Apple rose tarts, a woven paper box and random moments

"Was it a something you found online?" asked E as we drove to my parents house, ridiculously late.  "It was on Pinterest,"  I admitted.  I had got caught up in weaving a paper box or basket to carry the bits and pieces of food presents I had bought my mum.  The irony was not lost on me that I was late for the Mothers Day lunch because I was spending too much time on her present.  And we forgot to take the card I had made.  It was all a bit of a shambles.

I am very susceptible to a Pinterest idea.  It makes me wonder about life before Pinterest, before online life.  We had a book or two of craft ideas at home, a library of books for borrowing, tv shows, friends' ideas and our own imagination.  Yes, there was plenty of inspiration then.  Yet Pinterest makes it seem so much easier.  In the case of the woven paper box, it was far more challenging than it looked.

Another Pinterest idea that took my fancy long ago was the idea of making apple rose tarts.  Sadly, many Pinterest ideas fall by the wayside.  So I was pleased to see it again on Not Quite Nigella and have an added motive to make them because she chose them for her monthly Cook With Me where she asks readers to make a recipe she has chosen.

I promised Sylvia that we would make them on Saturday afternoon.  That was the time had also earmarked to make a cake and the woven paper box.  Only life wasn't so straightforward.  I was tired and under the weather after a busy week.  Meetings, a bullying workshop, making greeting cards, gift shopping, a poorly child, coffee with friends, the first wobbly tooth falling out.  Sylvia was asking challenging questions like how are babies made, did Jesus really die on the cross and where does the tooth fairy get her money. So instead of creating food and gifts on Saturday afternoon, I did the only thing I could do.  Slept.

When I woke, feeling a little groggy, I managed to make these apple rose tarts.  Unlike the box that was a challenge to my sanity, these tarts were surprisingly easy, considering how impressive they look.  We had one each after dinner (leftover stew, thank goodness)!  They were delicious.  I suspect they particularly appealed to E because there was not a lot of fruit in all the pastry yumminess. 

The next day when I packaged up the hamper of goodie for my mum, I included the last of the apple rose tarts.  My mum loves roses so it seemed appropriate.  The hamper also comprised damson plum jam, Gewurzhaus spice mixes, salted almond chocolate, a salted caramel, fancy savoury nuts, and some limes off our tree.  The woven paper box I had made was too flimsy to hold it properly so I wrapped it in cellophane.

We finally arrived at my parents' house in Geelong for a late lunch.  Mum had made a magnificent moussaka and a cauliflower salad.  She has a new oven and had made her best pavlova for a long time in it.  I took down some hedgehog and mum also made jelly slice.

I also was showered with gifts for Mothers Day.  Sylvia had been making gifts at school and also had a chance to buy me some gifts at the Mothers Day stall at the school.  Parents make craft for the stall and sell it to the kids at very reasonable prices.  E also bought me a book (All the Bright Places) that I am looking forward to reading.  And on Saturday morning Sylvia and E made me pancakes with minimal help from me.

Finally I wanted to share a few recent random moments the made me smile:

• My mobile phone is now paid off and I am out of the contract.  Yay!  I have discovered that I am using far less downloads than my plan covered.  Which means I have been able to reduce the amount I pay monthly by less than a half!
• A rolled up newspaper appeared on our doorstep last week.  It was from January 2015.  Goodness knows where it was found or who found it.  I have put the choice bits on the pile for me to read.  Yesterday I stopped for lunch and pulled out an old newspaper magazine to read and found it was from 2013!
• We went to see E play with his ukelele group at a pub and took along a friend of Sylvia's.  When there was a break I was talking with the little girls about the watering can on the stage.  Sylvia's friend amused me when she said it was there to water the microphones to make them grow.

I am sending these cute tarts:

• First and foremost to Lorraine at Not Quite Nigella who inspired me to finally bake these tarts thanks to her Cook With Me challenge.
• To Ros at the More Than Occasional Baker for Alphabakes, a blog event she runs with Caroline of Caroline Makes, challenging us to bake focusing on a different letter each month.  This month the letter is Q for Quince Jelly.
• To Jen’s Food (and United Cakedom) for The Pastry Challenge with the theme of Picnics in May. 
• To Elizabeth's Kitchen for Ren Behan's Simple and in Season event because it is apple season.

Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
One year ago: Street Art in Melbourne #1 Croft Alley
Two year ago: About my oven (or why the nose is mightier than the timer
Three years ago: FFF Zucchini slice - a childhood favourite
Four years ago: CC Crunchy Salad, Tofu Nuggets and Sylvia
Five years ago: Mothering Oat and Cranberry Biscuits
Six years ago: Mothering, Stew and Bread
Seven years ago: Meandering Musings on Split Pea Soup
Eight years ago: Cardamom and Chocolate Comforts

Apple Rose Tarts
From Not Quite Nigella and Cooking with Manuela
Makes 6

1-2 red apples*
1-3 tbsp lemon juice*
1 sheet puff pastry*
2-3 tbsp quince jelly (or other jam)*
Icing sugar, to serve

Grease 6 regular muffin holes in a tin.  Preheat oven to 190 C.

Halve and core apples.  I did this with a paring knife but had to be careful not to cut too deeply.  NQN used a melon baller.  Slice by hand as thinly as possible (or use a mandolin) and place in a bowl of water with lemon juice in it.  

Microwave the apples (or cook on the stovetop) until just cooked enough to bend but not soft.  About 3 to 5 minutes in the microwave should be enough.

Roll out the thawed sheet of puff pastry on a lightly floured surface to measure about 30cm long.  It doesn't need to be any wider.  Cut the pastry into 6 short strips.  Brush with quince jelly or jam.  Arrange apples along the pastry strip with round edge of apple above the edge of the pastry.  Fold the pastry over and make sure apple slices are tucked into side pastry.  Roll up the pastry to form a rose formation of apples and place pastry side down in a muffin hole.  Repeat with 5 other strips.

Bake tarts for 30 to 40 minutes until pastry is cooked (check pastry in the middle is cooked as well as outside).  Serve dusted with icing sugar.  They were great warm but also fine the next day.

NOTES:  I had a lot of apple slices over but am not sure I would have quite had enough if I had only used 1 apple.  I used a Pink Lady and a Red Gala and much preferred the slices of Pink Lady.  I didn't measure the lemon juice - just gave a good squeeze of half a lemon, and I didn't measure the jam either.  To make these vegan, you need to buy vegan puff pastry.

On the Stereo:
Inside Llewelyn Davis soundtrack: Various Artists