They may not be considered exotic - but they are delicious. And I have never seen them in the USA before. Butter tarts!
This morning I woke up feeling dizzy. When I went into the kitchen to get something to eat, my 8 yr old presented me with a card. It was drawn and scrawled in her usual quick manner - but it was very clever. A pic of me sick in bed is on the front (not very true to life artistry - I don't look nearly that good in the morning). Inside it reads: Get well soon, I love you. Then there is a teardrop and written around the inside edges it says "I weep for you I deeply sympathize" (a quote from Lewis Carroll's "The Walrus and the Carpenter".) I need to add that I had NEVER heard of this poem until about a year ago. Found it in an old poetry book and my dd memorized it for school. I LOVE IT!
Then it said "Feeling well is like building a snowman - feeling sick is the snowman melting." Watch out Hallmark writers! She sure is sweet - she did all this even though she in on day 2 of a miserable headcold herself (and no I did not come up with a card, clever or otherwise, for her).
Anyway back to the butter tarts. There is no dessert that says holiday time to me like butter tarts. I grew up in a small town in Manitoba, Canada - and every year around Christmas and for rare other occasions, my mom would make butter tarts. And if it wasn't a special time of year with butter tarts hiding in the freezer (which I would sometimes sneak out and eat frozen) that's ok - b/c I could go to pretty much any convenience store or grocery store and buy my own little two-pack for about a buck.
Basically it's a tart shell filled with a gooey, sweet concoction of brown sugar, corn syrup, butter, egg, vanilla flavoring, vinegar and raisins. You put the concoction in the tart shell and bake it for about 20 min. I think it tastes and has the consistency of a pecan pie - minus the pecans. The recipe varies - I found mine in a magazine, but here is one that is similar. I do NOT add nuts to mine, nor any spices as I've seen sometimes.
I don't bake them very often b/c my dh does not like to eat sweets (well he loves them but he prefers not to have them around) and so if I make something like that - they will be consumed by my children and me...primarily by me - and I don't need that much sugar. Well unless I'm feeling dizzy. Then nothing is as good as two butter tarts and some decaf coffee, and a sweet card from my little girl.
This morning I woke up feeling dizzy. When I went into the kitchen to get something to eat, my 8 yr old presented me with a card. It was drawn and scrawled in her usual quick manner - but it was very clever. A pic of me sick in bed is on the front (not very true to life artistry - I don't look nearly that good in the morning). Inside it reads: Get well soon, I love you. Then there is a teardrop and written around the inside edges it says "I weep for you I deeply sympathize" (a quote from Lewis Carroll's "The Walrus and the Carpenter".) I need to add that I had NEVER heard of this poem until about a year ago. Found it in an old poetry book and my dd memorized it for school. I LOVE IT!
Then it said "Feeling well is like building a snowman - feeling sick is the snowman melting." Watch out Hallmark writers! She sure is sweet - she did all this even though she in on day 2 of a miserable headcold herself (and no I did not come up with a card, clever or otherwise, for her).
Anyway back to the butter tarts. There is no dessert that says holiday time to me like butter tarts. I grew up in a small town in Manitoba, Canada - and every year around Christmas and for rare other occasions, my mom would make butter tarts. And if it wasn't a special time of year with butter tarts hiding in the freezer (which I would sometimes sneak out and eat frozen) that's ok - b/c I could go to pretty much any convenience store or grocery store and buy my own little two-pack for about a buck.
Basically it's a tart shell filled with a gooey, sweet concoction of brown sugar, corn syrup, butter, egg, vanilla flavoring, vinegar and raisins. You put the concoction in the tart shell and bake it for about 20 min. I think it tastes and has the consistency of a pecan pie - minus the pecans. The recipe varies - I found mine in a magazine, but here is one that is similar. I do NOT add nuts to mine, nor any spices as I've seen sometimes.
I don't bake them very often b/c my dh does not like to eat sweets (well he loves them but he prefers not to have them around) and so if I make something like that - they will be consumed by my children and me...primarily by me - and I don't need that much sugar. Well unless I'm feeling dizzy. Then nothing is as good as two butter tarts and some decaf coffee, and a sweet card from my little girl.
