A week of recharging

I mastered the art of the "stay-cation." A week off. I did yoga, ran, sat in the sun, watched the tree in front of my window bloom, shopped for Spring - garden and wardrobe, and planned for the next stage of my life. It was a nice way to recharge my batteries.

Last night we went to friends for a barbecue and I think I pretty much undid my weeks of healthy eating and solid exercise in one sitting. I made a Pear and Almond Tart as I had been wanting to try my hand at it for awhile. I have this bad habit of thinking I can improvise with cooking equipment and this is one of those times I should have bought the needed instrument. In this case, I needed a pastry pan. It certainly tasted divine, but it didn't look as pretty as it could have. Its one of those desserts that when someone asks you "What's in it?", you ask them if they really want to know because the answer is pretty much "butter." Julia Childs was right, there just is no substitute for butter.