Rustic fruit tarts . . . . . . . . .

Sometimes I ask myself what on earth I'm doing in the kitchen on these hot

 summer days, cooking and baking, heating up the house, then sitting down to

 supper. . . . . . . whoa. . . . . . . that's what it's all about, the suppers of course!

We eat breakfast late, actually that meal is more like brunch because we

 usually skip lunch when at home. This means eager anticipation of a tasty 

supper arriving on the table around 6 pm is enjoyable. 

Afternoons in the kitchen prepping - thankfully now so cool with the new
 air conditioning system - sometimes baking, is for me much

 better than trying to sit rocking on the front porch in steamy, humid,

100 degree weather, batting off mosquitoes and other biting insects.

Often a cup of tea around 3 pm keeps us going until time for an aperitif. . . . 

these days a well-chilled glass of rosé works best!

About the baking. . . . . . . . .this was done on Sunday morning when I had a

 punnet of plumcots and some extra blueberries requiring attention.  
I love my fruits cooked rather than raw - easier to swallow and digest.

As we were heading over to visit our daughter in the afternoon, I made two

 galettes, one for us to enjoy at suppertime, and one to share with her.

If you've never baked with plumcots you should try them - I've found them 

really delicious when unable to find apricots or plums.

These turned out great - galettes/crostatas are so quick and easy to make, and

delicious to eat. 

Bon appetit!

Baking with fresh fruits. . . . . . . . .

Baked this easy galette yesterday as I needed to use up a remaining piecrust 

taking up space in the refrigerator.  Picked up a box of California plumcots------not

 pluots which are quite different------at LIDL, and found they did the job nicely in place

of traditional plums which were not available. 

As we all know by now, making a rustic, free form galette is a lot easier 

and more fun than a traditional pie. I've learned that baking on a sheet of 

parchment paper is best - with fruit it's almost impossible not to have

 juices leak out making it difficult to remove the pie which becomes stuck

to the baking sheet. This way just lift the galette with the parchment and

plonk it on a serving plate! I used my deep vintage pie pan which I love.

Here's a link to Plumcots interesting history. 

BTW, this is not a newfangled genetically engineered fruit which is good news!

Have you tried plumcots? 

Pass the crème frâiche, whipped cream or ice cream!

Do you enjoy baking, and of course eating, fresh fruit pies, tarts, galettes?