The Arab Autumn

Please excuse my delay between postings.  It isn't that I haven't been keeping up with all things domestic (although, by the looks of my kitchen you'd think I'd completely forgotten cleaning supplies exist), I've just been practically underwater at that other place I go to ten hours a day.  It is amazing how time consuming making other people's lives easier can be; no matter how organized or on top of things you try to be. Despite the time-consuming nature of that pesky pay-check producing hobby I've learned a number of things:

1) homemade hummous is amazing, 2) "red pumpkins" are just like butternut squash and 3) every hour an egg is at room temperature ages it a day.  That last one was something we discovered after the refrigerator was left open overnight because a late night bottle of water was retrieved (and we weren't the first people to Google "can you eat room temperature eggs"!).

In other news, It's getting "cooler" in Doha; and by "cooler" I mean it isn't 120 degree Fahrenheit on a daily basis.  Of course, once October hits I'm not thinking things like "hey, it's finally cool enough to go to the beach again" I'm stuck with thoughts of pumpkin pie, sweatshirts, football season and the most perfect baking weather known to man. While it isn't exactly baking weather around here it is, at the least, softball season.  And the Embassy softball team (which we play on) is 2-0.  In any event, I'm trying to keep up with both softball and baking.  This afternoon I added an RBI to my stats and made Curried-Apple tarts which, in my humble opinion, are a pretty great start to, what I lovingly (read: tongue-in-cheek) refer to as, the "Arab Autumn".  Click through for the recipe.

Curried Apple Tart

1.  Combine 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour, 3 tablespoons butter, 3 table spoons milk, 1 tablespoon brown sugar,  1 teaspoon salt until it forms a ball.

2. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface until it is a little less than 1/4 inch thick.

3. Use an 8" Tupperware bowl to cut out 6 circles of pastry (I flip the bowl upside down and then trim around the edge of the bowl, it gives you perfect circles every time). Press the pastry circles into a muffin tin (one pastry circle per muffin cup).

4. Chop 2 gala apples into very small piece (1/4 inch bits work well) and then coat with 2 teaspoons all purpose flour, 1 tsp vanilla, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice, 1/2 teaspoon green curry.  (Depending on your curry you may want to use more but our curry over here is pretty serious.

5. Spoon the coated apples pieces into the center of the pastry and top with a tiny bit of butter (like you would an apple pie).  After filling each cup and pressing them shut baker 20 minutes at 350 or until your crust is light brown and flaky.

6. After removing from the oven top with powdered sugar or a vanilla/cinnamon glaze (1 tablespoon milk, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, 2 teaspoons powdered sugar, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla.