Fresh Cherry Galette

Okay, we’ve been good for several months. I’m not even ordering half-n-half tea (in south Texas that means iced tea that is half sweetened and half unsweetened) anymore; it’s too sweet. Weird. Even weirder, I passed the grocery store’s doughnut section yesterday without any cravings. There may be something to eating healthy food. 🙂 If you don’t read nutrition labels, you really should – it would probably shock you to see how much sugar, sodium, fat, and cholesterol you are buying and ingesting. However, with a little modification, this dessert from Family Circle magazine might be too good to pass up…

Recipe of the Week: Cherry Galette

Dough:
1-1/4 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
1 stick (1/2 c.) cold unsalted butter, cubed
1/2 tbs. truvia
1/8 tsp. salt (or salt substitute)
2 tbs. ice water

Filling:
1-1/2 lbs. sweet cherries, stemmed, pitted and halved
1/4 c. truvia
1 tbs. cornstarch
1 tbs. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. natural almond extract
fat-free organic half-and-half for brushing
2 tbs. raw sugar/turbinado

Directions for dough:
1. In a food processor, combine flour, butter, truvia, and salt. Pulse until butter looks like coarse crumbs. Run it some more while streaming in ice water, until the dough comes together. If it seems too dry, add another tbs. of ice water while running the processor, until it’s just right.
2. Place some plastic wrap on a flat working surface and work the dough into a disk. Cover it completely with the wrap and refrigerate it for 1 hour.

Other directions: Turn on oven to 375F.
1. In medium bowl, combine cherries, truvia, cornstarch, lemon juice, almond extract. Put aside.
2. Lightly flour flat surface and roll out chilled dough until it’s about a 13″ circle. Transfer this to a parchment-paper lined cookie sheet.
3. Pour filling into middle of circle, leaving a 2″ border from the edge. Fold entire outer edge over the filling until the galette becomes a 9″ circle.
4. Brush the border with cream and sprinkle with raw sugar. Bake for 50-55 minutes. Crust should be golden brown. Cool on wire rack before serving.

Note: If you would like to make this without my modifications, check out page 174 of the June 2013 issue of Family Circle. Also, you might want to serve this with a scoop of frozen yogurt.

P.S. This dough will work the same magic with any fresh fruit or veggies.

(courtesy of seductionmeals.com)

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Thought of the Week: Due to my lack of movie and book reviews in the past few months, it may seem that I have been homebound or too busy for either. However, that is not totally the case. Although we did not go to the movies for over a month due to Danny’s heart attack and bypass surgery, we have seen “The Croods,” “Oblivion,” “Mud,” and “Iron Man 3.” The first was cute, but not exceptionally so. The second was just okay and too long. The third was unimpressive and unredeeming for McConaughey. As for the last one, I am soooo sick of unnecessary 3-D. Save it for IMAX and only IMAX viewing; that’s where it belongs…Bookwise, I am not finishing books in a timely manner anymore. I am thoroughly exhausted when I get to bed and no longer read for an hour or two. The books I have finished in the past four months are so unremarkable that I can’t remember them, which is sad.

Actually, there’s something internal going on with me. I think, it’s a new phase of my life, because what used to amuse, satisfy, inspire, or intrigue me no longer does. What’s up with that? It could be a sense of hopelessness from all the cruelty, greed, injustice, and stupidity that continues to occur in this world. There are so many issues and problems that need to be addressed and remedied, but time won’t stand still long enough for goodness to prevail and purge out the badness. Though technology is disrupting archaic cultures for the better, it cannot stop assholes from hurting women and children. My soul is stressed and very, very tired…