Beet tart?

The weather is still gorgeous- how do we respond to sunlight for 4 or 5 days IN A ROW? It's amazing! While reading through my new Zuni Cafe cookbook, I learned that Rodgers feels beets are best the day after being roasted. So, I refrigerated the ones I cooked yesterday overnight and am thinking that a beet tart sounds lovely. I've run out of time to have it ready for lunch, but can definitely have it for dinner. What if I use the beets, greens, some Bûcheron inside, and make a shell that incorporates a bit of orange zest? Hmm. Will keep you posted.

Jack and I went to his violin lesson this morning (he pretending to be an alien; why the alien was wearing jeans/red rain boots/blue button-down shirt I wasn't quite clear) and then to the nursery to see the new haunted castle (all the kids were terrified). I picked up this gorgeous pumpkin- perfect for the soup I mentioned recently, yes?

Pumpkin ravs and tea sandwiches, my cowboys

Ooh, what a fun evening. In fact, what a fun day. I cannot believe that I've been up since 4:58am- when you don't sleep, there is so much you can do in a day. I'm not advocating this not sleeping thing but you can pack a lot in. I roasted beets, gardened, briefly napped, took and picked up both boys to/from great days at school, took Jack on a brief date, took a run, went to the market, made and devoured these sage-brown butter pumpkin ravioli, made and enjoyed parts of four tea sandwiches, watched as both boys squealed -literally- with glee as they opened the gift package their Louisiana grandparents sent; it was full of cowboy gear- a shirt and boots for Jack, and a hat for Oliver. Adorable.

Tea sandwiches I've made so far are: roast chicken/cheddar/apple chile chutney on white; goat cheese/fig spread/marcona almonds on three grain rye; cucumber/watercress/mayo on white; radish/butter/mint on three grain rye. Delish!

High afternoon tea sandwiches a'coming, All hail the Nobel Peace Women

How thrilling that three amazing women were granted the Nobel Peace Prize. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf! Leymah Gbowee! Tawakkul Karman! Have you seen the documentary about Gbowee's women's movement in Liberia, Pray The Devil Back to Hell? Gbowee is a force to be reckoned with. Her movement, Women Peace and Security Network, came to fruition after a dream she had in which she was urged to bring women together to pray and organize. She did just that, drawing together women from different ethnic and religious backgrounds- they protested the violence killing the people and soul of Liberia, they prayed for peace, and ultimately, the "market women" as they were called confronted then-President Charles Taylor, no one more vociferously than Gbowee who really let him have it. I heard her giving an interview today, and she talked about the struggles inherent in any young movement- how she felt as if she had no idea what she was doing, how her children moved to Ghana because the violence in Liberia was too severe, how at times she would "cry- what did I do to deserve working with all these women?" (growing up with 5 sisters, she came to dislike gal-fighting). I laughed out loud as she recalled that memory. Anyway, she is a tremendous woman and her movement helped usher in Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the first female African head of state and also a completely inspirational leader and activist.

Go ladies- you make our world better!

On a 100% less important note, I am about to embark on a super-fun project of making and taste-testing 5-6 different sandwiches for a high afternoon English tea. All my ingredients are spread in front of me, a bottle of wine is chilling AND I am eagerly anticipating pumpkin ravioli in a brown butter-sage sauce for my main course. Divine! A perfect dinner for a cool night.