Delicious Brussels sprouts and cheese tart

This Brussels sprouts and cheese tart is a keeper. Below, this is how the sprouts look on the plant before being harvested. They're kind of like mini cabbages. They're also attractive to deer and we have to use wire or sheets late in the season to keep the harvest from being eaten.

Here's another good reason to grow Brussels sprouts -- this cheese and sprouts tart.

The recipe comes courtesy of the Star Tribune's food section via Newsday -- yes, there still are newspapers that recognize the value of food sections.

Brian made the tart for a Thanksgiving Day appetizer, putting some of the last of the Brussels sprouts to flavorful use. The verdict -- a unanimous "yes," even the self-described sprouts-hater among the four of us found the tart appealing. Well, he at least found it palatable. The dual cooking approach -- sauteing and roasting -- eliminates the bitter that some people are sensitive to. Here's a link to the recipe (I've also copied it below.) Brian did make one change -- he substituted Jarlsberg cheese for the Gruyere. The leek and thyme called for in the recipe came from our garden, too.

GRUYÈRE AND BRUSSELS SPROUTS TART

Makes 4 to 6 servings

• 1 (14-ounce) sheet puff pastry, defrosted in the refrigerator overnight

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 leek, white and light green parts, sliced thin

• 10 ounces Brussels sprouts, halved

• Salt

• Ground black pepper

• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves

• 4 ounces shredded Gruyère (we used Jarlsberg) cheese

• 1 egg, lightly beaten

Directions

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Unfold the puff pastry and place in middle of baking sheet. Prick all over with a fork. Cover with plastic and place in freezer.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add leek and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add Brussels sprouts, salt and pepper to taste and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are spotty brown, 5 to 7 minutes.

Add balsamic vinegar and continue to cook, stirring, until most of the liquid has cooked off (this will take less than 30 seconds). Scrape into a bowl, stir in thyme and set aside to cool.

Remove puff pastry from freezer, and spread cooled Brussels sprouts mixture over it, leaving a 1-inch border all around. Sprinkle the cheese over the Brussels sprouts.

Brush edge of dough with egg. Bake until the pastry is golden and cheese is browned and bubbling, about 20 minutes. Cool slightly and serve warm or let come to room temperature before serving.

November greens

The lettuce and spinach were in the ground only hours earlier. That half-moon slice of radish near center top is a new favorite called 'Chinese Red Meat.' Below, behold a bowl of 'Tyee' spinach.

The last of the salad greens were harvested over the weekend. The spinach and lettuce held up quite well under the floating row covers, put in place as much for deer protection as for an extra degree or two on the thermometer.

The spinach -- handsome, sturdy leaves of 'Tyee' -- were cooked with cream. Popeye would be proud!

The lettuce -- a beautiful red called 'Galactic' and a speckled loose-head variety called 'Mottistone' -- consorted with some of the spinach in an early winter salad fortified with carrots, red onion and radishes harvested earlier this fall and stored in the fridge or in the crawlspace under the stairs.

Even in Zone 3-4, it is still possible to enjoy salad picked only hours earlier on a cold, gray day at the end of November.

Sources include Johnny's Selected Seeds and Territorial Seed Company. We found the Galactic seed at Johnny's but it doesn't look like they carry it anymore.

(Rosy) Seventh Day November

Some mornings, when the timing and circumstances are just right, the sun crests the trees across the road and throws beams of golden or pink light onto the tops of the trees behind our house. The effect only lasts a few minutes, but those few minutes are magical.

On this Nov. 7 we were treated to a "rosy-fingered dawn." And then we were treated to an evening meal of freshly picked lettuce and parsnips. The hours between were filled with work so we're a little shy on photos this time around. Still, click here or see the sidebar at right for more images.

Better late than never: Seventh Day October

 A bee works over a stand of asters in the backyard.

Did you think that maybe we had fallen off the face of the Earth? That maybe we had finally had enough of all the nonsense we've been witnessing thanks to the politicians and big-business types? That maybe we had decided just to pack it in and go off the grid? As tempting as that may be, the real reason you haven't seen much here lately is that we've been really, really busy.

October was a month of transition -- both in the garden and out of the garden. So let's talk garden: 

• Containers of summer annuals and vegetables have been emptied.
• Pots of scented geraniums and other plants for overwintering have been brought inside. Still need to find homes for everything. The dining room floor is way too crowded!
• Waterlilies and umbrella plants stowed in the closet under the stairs.
• Fish moved into winter quarters in the aquarium in the guest room. All four appear to be adjusting well.
• Harvesting potatoes, carrots, onions. Eating celeriac, beets, parsnips, spinach and lettuce.
• Planting garlic.
• Planting the martagon lilies we bought during a visit to the Chicago Botanic Garden.
• Cages going up for winter deer protection.

October passed by too quickly. Here, at least, we can slow down a little and see where we've been.  Take a look here or in the sidebar at right.

Between harvest and compost

Where do cornstalks go after the sweet corn is harvested and before they're tossed into the compost pile?

To Bill and Phil's house as part of their annual Halloween extravaganza.

The display also includes giant inflatable pumpkins, a pirate ship, a train and a black cat. Oh, and a simple maze constructed of hay bales.

They'll break down the Halloween decorations as soon as the last trick-or-treaters have visited. Christmas is calling.

Dinner, together

 A grouse is almost too heavy to balance on a stem of this viburnum while a chipmunk hangs upside down to grab his share of berries. Below: The berries.

The viburnum at the end of the driveway became a popular dining destination earlier this week. The shrub, Viburnum dentatum Red Feather, was loaded with blue-black berries -- until they were discovered by the birds, including this grouse, and the chipmunks.

The shrub is a good choice for our garden. It doesn't need a lot of coddling, always a happy attribute around here. In spring, the emerging foliage is maroon and because of some prominent veining, the young leaves themselves look something like feathers. White flat-top flowers follow. The berries arrive in fall as the foliage begins to turn purple.

 

These days, we're seeing lots of bird activity as the fruit on the crab apple, viburnums, roses and other shrubs ripen. The blue jays already have stripped a frontyard oak of its acorns. Sparrows scoot through the perennials searching out whatever seeds and other food they can find on the ground. And the Silly Dog has to keep track of the resident chipmunks as they run through the garden caching whatever they don't immediately devour.

Back to normal

The Silly Dog had the staples from his surgery of two weeks ago removed today, and we're happy to report that he is back chasing chipmunks and racing the UPS truck.

Life is good.