent this pastry from becoming soggy, even when cooked directly with the filling. It may also be baked blind, in large or small pans, by covering the pastry with waxed or parchment paper and filling it with rice, dried beans, or pie weights.


Tarte Aux Pommes A Alsacienne - Alsatian Apple Tart

10oz. (300g) sweet pastry (see above)
1lb. (500g) Golden Delicious or pippin apples
4 egg yolks
1/3 cup (3oz/90g) sugar
1 envelope vanilla sugar or 3 drops vanilla extract (essence)
4 pinches of cinnamon
3/4 cup (6fl oz/200ml) heavy (double) cream

1. Preheat oven to 425 deg. F (215 deg. C). Butter a 10-in (26-cm) deep tart plate (flan tin). Roll out the pastry dough into a 12-in (30-cm) circle and line the plate with it.
2. Peel, quarter and core the apples. Cut each quarter into 4 slices. Arrange evenly over the pastry in the form of a rose, starting from the outsidee and overlapping the slices slightly. Bake for 15 mins.
3. Meanwhile, combine the egg yolks, sugar, vanilla sugar, and cinnamon and beat well. Beat in the cream. Coat the apples with this mixture and bake for another 30 minutes or until the apples are tender. Serve warm.

From France the Beautiful Cookbook
Recipes: the Scotto Sisters
Collins Publishers: San Francisco, 1989.

I'll post a picture of the finished tart later.

About the marking

Written in January 2008, on another blog:

"I finally decided, now with more conviction than ever, how I want to permanently mark my body. It was my second to last day in Saigon and it came to me so clearly as I lay, meditating about the meaning of my trip and my direction in life. ... My exact thought/resolution was that I was to be fabulous from that point on, to show the world what I am and what I have to offer without reservation. It was such an empowering thought. ... I want something to show the world how fierce I can be, and a reminder of the commitment I made to myself.

My life is for me. And instead of wondering whether I'm #3 or #347 on another's priority list, I will be my own #1 Girl."



From Wikipedia:

The Fenghuang [Phoenix] has very positive connotations. It is a symbol of high virtue and grace. The Fenghuang also symbolizes the union of yin and yang. It appears in peaceful and prosperous times but hides when trouble is near. Shan Hai Jing - chapter 1 Nanshan jing records each part of Fenghuang's body symbolizes a word, the head represents virtue (德,) the wing represents duty (義,) the back represents propriety (禮,) the abdomen says belief (信) and the chest represents mercy (仁.)[3]
In ancient China, they can often be found in the decorations for weddings or royalty, along with dragons. This is because the Chinese considered the dragon and phoenix symbolic of blissful relations between husband and wife, another common yin and yang metaphor.

As a tattoo symbol, the Phoenix can be found in many tattoo genres, but of the Far East in particular. It is a symbol of resurrection, rebirth and regeneration. It also represents purification and transformation through fire and adversity.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

A tee/tank for the occasion. On my wish list!

Long Beach Marathon: Post-race report

I rocked the Long Beach Half Marathon yesterday and I feel awesome. I jogged/ran the whole distance and according to the official race results, my average mile split was 11:18 and I was running at about 5.3 mph--that's better than a car in rush hour on the some LA fwys! I'm proud of me! Total time: 2h:28m:5s

Highlights? (1) I hit my high running alongside the beach (must have been in Belmont Shore) with small waves crashing to my right. (2) There was a water station at Mile 9 that was playing Pitbull's "Ay Chico (Lengua afuera)" and was so tempted to stop running and shake my booty. A little reggaeton can go a long way! (3) After Mile 10 the course looped back near the same water station and I was also able to hear MJ's "I wanna rock with you." (4) At about Mile 3, I passed a runner that had to have been older than 80, maybe even 90. He was accompanied by someone who was probably was his son and who told an inquiring dentist that the super-aged runner was a retired MD running yet another marathon. Can't get much more awesome than that.

Training could have been more rigorous but it was consistent: I signed up for a circuit training weight course at school that I attend two times a week and I have been running about 5 miles a week since May, increasing the mileage in the last month before the race. I have a few strange traditions and rituals I do/complete before a big run, some too private for the internet. I'll share one: I listen to music on the way to the race to pump myself up and to get a song in my head to mentally sing, kind of keeping a cadence. For this race, Viva! The Killers.

Races are fun! Nothing compares to the energy of the runners lined up at the start line. My adrenaline rushes, my pulse races, my spirits are high. The half marathon distance (13.1 miles) is perfect for me. The distance is long enough for me to get in the zone (runner's high) and to hit a short yet surmountable "wall."

Unlike Revlon 5k run/walk, the LB marathon saw less people with tribute signs--the ones that pull at my heartstrings--but there was a good share of runners and walkers with the Leukemia and Lymphoma society. It's so motivating and inspiring to dedicate your run to someone who cannot be there themselves because of illness, injury or death. That seems starkly morbid, but I didn't know how else to put it. I didn't have anyone specific to run for, but I had a handful of people on my mind: a friend's father suffering from cancer and running a fever this weekend; another friend's baby whose corporeal heart shall one day be as strong as the love he gives and receives; my grandma and last living grandparent whose mental faculties and memory are slipping as her body gives way to age; and at the risk of sounding egotistic I run for my health, my future and myself.

I made it a goal of mine to run 300 miles between May and the end of the year and signed up for the half-marathon as a way to help myself keep up the mileage. For those of you who also visit my facebook page, the number in my status represents the number of miles I have run so far. Big thanks to those who openly (or telepathically) root for me and my running achievements. If you want to run, it's all possible.

Run, Baby, Run!

Remember when?

Whether or not Barack Obama wins the election, he will have had a lasting impact on my life. Thank you Obama for your time at ACORN as a community organizer. Because of you, less people will give me that perplexed look each time I explain the five years of my life after college.

I was a Community Organizer.

Yes, that means I dedicated my life to bringing up the lot of low income people and connecting people to resources, whether they existed or should exist.
Indeed, what I wanted the most was to restore dignity to people who did everything in their power to survive and feed their families.
Emphatically,  I wanted to encourage each of the students I worked with to force open doors of opportunity, and use those opportunities to succeed and help their communities.
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Each person I came in contact with--whether it was the family who lived in the converted garage, the city officials who talked out of both sides of their mouth, the parents and teachers and organizations who came together because they cared, or the recovering addicts who cleaned our office--taught me a lot about myself and helped me realize what kind of life I want to live.

Just for fun.

Quiz: Which Greek Goddess are You?
Hearty Artemis!
With qualities like strength, agility and perseverance, you enjoy a challenge, especially one associated with finding or keeping your soul mate. Assertive, confident and poised, you readily confront challenges and expect equality with your beloved. You like calling the shots, at least sometimes. With a bit of the tomboy lending a realistic aspect to your personality, you set and meet high goals in various aspects of your life.

Life is good...

I have been baking up a storm lately. Sugar cookies, Peanut butter cookies, Rice Krispy treats, chocolate chip cookies, banana bread (x 5). Such a cathartic experience to mix things together and have it all turn into something that warms people's hearts and bellies. I'm thinking of graduating onto cakes and more advanced cookies like these Mexican wedding cakes. Mmm. Mmm.

All I need now is a Kitchenaid stand mixer and my own kitchen and there will be no stopping the tasty goodness!