Hanging with Tori

Hanging with Tori

This summer we were lucky enough to have a visitor for a few days: my niece Tori decided to stay with us, and we spent a few just just hanging out, watching movies, and doing a few projects around the house.  The first one we did we was a pretty big one: we finally painted a race track on the backside of the train table.  This way Marcus has something to play cars with as he gets older.  Tori designed it on cardboard and then sketched it out on the board.  Finally, we painted it together.  I think it turned out really well.  This is a project that I have wanted to do since the train table was completed, but I needed a little bit of help on it.

Tori sketching it out...

End of day one.

This is what the finished product looked like—Pretty AWESOME!  Let's be honest: it makes me want to play!

Doesn't it make you want to play with cars?....

Tori wearing Great Grandma Johnson's apron.

We also spent some time baking.  We decided to make a summery fruit tart.  We actually made 4 of them (one for Marcus's daycare, one for our neighbors at National Night Out, one for G&G Zachman, and one for her family).  We got really good at it by the fourth tart.  We started by making a homemade lemon curd to go in the tart:

 Homemade Lemon Curd

Ingredients:

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (usually requires 1-2 lemons)

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest

1/3 cup sugar

4 egg yolks

3 Tablespoons butter (I use unsalted)

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in the top of a doubleboiler (or in a metal bowl over a pot of simmering water).  Heat, while stirring (almost) constantly with a whisk, until mixture thickens.  It is done when it’s thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.  Remove from heat, cover, and refrigerate until cool.  Store in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks.

Recipe Link

Once the lemon curd was completed and started to cool, we started on the tart itself.

Summer Fruit Tart

This tart includes a sweet, cookie-like crust, creamy lemon filing and can be topped with any assortment of fruit you like.

Yield: Yields 8 servings

ingredients

Cookie Crust
1-1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup butter, softened
1 egg

Lemon Filling
1/2 cup lemon curd (storebought or homemade)
1 package (8-oz.) cream cheese

Fresh fruit of your choosing (2–3 cups)

directions

Crust
Prepare the crust by mixing all the ingredients until a dough forms (using a mixer or food processor).
Press dough as evenly as possible into an ungreased 10" tart pan.
Place tart pan (with dough) in the freezer about 10 minutes.  Remove from freezer, place on a baking sheet, and bake in a pre-heated 400°F oven for 10−12 minutes, or until light brown.  Allow to cool.

Filling
Beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth. Add lemon curd, and continue beating until fully incorporated and smooth.  Spread over cooled cookie crust, and refrigerate 1 hour (loosely covered) until filling is slightly firm.

Arrange fresh berries or assorted summer fruits over lemon filling.

If desired, brush fruit with warmed red currant, or apple jelly, for a shiny appearance.

Serve immediately, or refrigerate until ready to serve (up to 4 hours).

Recipe Source: Final recipe by Glorious Treats, based on a recipe by Betty Crocker.

Recipe- Glorious Treats

This was a really fun day, and I am glad that Tori was around to help.  I just hope she had as much fun as I did.

One more thing: we did head to a park and play with Marcus, too.  Tori liked the big swing!