I’m having major deja vu about saying this, but our Spring seems to be hiding.
I’ve been hard on myself in the past about talking about the weather in too many posts, but this time I feel like it’s warranted because I woke up on April 1st/Easter Sunday/April Fool’s Day to see huge fat snowflakes coming down outside my window. And if that just happened to be a fluke in out town, I’d probably not mention it, but then I heard from some of you guys that it’s been snowing all over the country. My sister and her husband were driving through some snow in the Midwest yesterday and I just saw a news report about New York getting a bunch.
I think everyone’s having a bit too much fun saying that it’s nature’s April fool’s prank to us. I mean, who needs a white Christmas when you can a white Easter? Clearly 2018 didn’t get the memo about global warming.
Not only that but it’s been pretty much the same weather since Sunday so that’s exciting. Maybe it really was just a little joke from nature and now we’re in for a perfect rest of the season but with it continuing to snow it’s hard to imagine. I hesitate to say it’s going to be warm now, but I think it just might.
And speaking of Spring things, somehow my 9 and a half year old little sister talked my parents into agreeing to a few ducks for our backyard. Of course, many other people must have been excited to get ducklings right now because my parents weren’t able to find any available so we ended up with some baby chicks. Six of them actually and they’re too small and too similar to be named yet but I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before they’re older and large enough to tell apart. I’ll keep you updated on the naming situation.
A few years ago when we had our little family farm experiment I remember moments of being sure I’d never want chickens in the future, but I have to admit I really miss having the fresh eggs and another nice thing is being able to feed them some of the kitchen scraps that would otherwise go to waste. Guys, not that we feed them just anything, but from past experience I’m pretty sure chickens will eat basically everything in front of them.
Sorry, I’ll get to the point of this post eventually. So these tarts are super easy my friends. Ever since moving back to the States I tend to forget about how many things and conveniences are available. Puff pastry, for example, is one of them. I picked some up recently and when I was recipe planning for this week I just knew I wanted to try a Springtime appetizer with some seasonal produce.
To me, there’s hardly any veggies that say Spring better than asparagus and radishes. I also love the bright color combination they have and how beautiful they finish off these tarts. So yeah, if you’re looking for something quick and easy to prepare for an upcoming brunch-eon or picnic I’d say you’ve found it. They take right around 45 minutes from start to finish but they come out of the oven looking so perfect they’ll be sure to convince the guests you’ve spent hours on them.
A perfect Springtime appetizer to share with friends and family throughout the season. Think how pretty they’d be at a picnic!
Ingredients
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- 1 of a 17.3-ounce package Puff Pastry Sheets (1 sheet), thawed
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- 1 bunch of fresh asparagus (about 20 spears), trimmed
- 1 cup fresh radishes, stems cut
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice, divided
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- 1 cup cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 6 ounces feta cheese crumbles
- 36 fresh raspberries or semi-sweet chocolate pieces
Instructions
- Lightly dust a clean work surface with flour. Unfold one of the pastry sheets and roll into a rectangle that’s about 18×9-inches. Cut into 6 smaller rectangles (6x3inch) and prick the centers of the pastries with a fork. Repeat with second sheet.
- Cut the asparagus into 2-inch pieces and thinly slice the radishes. Place them in a medium bowl and toss with the olive oil, garlic, 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste.
- Stir together the softened cream cheese with the egg and another teaspoon lemon juice. Add salt and pepper and stir to combine. Spoon the cream mixture onto the cut pastry rectangles (about 2 tablespoons each), leaving about 3/4-inch of border and top them with a few pieces of the radish and asparagus mixture. Fold up the four edges of each tart and line a baking tray with parchment or silicone pads.
- Heat the oven to 375°F and place them on your baking tray. Place the tray and sprinkle the feta on the top of each then place in the freezer to chill while your oven heats (at least 10 minutes).
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the pastries are golden brown. Let the pastries cool in the pans on wire racks for 5 minutes.
