Wednesday, March 12, 2014

DIY: Homemade Pop-tarts

I have been wanting to make homemade pop-tarts for what seems like an eternity.
There is nothing like being confined by freezing wind and driving snow to bring out the baker in me.  "Lets warm up the kitchen and make pop-tarts."
To this Ivory promptly responded: "What are pop-tarts?"
To this moment it had never occurred to me that she has not experienced a pop-tart, which means that I have no pressure to meet the expectations set by the pop-tarts sold on grocery store shelves.

So we started mixing, rolling and cutting.




We spread filling into the center of the hears: strawberry butter I canned last summer, slowly caramelized apples that were a bit mealy for eating out of hand and finally a dark purple plum butter that is a reminder of the last warm sunny days of fall.  


 While snow piled up outside, we ate warm pop-tarts with a side of scrambled eggs and a good strong cup of coffee for breakfast.  It was delicious.


To be honest, I don't think they are anything like the pop-tarts found on grocery store shelves.  They are oh-so-much more tasty and filling! They could be described as being somewhere between a cookie, a graham cracker and a biscuit.

This recipe is adapted from the Whole Grain Popper Tarts recipe found in Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron.

Heart Shaped Pop-Tarts 

4 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup honey
2 cups whole wheat flour 
2 teaspoons baking powder 
1/4 cup milk 
  • chill the dough for one hour
  • roll it out and cut into heart shapes
  • gently move hearts onto a cookie sheet (the dough has a tendency to crumble)
  • preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit 
  • fill with jam, drained fruit, fruit butters etc..
  • place heart shapes on top and press edges gently to seal and then crimp with a fork
  • bake for 12 minutes or until the bottoms of the tarts are golden
  • drizzle with honey or a mixture of powdered sugar, vanilla and water 
  • makes approximately 28 heart shaped pop tarts that are about 4 inches across the widest point

So next time the weather has you down, roll up your sleeves and get to mixing: these are a great way to pass the time. 

Monday, March 10, 2014

Last Week it was Winter

The raindrops are hanging from the flower buds on the maple tree.
The snow is still collected in patches on the mountains that are disappearing into the clouds.
Suddenly the chill of winter is gone and the promise of a new season is everywhere.

Remember when our entire world covered in snow?




When we spent the after school afternoons sledding?



Was it really just last weekend that temperatures dipped low? 


That schools shut down and traffic was suspended?



That wind made our floors creak and blew snow into the cracks of our home?


A winter storm, fierce and quick, that moved mountains, changed lives and made us hold our loved ones just a little tighter.  A feat of weather that magnified fears as well as joys. A winter storm that changed the parameters of our yard into a winter wonderland, leaving in its wake giant drifts needing to be dug, explored and conquered 





We dug trails and a snow cave, shaped slides and benches into the snowbanks and then finally dug out the car.


A bit shaken we step through the puddles into spring.

Time in Lists

Every morning I make a list of three things that made me happy the day before. A practice I started when life became crazy - and that was a ...