Oh, you guys crack me up. And make me all misty (read: weepy). Thank you. I have always felt such tremendous care and support from those of you who read here, and I feel full of good fortune. Thank you, thank you.
I mentioned that my sisters and I put on a party and that we did quite a lot of cooking for a good number of people. One of the things that I was determined to try when deciding on a menu of mid-afternoon snacks to feed the most number of people easily, was Tomato Corn Tarts. Along with gallons each of quinoa salad, peanut noodles, pasta salad, fresh salsas, farmer sausage (!), rollkuchen (fried bread eaten with Roger's) and watermelon, these little tarts proved to be fast movers.
I am a Smitten Kitchen Tomato Corn Pie evangelist, and try to make as many as I can while its ingredients are in season. This version is not only easier, but maybe tastier? I don't know. Maybe the appeal lies in the fact that you eat it with your fingers. The tart shells came in a pack of a 140 (we used them all), and they came frozen from Costco (I think). I'm hoping that they are available stateside, since tarts seem to be a bigger deal in a country full of European expats. So let's say you only want to make 24. You will want to make more, but let's start here:
Two Dozen Tomatoe Corn Mini Tarts (original recipe from the most excellent Smitten Kitchen)
24 mini tart shells
2 ears of corn, corn cut of and lightly chopped
2 medium sized tomatoes, peeled and seeded
2 Tbsp mayo combined with a squeeze or two of lemon
Chopped Basil and Chives (a handful of each)
1 cup of grated cheddar
Salt and Pepper to taste
For larger quantities, just keep chopping, cutting and seeding. You'll want the mayo mixture to coat everything nicely and the cheese to be very "present". I prepped the tomatoes and corn the night-- both the corn and tomatoes produced a lot of liquid overnight, which I poured off. This helped keep the tart shells nice and crispy on the bottom.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, mix everything together, and then fill the still frozen tart shells in their little cups on a cookie sheet. They should bake for about 12-15 minutes, browning along the edges (if they're not brown, the bottom is going to be soggy).
Shantini made desserts, too, LOTS OF THEM. The recipe Sharalee used for Rollkuchen came from this book (which I love) and is traditionally served with Roger's Golden Syrup and watermelon. Sharalee was able to somehow take photos of our time up there-- do you live in the valley? Thanks to that Granny and Grumpa post, I know some of you do! My sister is a family and event photographer who works in and around Chilliwack, Abbotsford, Langley and Vancouver. If you're looking for someone to take care of your picture taking needs, you would be well advised to get in touch with her. These are all her photos.
