Quote Monday is not a compliment

Evie: “It smells like daddy in here.”
Me: “Well, that’s an improvement.”
Evie: “No, it’s not a compliment. Daddy smells weird.”

::Me, trying on a new shirt::
Ollie: “That looks fancy on you! …Even though it’s tight.”

Ollie: “When you wear your favorite clothes, they don’t have to match.”

Ollie: “It’s so hot in the car, I don’t even want to open my mouth.”

It must have been HOT!

Gumby Goes to the Movies

Did you ever wonder what your favorite movies would look like if re-done in claymation, Gumby-style?

Well of course you have!

And that’s exactly what you’ll get at Gumby Goes to the Movies. I mean, it’s pretty self explanatory. Take a famous, recognizable scene from a movie and insert Gumby. Movies range from the very recent:

To the classics:

To the REAL classics:

You know, there is nothing I love more than people spending countless hours on something for absolutely no reason at all. And we call that, “The Internet”.

Burst Tomato Galette with Corn and Zucchini

The first Friday of the month is reserved for recipes. You can see additional First Friday Food posts here.

The Reason:

Recently, I received this email from Sara in regards to the recipe:

“This is not on your blog?!  Must be made, photographed, and eaten weekly in august.  Get ready.”

And here we are.

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The Journey:

You don’t *have* to start with corn from the grill, but on the other hand, why wouldn’t you?

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I really don’t remember how we stumbled upon this recipe in the first place. This is one of those recipes where the sum is greater than the whole of its parts. I mean, sure it sounds good, and that’s why we tried it. But once the first forkful hits your mouth…

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I do want to mention that the dough is the stickiest thing you can imagine. Even though I’m telling you this, there will still come a time when you think you’ve made a mistake. You can’t possibly flatten this into something flat, and even if you did, it would never turn out.

That is just a normal part of the process.

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Somehow you manage to form this sticky mess into something resembling a sloppy pizza and you think, “What a disaster. I am definitely not making this again.” And then you eat it, and then you don’t really care what it looked like while you were making it.

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The Verdict:

Om nom nom nom nom!

This is the perfect summer meal. Tomatoes, corn, and zucchini, and just enough cheese to pull it all together. The crust is like magic; somehow it comes out perfect every time, no matter how sure you are that *this time* you messed it up.

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The Recipe:

Recipe from Smitten Kitchen:

For the pastry:

  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon table salt
  • 8 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into pieces
  • 1/4 cup plain yogurt or sour cream
  • 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup ice water

For the filling:

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon coarse Kosher or sea salt
  • 3 cups cherry or grape tomatoes
  • Red pepper flakes
  • 1 ear corn, cut from the cob (about 1 cup)
  • 1 small zucchini or summer squash, diced
  • 1 bundle scallions, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan

Glaze:

  • 1 egg yolk beaten with 1 teaspoon water

Make dough:

  1. Whisk stir the flour and salt in the food processor.
  2. Cut in bits of butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal, with the biggest pieces of butter the size of tiny peas.
  3. In a small bowl, stir together the sour cream, lemon juice and water and add this to the butter-flour mixture.
  4. With your fingertips or a wooden spoon, mix in the liquid until large lumps form. Pat the lumps into a ball. Wrap with plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour, or up to 2 days.

Make filling:

  1. Add olive oil, tomatoes, salt and a pinch of red pepper flakes to your saute pan then cover and heat over high heat. Roll the tomatoes around from time to time so that they’ll cook evenly.
  2. In a few minutes, you’ll hear some putts and pops as the tomatoes burst a little. When most have, remove lid, turn heat down to medium and add zucchini chunks.
  3. Saute for two minutes, until they soften.
  4. Add corn and cook one minute.
  5. Add scallions, just stirring them in, then turn off heat.
  6. Adjust seasonings if needed.
  7. Transfer mixture to a large plate and spread it out, so that it will cool faster. You want it cooled to at least lukewarm before assembling the galette.

Assemble galette:

  1. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. On a parchment-lined baking sheet, roll the dough out into a 12-inch round and it really doesn’t need to be perfectly shaped.
  3. Sprinkle tomato-zucchini-corn mixture with half of parmesan and spoon the mixture into the center of the dough, leaving a 2-inch border. If any liquid has puddle in plate, try to leave it there as you spoon.
  4. Sprinkle with almost all of remaining parmesan, leaving a pinch or two behind for the crust.
  5. Fold the border over the filling, pleating the edge to make it fit. The center will be open.
  6. Brush crust with egg yolk glaze. Sprinkle glaze with last pinches of parmesan.

Bake the galette:

  1. For 30 to 40 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown.
  2. Remove from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes, then slide the galette onto a serving plate. Cut into wedges and serve hot, warm or at room temperature.

Oz Park

The kids and I recently had a chance to check out Oz Park.

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Found Mulberry Pie

Just in case you were worried that we missed sneaking around Chicago to find illicit mulberries this year, don’t worry! We didn’t.

Sara and the kids collected enough to make this pie, and the kids absolutely insisted that I show it to you. So, here it is:

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I can attest to the pie’s deliciousness. What is it about secret mulberries that makes them taste so good?

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Despite it’s beauty, the pie didn’t last long.

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