Thursday's Tiny Brain Amusements
Mystery solving, moment of sanity
Thursdays are my bump day: week too long, weekend not near enough. Saturdays and Suundays are the days I venture away from my desk and unexpectdly bump into strange sighting and become tangled in encounters with people who would be horrified I wrote them about afterwards. These odds and ends land in the miscellaneous basket on the corner of my desk. So here I am, sharing them with you. I tried this before with the Saturday News Digest but those pieces were too unwieldy and who wants to read something unwieldy on Saturday? Thursdays’s short attempt will be more casual, appearing every now and again when the basket overflows. Hope you discover something interesting and enjoyable!
From the What Is This?? Department
The little mushrooms sprouted overnight between the bricks. This was strange because mushrooms have never appeared in the garden before.I assume they’re poisonise and meant to pull them up before the dumb dog nibbles at them but they disappeared by evening of the next day. You can see on the right side of the brick that some have already begun to droop. Does anyone know what they are?
A Solution to the What to Bring to the Barbeque Dilemma
A clafoutis for dessert! It comes together in a few minutes and is incredibly hard to screw up. It comes from Provence so you can say that M.F.K. Fisher wrote about it in her book, Two Towns in Provence. That could be a lie but who will know? Maybe your host and guests won’t be familiar with Fisher—believe me, there are people who aren’t striving literary food writers who have not heard of her or have read very little of her work, so you’re fib is probably safe. Whatever the case they’ll be impressed.
Clafoutis
Cherries are the classic fruit to use, but apricots, plums, and peaches are wonderful, too. If you don’t want to be troubled by all the pitting these require, berries are perfect, too.
1 tablespoon unsalted butter 1 cup whole milk 1/2 cup granulated sugar 3 large eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon lemon or orange zest 1 teaspoon fine salt 12 ounces pitted fruit or berries Crème de cassis (optional) Powdered sugar Heat over to 400°F with the rack in the middle. You can bake a clafoutis in several kinds of cookware such as a deep tart or pie pan. Some people swear by a cast iron skillet but don't use if it's seasoned well with savory flavors. Since you will be serving directly from the plate, a ceramic pan would make a nice presentation. Whatever you use, butter it well. Combine the milk, sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a blender or food processor fitted with the blade attachment and whirl for about 20 seconds or until the batter is smooth and frothy. Add the flour, zest, and salt to the batter and whirl some more until the dry ingredients are just incorporated, maybe 5 to 6 short pulses. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Evenly strewn the fruit over the top. Bake until its puffy and light golden brown around the edges, about 50 minutes. Place the skillet on a wire rack to slightly cool. It's best served a little warm. Before bringing it to the table, brush a little casse over the top follow by a an equally light amount of powdered sugar.
Tiny Summer Time Out Moment
From our friends at Headspace…take a purr break.
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