Momma's Garden

My mom was out of town for a few weeks, so I went to her house last weekend to take care of business. Watered some house plants, deadheaded the geraniums, took out the recycle. Best of all, I got to check in on her garden. It was like my own personal farm box—a random bounty of what was ripe from my momma’s garden.

After a few hours of shuffling around in the sun, here’s what I harvested to bring home:

• A giant shopping bag full of green beans. I pickled most of them with red pepper and garlic, and served the rest alongside trout with sour cream, lemon juice, lemon rind and fresh dill.
• An herb bouquet. Basil, thyme, Italian parsley, and mint to sit on my counter and use at will all week long.
• Zinnias. They’re short stemmed little buggers, so make for a casual arrangement, but the bundle of coral, orange and yellow feels like summer’s last gesture.
• Four stalks of rhubarb. My mom’s not a big fan of rhubarb, so I think she might plant it for the garden drama alone. Those big leaves sure make a show. I chopped the stalks up for one of my all-time favorite tart recipes, and served it to deserving dinner guests on Sunday night. I also ate it for breakfast this morning with coffee. And just had the last piece for an after dinner snack.

Rhubarb Tart

2 cups flour

2 T + 1 cup sugar
1 t vanilla
1 t lemon peel
¼ t salt
1 cup butter, frozen, cut into bits
1 egg
4 cups chopped rhubarb
1 cup crème fraiche
3 egg yolks
2 T honey

• Combine flour, 2 T sugar, vanilla, lemon peel and salt in a food processor.
• Add the butter and egg and pulse until blended and powdery.
• Press the mix into an 11 inch tart pan and chill for 45 minutes or so.
• Toss the rhubarb with a little sugar and let it drain while the crust chills.
• Sprinkle the chilled tart shell with a tablespoon or so of sugar and bake for 15 minutes.
• Fill the tart shell with the drained rhubarb, cover with the remaining sugar, and bake for another 15 minutes.
• Mix the crème fraiche, egg yolks and honey. Pour over the rhubarb and bake for another 15 minutes.
• Serve with unsweetened whipped cream.
• Swoon.