Meatless Monday: Tomato Onion Tart with Olive Oil Crust

This recipe from Marcy Gaston (MS, RD, LN) at Food and Nutrition Magazine looks so yummy…you may want to give it a try! She blogs at cookingsustainably.com  ~Becky

A fully baked Tomato Onion Tart with Olive Oil Crust shot from above.

Photo: Marcy Gaston, MS, RD, LN

Looking for another way to eat tomatoes since they’re in season and ready to be served? Of course, you can always opt for the classic BLT. Heck, I like bacon as much as the next person, but sometimes you need to give tomatoes a holiday from bacon (or vice versa). This is also a perfect recipe for a brunch or light dinner.  It isn’t heavy and if served with a nice salad, it will make a complete meal.

The catch? You have to use fresh, ripe tomatoes. You know those heirloom varieties sold at the farmer’s market? Yeah, those. Buy some and use them for this recipe. It will make a huge difference in the end product.

Now, if you look at the title, you’ll see I mention an olive oil crust. Yes, instead of butter, I made the tart pastry with olive oil and yogurt. Why? Well, I like butter. Trust me. Butter is my friend and I’m always happy to use it. But sometimes I like to see if anything else can replace butter. Nothing is a great substitute for butter, let’s be honest. The tart pastry is not flaky; it’s mealy. BUT it tastes great and works really well in this recipe. I do not suggest using this tart pastry for pies. It just won’t taste right and you’ll be frustrated. But this is a savory tart and it works.

Tomato Onion Tart with Olive Oil Crust

Ingredients

Olive Oil Tart Pastry:

  • 1½ cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon baking powder
  • 13 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 13 cup water
  • 3 tablespoons Greek yogurt

Tart

  • 1 sweet yellow onion, sliced thin
  • ¼ cup Kalamata olives (or your favorite olive), pitted and roughly chopped
  • ½ pound fontina cheese, sliced into ¼-inch slices
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 to 4 medium to large tomatoes, sliced
  • Parmesan cheese for sprinkling
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375ºF.
  2. In a bowl, sift together the flour, salt, sugar and baking powder. In a small bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients (olive oil, water, and yogurt). Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix until combined. If mixture is too dry, add a little water. If it’s too wet, add a little flour. It should come together like a regular pastry dough (slightly soft but not sticky or crumbly).
  3. Flour the counter and roll the dough into a circle bigger than your tart pan. My tart pan is 11 inches, so I rolled the dough into a 12-inch circle. The tart pastry should be about 1814-inch thick. You don’t want it too thick. The pastry might break apart, and that’s perfectly OK. It’s a tart pastry, the most unruly and forgiving of all pastries.
  4. Transfer the pastry to the tart pan and tuck the dough into the pan. If it breaks apart, just fill in the holes with the extra dough. Press any of the overhang against the top of the pan. Make sure the sides are enforced well with dough.
  5. Slide the tart pan onto a baking sheet. Bake for 6 to 10 minutes. Basically, you are giving the crust a head start in baking.
  6. Remove the tart from the oven and fill it with the tart ingredients. First, layer the onion and olives on the bottom of the pan. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Place the sliced cheese on top of the onions. Drizzle with olive oil. Top with sliced tomatoes. Drizzle with a little more olive oil. Season lightly with salt and pepper and sprinkle the top with Parmesan cheese.
  7. Return to the oven and bake for 45 minutes.
  8. Remove and allow to cool slightly before serving. Can be served warm or at room temperature.

Talking with Kids about A Culture of World Peace

Please check out this awesome book “All Are Welcome” by Alexandra Penfold — in this reblog from Patricia Tilton at Children’s Books Heal!    ~Becky

International Day of Peace, Sep. 21, 2018 All Are Welcome Alexandra Penfold, Author Suzanne Kaufman, Illustrator Knopf Books for Young Readers, Fiction, Jul. 10, 2018 Pages: 44 Suitable for Ages: 4-8 Themes: Diversity, Inclusiveness, Classroom, School, Friendship Opening: Pencils sharpened in their case. / Bells are ringing, let’s make haste. / School’s beginning, dreams to […]

via All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold — Children’s Books Heal

September 4 – National Wildlife Day – Guest Post by Author Marsha Diane Arnold — Reblog from Celebrate Picture Books!

