July 1, 2017

July 2017: Blueberry Pecan Galette

The tree behind our apartment is overgrown. It's always been the best tree, a surprise that we didn't fully realize when we moved in in the early spring. There were tiny buds on the branches, pokes of red flowering into something. But by May, the tree would be full of vibrant green leaves. In July, it's a full canopy, enshrouding our little apartment.

I hadn't noticed how much it had grown until it was summer. The branches nearly tap the windows. There are two boughs that bend onto the fire escape, so the squirrels that usually perch near our window don't even have to jump to reach the metal.

It feels as if we live in a tree house. The front of the apartment looks onto the street, the rooftops of Brooklyn, the faraway Manhattan skyline. That's the side of the house that is full of music, heels on the sidewalk, the sigh of the bus stopping on Nostrand Avenue. But the back of the apartment is all leaves, a pinch of sky, birds chortling.

We think about asking the landlord to cut the branches, but it's another thing on the to do list. Living in this apartment for so many years has come with its own settled in domesticity: the grout around the sink should be replaced. The hallway where we keep the bikes and the recycling and a bag of potting soil should be cleaned out. The bedroom needs more and more and more bookshelves. I never thought that I'd take solace in a to do list that never seems to get done, but it feels like a mark of permanence, an achievement of longevity. This is the longest I've been in any one apartment in New York. Next month will be sixteen years here. There are days that it exhausts me--the crush of people in a subway car, the humid laundromat, the cost of living. And then there are days when I still marvel: the ferry that will take me from Brooklyn to Manhattan, the beaches one subway ride away, the friendly hello from a neighbor when I sit on the stoop in the evening.

Yesterday I rode my bicycle to work, and in the glow of morning, I went up the round ramp that leads to the Manhattan Bridge. The ramp is a tight curl and in its center is an overgrown patch of tall grass, now bright with purple wildflowers. It smelled like a mix of damp nature and fresh cut grass, and thought of the fields I grew up with, the expanses of untended green always near me when I was little. It was the same smell, and for one moment, as I pedaled up the bridge, I felt the two places in me at the same time. Last month my mother moved away from that town, and now none of my family live in that place I called home. It was a shock to smell it, to feel it, going up the bridge, over the East River, waiting for the downhill side where I could cost and risk a long glance to my right, the sun on the water, the city, the place I still call home.

xo,
c

Blueberry Pecan Galette
from Bon Appetit, July 2015

I've made this galette for birthdays, for no reason, for the Fourth of July, for rooftop picnics. The dough takes an hour to chill, but otherwise, it's a breeze.

1/2 c. pecans
1 c. flour, plus 2 more TB
2 tp. sugar
1/2 tp. salt
1/4 tp. cinnamon
1/2 c. (1 stick) chilled butter, cut into pieces
12 oz. blueberries (about 2 cups)
1 TB. cornstarch
1 1/2 tp. lemon juice
1/4 c. sugar, plus more for sprinkling
flour (for surface)
2 TB. milk, half-and-half or heavy cream
Ice water

1. Preheat oven to 350 and toast pecans on a rimmed baking sheet for 10 minutes, then let cool. [Full disclosure that I am lazy and have never done this.]
2. Pulse pecans in a food processor until coarse. Add flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon and pulse to combine. Add butter and pulse until mixture is coarse with a few pebbly bits.
3. Transfer to a large bowl and drizzle with 4 TB. ice water. Mix gently until mixture comes together, adding another TB of ice water if needed. Pat dough into a 6" disk in plastic wrap and chill for one hour.
4. Preheat oven to 375. Toss blueberries, cornstarch, lemon juice and 1/4 sugar in a large bowl.
5. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface til it's about 12" round. Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet. (If you don't have parchment paper, sprinkle flour on the bottom of the baking sheet). Mound blueberries in the center of the dough once it's on the baking sheet, leaving a 2" border. (These measurements can be approximate. The beauty of a galette is that it's imperfect). Fold edges over, overlapping slightly.
6. Brush dough with milk and sprinkle with sugar.
7. Bake until crust is golden and filling is bubbling, 45 - 50 minutes. Let cool (ha ha) before serving. it's great with ice cream or, my personal favorite, some homemade whipped cream sweetened with maple syrup.

P.S.

* I'm back! May and June slipped by me without a TinyLetter. If you have any recipe requests, lemme know!

* I've been doing a #100DayProject challenge on Instagram. It's winding down, but I recommend following the hashtag (and the account that I heard about it from: @CarveOutTimeForArt) and making your own 100 day project someday. It's been imperfect, but it's been an awesome way to see how I spend my time and what little things make me happy (answer: bright crayons).

* Did you see that my cats are (sorta) famous?

* Jay Z's mom = all the yes