Today I got not one, not two, but three lovely shots in my left arm. Yeah, I sang “shots shots shots” the whooole time, whateva. I’m not squeamish about needles and I don’t mind a dull ache in my bicep so it wasn’t much of a to-do but I did, however, get some weird looks flailing my arms around on the street like I was doing the macarena. They say you’re supposed to move your arms! Can’t blame a girl for groovin’.
This set of shots marked the last of my immunizations necessary for Russia. (!) This is probably a bigger relief to the University Health Services than it is to me. I’ve been all up in their business for the last several weeks and they’re undoubtedly tired of my million daily calls and clogging up their waiting rooms. I needed the shots because I am studying in St. Petersburg next semester and they don’t want me to contract polio or anything. The whole Russia thing is still not entirely hitting me. The closest thing to recognizing my imminent departure was a call from my mom today, in which she said that she thinks I should bring a flashlight and batteries with me “just in case.” Duly noted.
So that marks the end of a hectic *officially immunized* week. I can finally get at y’all with the last of my Swanksgiving recipes. Isn’t she gorgeous? I am proud to boast that this was one of the first desserts finished even among her dairy and egg-containing neighbors. I’m definitely making this again, possibly with another fruit next time. Plums, anyone? Also not a bad idea if you’re trying to woo someone…
Crust from Vegan Yum Yum!
- 1 1/4 cup All Purpose Flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 teaspoons sugar
- 1/4 cup non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening
- 1/4 cup Earth Balance margarine
- 2-4 Tablespoons ice water
- 3-4 ripe pears
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon honey or agave, or maple syrup (optional)
1. Add the flour, salt, sugar, shortening, and margarine to a food processor.
2. Pulse until the mixture looks like wet sand and has small, pea-sized clumps. Slowly drizzle ice water in and blend until the dough forms a cohesive (but not sticky) ball. Smush the dough into a patty-like disk and cover in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or a few hours until you’re ready to bake.
3. Preheat oven to 400º. Peel and slice the pears into thin pieces, removing seeds. Brush lightly with lemon juice.
4. Remove the dough from the fridge and roll out on a sheet of parchment or wax paper. Insert the dough over a tart pan and shove the edges down a bit to fit the pan. Layer the pear slices as shown (feel free to make it perdy or just smoosh ‘em in), then sprinkle generously with brown sugar. Pop that sucker in the oven for 15 minutes then reduce the temp to 350º for the next 40 minutes, or until the pears are tender and the crust is golden.
Combine 1 teaspoon liquid sweetener + 1/2 teaspoon boiling water in a small bowl to make a glaze. Brush over the fruit and crust and allow to cool slightly before devouring. ENJOY.
While my tart was in the oven I was impatient and had a bit extra dough so I made one of these little nuggets in a ramekin. SO GOOD. Next time I might just make a bunch of these and enjoy my leetle individual-sized desserts one at a time…
La la la love it.
