8 Farm Delivery Friday May 11 and Homemade Pop-tarts!

Top row: new potatoes, shitake mushrooms, 2L semi-skimmed milk, calabrese broccoli
Middle row: wet garlic, spring onions, grapefruit, cucumbers, lettuce
Bottom row: blueberries, apples, gem lettuce, baby spinach

Our farm delivery from Riverford is something we both look forward to every Friday!

Finally!  I live for fruit- particularly berries. 

These prompted this conversation, one that could only be had by Americans living in Britain:

Me, eating 125g of blueberries: Do you want some of these?

Paul: No, Piggy.

Me: Yeah... I just devoured two and a half pounds of blueberries.

Paul: That container isn't two and a half pounds!

Me: Two and a half pounds worth of dollars, not weight!

Wet garlic is something I discovered here.  Sort of like a garlic version of spring onions, it's not as strong of a garlic flavor as dried garlic but acts as an addition to the dish as opposed to just a flavor.

I love some garlic.

Gem lettuce has a more buttery flavor than regular lettuce.  It's great in simple sandwiches, as it has its own flavor.

New potatoes! I'm thinking au gratin tonight!

Two Saturdays ago I was meeting some friends for our monthly Girls' Night, and, while I was trying to figure out what to make (pretty much always a dessert, I'm a compulsive baker), I remembered this enticing post from Aspiring Kennedy: homemade pop-tarts. 

Now, while I am a sucker for all things sugary, baked, and delicious, I generally avoid processed and packaged foods as well as store-bought baked goods- I figure, if I'm going to have the calories, I want to eat the best.  Packaged and store-bought are rarely the best.

That said, Toaster Strudel and Pop-tarts are things I sometimes succumb to- and instantly regret.

Homemade ones? Yes, please!

Anyway.  I made these:

Sorry, it's a Photobooth pic- I was running out the door!

I made half of these nutella treats with regular pie crust (shortcrust) using the Pie it Forward recipe and half with thawed store-bought puffed pastry I had on hand (I made twice as many as shown).  They were both delicious! 

Since they were such a hit, I had to make more. I had a late(r) start at work on Tuesday, so I thought that would be a perfect day to try a different flavor: apple and cinnamon.

I made the pie crust the night before, and made the double-crust amount from Pie it Forward's recipe.

side note: Gesine Bullock-Prado is a baking genius. Her two books, Sugarbaby and Pie it Forward, are both go-to staples in my kitchen.  Each book also has a blog (link is to her main blog; links to the other blogs are in the right column of her blog), which she uses to give step-by-step pictorials and videos for her recipes. Seriously, she's on my dream-list of people to meet.

In the morning I set the dough out to soften before I showered. When I got out, I rolled out the dough.
Edit (oops!): instead of rolling the dough out over regular sugar like Aspiring Kennedy (and I) did for the nutella ones, I rolled it out over chunky cinnamon-infused sugar.  This added great flavor!

When I'm making apple pie I only use real apples- I'm kind of a baking snob.  However, for these, I thought canned apple filling would be more appropriate.  I lined each section with water (to connect it when I folded it over later) and put a dollop of apple filling on one side of each section.

I used my pastry roller (or ravioli cutter, for you cooks out there!) to press the wet edges of each section together. 

Then I popped them in the Aga, finished getting ready, and threw them in a bowl-

they were such a hit, I've been "given permission" to make them as often as I can!

I bought a few different preserves and chutneys to try next- I'm going to attempt to re-create Paul's favorite Pop-tart, frosted strawberry... it's a tall challenge, but I'm up to it!

Thanks, Aspiring Kennedy!

[If you're not a follower of hers already, check her out! Her blog is chock-full of amazing travel tips, great product finds, and overall fun.  She's American, based in London, but just spent the spring in Paris- luckily she's so charming and kind it's hard to hate her!]