Fit for Royalty

One of the perks of teaching private students is that they are often up for anything, even hanging out in unexpected places. The student I’ve been teaching since March is no exception and sometimes she even makes the suggestions.

 

 

Thursday was our last class together before she takes time off for a holiday and I take time off to work with the summer program at another school. With Canada Day falling on a Friday this year it was going to be a great long weekend. We were both looking forward to relaxing.

 

 

For the afternoon my student suggested going to the market as she wanted to pick up some strawberries. Strawberry season is finally here and they are so tasty. It seems like neither one of us can get enough.

Two other people had also arrived in our fine city Thursday – the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. I couldn’t resist asking my student to make a stop on the way back. She knows I’m a monarchist and we had talked about their wedding and upcoming tour in our lessons. I was relieved she agreed to go.

 

 

After our tour of the market vendors and a break for an iced coffee we ventured back to the war memorial. We weren’t the only ones and as expected, we didn’t see much. Thank goodness for digital cameras and a good zoom lenses because we got to see them via my camera. Although we had to wait a while, it wasn’t a total loss. We talked a bit about our summer plans and my student practised her listening skills in overhearing other people’s conversations (which gave us more topics of discussion, and at times, roll our eyes).

 

 

My lineage is far from royalty, especially with my mixed breeding, but it doesn’t mean I can’t feel like one of them. A fabulous tart can make you feel like royalty. Grab a group of friends, make some tea or enjoy a glass of something sweet, and serve up a nice strawberry rhubarb streusel tart.

Strawberry Rhubarb Streusel Tart          30 minutes to make

1 cup sugar
1/3 cup  GF flour mix
4 cups sliced rhubarb
2 cups sliced strawberries
1-10” pie/tart shell (or individual tart shells)
Topping:
½ cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
¼ cup butter
Combine sugar, flour, rhubarb and strawberries. Spoon into pie shell. In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar and flour. Cut in the butter until it is a crumbly texture. Sprinkle on top of pie. Place in the bottom third of oven and bake for 15 minutes at 350°. Serve warm or cold.

Traditional Pie Crust  (makes 1-8/9” pie crust or 1-10” tart crust)  (from A. Roberts)

1 cup plus 2 tbs flour mix
2 tbs sweet rice flour
1 tbs granulated sugar (omit if making a savoury filling)
½ tsp guar gum
¼ tsp salt
6 tbs butter
1 egg
2 tsp orange or lemon juice
Mix flours, guar gum, and salt in a large bowl. Add butter and mix until crumbly. Add egg and juice and mix until dough holds together (it shouldn’t be sticky). Roll out to preferred shape and size.