Tomato, Zucchini + Goat Cheese Tarts

For this month's Secret Recipe Club, I was assigned Gastronomical Sovereignty. I was so excited because Kristy always has the sweetest things to say and her blog is simply beautiful. Her recipes are organic and fresh...and that's why I chose her tomato & zucchini tart for my recipe to recreate this month. I must admit that since Penelope was born, I haven't been great about making healthy choices. I haven't had nearly as many vegetables as I'd like. And so when I found this recipe which called for fresh tomatoes and zucchini, I knew it would be a great Friday evening dinner for Shaun and me. Oh and I should mention that it was incredibly simple and quick - just the kind of recipe I can handle these days as a working mom with a 3 month old and a hungry husband at home. While Kristy made one big tart that was then cut into pieces, I made individual tarts because, well, breaking out a rolling pin was just too much work for me.

Tomato, Zucchini + Goat Cheese Tarts

*Adapted from Gastronomical Sovereignty

1/2 Package Frozen Puff Pastry, thawed

1 C grape tomatoes, sliced

1 large zucchini, thinly sliced

2 oz goat cheese

3 Tbsp all-purpose flour

olive oil

kosher salt

freshly cracked black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

On a flat, dry surface, sprinkle some flour. Unfold the puff pastry.

Cut into 4 squares and place on the baking sheet.  Prick all over with a fork. Crumble the goat cheese over the pastry, leaving a small border around the edges of each tart.

In a bowl, coat the zucchini slices with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place onto the tarts. Top with tomatoes.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Enjoy immediately!

This was such a great, fresh, easy dinner! Thanks Kristy for the recipe. I could see using this as a base for so many other options too! Next time, i can't wait to add some garlic and herbed goat cheese to the mix, as well as fresh basil (which the original recipe calls for and which I forgot :/)

I hope you all have a great week!

p.s. thank you all so much for your kind words about my sweet Chloe girl. Though it has been incredibly tough and sad for my family, we know she is in a better place. Give your 4-legged friends extra hugs today :)

16 Years

I didn't plan to do a post about this, but I just felt like getting it out there. If you follow me on Facebook, you know that we've had a pretty tough week as we had to say goodbye to this little ray of sunshine:

Chloe was with our family for 16 1/2 years. We got her on Christmas Eve in 1996, when she was just 6 weeks old. She was the cutest little thing I had ever seen! Just like a little stuffed animal. I remember my parents asked us to come into the kitchen and dance while they broke out the video camera and snuck her in. The camera was out to get our surprised faces. My dad carried her in, tucked into his leather jacket. She was crying a little puppy cry. She probably had no idea what was going on!

She was so tiny that she would run down our small hallway just once and collapse from exhaustion at the other end.

To say that she was a part of our family is an understatement. I will always think of her as my first baby...I always called her my Chloe Baby. When I was younger, she slept with me every night. We snuggled on the couch for hours. She loved pizza crusts and peanut butter. In her younger years, she could get up on her hind legs and dance in a circle. She was a high maintenance little dog (who thought she was a big dog!) and who wanted to be pet only on her terms. 

Though she was a shell of her former self over the last couple of years, I'll always remember her this way. A little stinker, but a cute one. A dog who brought a lot of joy to my family. A little love who I'll miss terribly.

Rainbow Fruit Skewers

On Sunday, we celebrated Mother's Day! It was nice to be celebrating my first Mother's Day, but I really loved celebrating the moms in our life. Words can't even describe! We started the day bright and early with brunch at my parents house, followed by an early evening dinner at my in-laws. Penelope didn't cooperate for most of the day, which certainly took me down a notch, but I still loved every second with my little love. Since I have very limited time for cooking and baking these days, I wanted to bring something homemade but simple to our celebrations.

As a fun twist on the standard fruit salad, I whipped up these rainbow fruit skewers for both celebrations. I think they turned out so pretty and fun. I simply lined up strawberries, cantaloupe, pineapple, honeydew, blueberries and red grapes on some wooden skewers. I also had a marshmallow dip on the menu, but just didn't have time to throw that together...next time, I hope!

Meanwhile, here are a few shots from the day...

{after Penelope had ditched her pretty outfit for simpler duds}

{penelope + grandma}

{3 generations}

I hope that you all had a wonderful weekend, celebrating with those you love!