Building List

Things have slowly been moving along with our move. Or I should say time is passing and our list of things to do is building up. We finally sold some furniture and met with our real estate agent. The market in Seattle is pretty good actually. It's nothing like the market when we bought of course. Back in 2006 houses were going for over $300 per square foot, now it's more like $190. The inventory is low, which is good for us. But the houses that are available are very nice, which means buyers won't take dumpy houses. Luckily our house is in good condition and updated. We do still have lots of landscaping, painting and cleaning to do.

Finley has been going through a major growth spurt and word explosion. She is eating an amazing amount of food. She eats more than I do and probably less than Ben does. She had four servings of dinner last night! Her 2 year old doctor appointment is tomorrow, so we'll know her weight exactly, but according to our scale she's gained 2 lbs (she's now 26.6 lbs).

She has been talking up a storm! She loves to go around the house and find things and say who they belong to. She'll say "mama shoes" or "dada hat". Other things she is saying "clean, clothes, cow, dogs, cheese, juice, more, socks, shoes, boots, poop, puppy, grapes, fruit, coat, thank you, please, hi, Gran, pop, cat, mouse, cars, book, up, down, slide, help...those are the most common ones. It's amazing to watch the association she makes and the things she notices. She knows which leash belongs to each dog and lots of things that were never directly taught to her. She is also now obsessed with her doll that she calls BB. She likes to dress BB and carry her around. We are working on teaching her not to drop little BB.

Finley had her last gym class today and she was on fire! She is the youngest one in class and has always been a bit behind with swinging on the bars, the trampoline, the balance beam, but today she was doing everything.

 

My friend Amy and I hung out the other night and make this lovely tart. It was fairly easy and very Springy. We decided it would be fun to bring to a party for Easter or with Blackberries or Peaches for a summer BBQ. You can use this same crust and substitute other fruits (any berry, nectarine, pear) or you can use jam instead of the cream and fruit on top. I would like to try raspberry jam with fresh raspberries on top. 

Brown Sugar Strawberry Tart from Sunset

• 1 cup flour 
• 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar, divided
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/8 teaspoon salt 
• 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, divided
• 1/2 cup crème fraîche
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 12 ounces strawberries, hulled and sliced 

Preparation

1. 1. Preheat oven to 350°. In a food processor, whirl flour, 2 tbsp. sugar, the cornstarch, and salt until combined. Add butter and 1/2 tsp. vanilla and pulse until fine crumbs form and dough just begins to come together. Press evenly into bottom and up sides of a 9-in. round tart pan with a removable rim.
2. 2. Bake until edges are golden, 20 to 22 minutes. Let cool on a rack, then gently push tart crust from pan rim; set on a plate.
3. 3. In a bowl with a mixer on high speed, beat crème fraîche, cream, remaining 2 tbsp. sugar, and remaining 1/2 tsp. vanilla until thick. Spread in cooled crust. Arrange strawberries in circles on top, alternating cut sides down and up.
4. Make ahead: Chill, loosely covered, up to 4 hours.
5. Note: Nutritional analysis is per serving.