About the Holiday: National Wildlife Day was established in 2005 by author and pet lifestyle expert Colleen Paige in memory of conservationist Steve Irwin. The day promotes awareness of the importance of conservation of animals, habitats, and the environment worldwide and offers education on the number of endangered and threatened species across the globe. To […]

via September 4 – National Wildlife Day – Guest Post by Author Marsha Diane Arnold —

Talking with Kids about Climate Change

After reading this week that some of Earth’s “old” polar ice is breaking up for the first time on record and that the current administration plans to further relax the pollution rules, I felt frustration beginning to boil. What to do? Write about it! No, I’m not going to write a children’s book about climate change (at least not now:) but I AM going to tell you about several good literature choices that are available. These books can help you broach this topic with our young and up-coming scientists, activists, and caretakers of the Earth.

 

The Tantrum that Saved the World is by Megan Herbert (writer and illustrator) and Michael E. Mann (climate scientist). This rhyming book is available in hardcover and e-book from World Saving Books in Amsterdam. In the story, various people and animals who have been displaced by climate change come knocking. They don’t just want a place to stay, though; they want to get busy and make a change!

The story is easy to understand for young children, and the colorful illustrations add to the enjoyment. Toward the end of the book, you’ll find informational pages about the science of climate change that will add even more depth for somewhat older readers. The print book includes an action plan poster, and the e-book version offers a PDF of the poster, as well. Bill Nye the Science Guy recommends this book, which is certainly high praise.

 

The Magic School Bus and the Climate Challenge is just one of the adventures in this science series for kids written by Joanna Cole and illustrated by Bruce Degen. As a teacher, I loved sharing these stories of Ms. Frizzle and her class with my own enthusiastic students.

This particular book from the series explains in a kid-friendly way just why the Earth is getting warmer and explores what the children can do about the situation! The lively illustrations tell even more of the story beyond the text. Available in hardcover, paperback, and audio.

I’m wondering if any of you have read and discussed either of these books with your own children or students. If so, I would love to hear about the experience. In addition, please feel free to share any other titles on the topic of climate change geared toward young kids all the way up through YA! 

~Becky

Love Your Library? Help Safeguard Funding for 2019!

 

WHY?

According to the ALA (American Library Association),

“…despite the additional federal dollars for domestic programs in 2018, the 2019 budget proposed later in February 2018 by the White House again eliminates funding for libraries across the country through LSTA (Library Services and Technology Act) and IAL (Innovative Approaches to Literacy), and the fight to reinstate and retain this primary source of federal support for libraries, as well as other programs affecting libraries, will continue into the next year.

WHAT?

On May 7-8, nearly 500 library advocates are heading to Washington, D.C. to meet with their Senators and Representatives. You can help boost the signal! There are three “asks” for National Library Legislative Day (NLLD) this year:

  • House & Senate: Reauthorize the Museum and Library Services Act (S. 2271)
  • House & Senate: Fully Fund LSTA and IAL for FY 2019
  • House & Senate: Visit a library, see broadband access in action

You have plenty of ways to participate in NLLD from home! Check out the toolkit, with suggestions for spreading the word through social media and writing your elected officials an email inviting them to tour your library.

WHO?

Check the LSTA and IAL letter trackers to see if your Senators and Representatives signed this year! If not, please consider contacting them! You can find your elected officials here.

*****

I love my library and depend on it in so many ways beyond finding books and other media! It’s also an important social hub in the city square that offers programs like book clubs and writing critique groups, along with available space for tutoring. What do you appreciate most about your library?

 

 

Source:

“National Library Legislative Day”, American Library Association, March 27, 2018.http://www.ala.org/advocacy/advleg/nlld (Accessed May 3, 2018)Document ID: 855aa32e-90b8-5164-3dcb-487bdac4a42d