Rhubarb: our first spring dessert from the garden

Rhubarb tart

Crust

1 cup whole raw almonds chopped in blender (We like the nuts to be not too fine, but if you prefer them finely chopped go right ahead)
½ cup flour
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup butter (add a bit more if the dough is too dry)

Mix ingredients to form a dough, then press into a greased or parchment lined 8 inch square baking pan

Bake @ 350 for about 15 minutes checking occasionally to make sure the crust doesn’t burn

Cool while you prepare rhubarb filling

Filling

Place in a bowl:

3 - 4 cups chopped fresh rhubarb (We like lots of fruit)
1 cup brown sugar
3 – 4 eggs (I use an egg to fruit ratio, three cups of fruit, three eggs etc)
½ cup light sour cream
A bit of nutmeg and/or cinnamon if you like your fruit pies spiced

Mix all ingredients together until well blended then pour over the crust.

Bake @ 350 until the tart is set (knife or toothpick comes out clean). It will take anywhere from 45 minutes to 1 hour, but don’t worry if it takes a little longer.

Family: Schnarrs, Zettells, Cape Breton & Dawson City

Some times you're blessed with a plethora of family time. I'm just back from Ontario where I went to a Schnarr family reunion (my mother's side of the family) and had visits with my siblings and my parents. My son, Daniel, picked me up at the airport in Halifax to bring me home (we missed you, Noelle), and Alistair's sons Duncan and Fergus were here to visit him for Victoria Day 2-4 weekend. We even had a nice long chat with John & Mackenzie in Dawson City (we missed you, Tanja), and learned that Mackenzie has become a water baby and is proud of it!

All in all a family smorgasbord!

Click on the pictures to enlarge them.

Explorer Watt discovers waterfall

Daniel took Honey for a long walk yesterday, trekking up MacAskill Brook where he came upon this waterfall now named Watt Waterfall.

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Happy belated birthday, John

On his facebook site, my son, John, posted a picture of me in the very last days of my pregnancy with him. Not being a facebook user, I couldn't view the picture and though I was sure I would remember what I looked like, I was shocked when he sent me a copy of the photo. John was born on May 5th, 1978, three weeks overdue to the day. These days they would not let you go so far past your due date, but I was healthy, the baby's heartbeat strong, John was moving in utero, usually pushing my belly outwards even further than this picture shows and making my backbone feel as if it would crack. He weighed in at 10 pounds, 4 ounces and was 22 inches long. He had lots of brown hair and a big perfectly shaped head. (I remark on this because my oldest son, Daniel, was a somewhat pointy-headed forceps delivery baby.) His fingernails were so long we had to cut them right away, and there was a whole added section to the placenta that we joked had grown to feed such a large fetus. Remarkably, the birth was fairly easy, most of the labour spent riding the Clydsedale wagon at the Experimental Farm in Ottawa on a rather chilly day. I went into hospital in the early afternoon and John was born some time after 4 PM. No anesthetic, no tears, no rips, he just slipped out. I guess we all had to wait until he was damn good and ready to make his exit, and if there is one enduring trait it is exactly that: John does not do anything until he is absolutely ready to do it.