MELBA!!!

oooooof.
time, dudes.
it's slippin' past fast,
like a fast current carrying swollen waterways over their banks,
wrecking all the nice waterfront while it's all really happening.
uh-huh.
that's a thing.
i spent most of wednesday in traffic.
for realsies.
but, the second half of the day was full of family togetherness,
which i really honestly can't say enough good things about.
yup!
my two favorites, harvest and maple,
are now up here with me in the woodsly goodness,
and we're spanning time, and hanging tough,
and having a heck of a lot of laughs,
occasionally at each others' expense (i think that's etched in our shared DNA)
and also,
we're eating ALL the expert food-
which included a stopover in portsmouth at the green elephant
for that from-the-jump-off day-one deep indulgence in decadent delights for dinner.
WORD.
we met nate there (it was his first time, awwwwww, s'kyoot)
and tuned-up eleven appetizers before we terrorized our entrees.
that's how it's done dudes.
too much is the right amount.
that's a fact.
-
meanwhile, in a save-the-day act of grace,
dennis took good care of crabtree.
god bless 'em both, they hung out like a couple of warrior poets.
...and that's just an expression, man, there ain't no god.
but, guys!
i'm pretty F*ing fortunate to have found compatible adults,
who are both competent and capable active participants.
damn.
i am truly grateful.
uncle dennis is a solid dude.
that's real.
and both he and auntie patti are definitely inducted into the verrry-limited edition,
turbo-exxxclusive, molto elite, (yet rarely sought-after) classification of family.
...that's the rarest category of worth-a-sh!t worthies on the list, bro.
-
wednesday was crazy, but i had help, and company,
and that was both a boon and a blessing,
and for that, among other reasons,
i made a mutha-F*ing PEACH MELBA TART, son!!!
y'gotta commemorate the passage of well-spent time with that sweetness!
(the traffic took care of the bitter for me)
friends,
check the teleport:

PEACHES!!!! RASPBERRY COMPOTE!!!
RAW SUGARY sprankles!!!
and that custom buttery best-ever barbarian battle-beast pastry jaun, too.
word!
the proper service is with vanilla scooples,
AND whippy cream if you've got it (i've got it).
that's what's up.
here's that pie crust recipe again, just in case you need it pronto asap in a hurry:
-
*
PIE CRUST PASTRY DOUGH!!!
-
in your food processor, pulse together:
2 1/4 cups flour;
4 T sugar;
10 T earth balance butterish, ice cold;
4 T vegan creamchee' (tofutti preferably, if at all possible);
1 tsp vanilla;
non-dairy milk added in 1 T at a time,
until all that fattie-boombattie battered batter gets clumpy,
and sticks together when pressed.
wrap and refrigerate it for at least an hour,
but overnight if possible (plan your work, work your plan).
that's it.
*
and the COMPOTE?!
easy-
in a small saucepot, simmer up:
1 1/2 cups raspberries;
1/4 cup powdered sugar;
2 T cornstarch;
1/2 lemon zest and juice;
1/2 tsp vanilla.
^when it's thick, and the 'spberries are 'sploded,
it's ready.
-
look here, holmes-
you put the dough in a tart tin,
you arrange some pitted skin-on sliced peaches in a spiral inside,
and then pout the compote over all of it-
a blast of raw sugar to caramelize on the top is a nice touch, if you've got the means-
then,
y'bake that baby boo-bear in the oven at 410℉, for about 20-25 minutes,
and serve it with the vanilla blops that make it so especially melba.
-
now,
you may wanna decorate it with the nicey-nice shapes,
and the spranks, too.
...i would if i were you.
trust, nobody wants an ugly punishment treat;
that's not the way things should be done.
in fact,
around here,
it's actually mandatory that you make it magical if yo make it at all.
rules is rules,
and taking it easy is the easiest way to get taken out of the equation.
believe it.
it's sweet as heck, and soft and smooth,
and there's all the grown-up sophistication in the whole wide world
contained within an a la mode slice of that stuff.
nice.
***********
meanwhile, in kittery, at crate and barrel,
on a slight detour prior to the elephantitis of our appetites-
we oooohed and ahhhh'd over furniture
as if it were a day earlier,
and the fireworks were poppin'.
and then we drove,
and we rocked out in the party car,
and we laughed some more.
and when we got home,
crabtree was calm.
why?
because dennis is a F*ing hero.
it all really happened.
and while i was a traffic-sittin' potty mouth en route,
the results at the end synced up and aligned to make a brilliant family moment.
and that was too long overdue.
there's too little time ahead of us not to make these minutes matter the most.
that's the way it is,
and that's the route we're taking;
never quiet, never soft.....