ok ladies, it's a new year.  that means we all need to get cooking (and blogging!)   ha!   cuz none of us are busy, right?   right.

so over my well-deserved and well-utilized ten day vacation from school and work, we did a lot of cooking. well, baking, mostly.  you know, to go along with all the eating.

my parents had a sleepover on Christmas Eve, so I wanted to make something fun for breakfast the next day.   enter....the lemon ricotta tart.  so good.  so, so good.  even Emma had 3 slices!

oh, and PLEASE don't be intimidated by the make-your-own-crust.  seriously, it's dummy proof.  and the herbs are key.

photo source: Reading My Tea Leaves

herbed crust recipe
1 cup of flour (plus more for rolling out the dough)
1 stick of cold butter (8 tablespoons), cut into pieces
a pinch of sugar
a pinch of salt
a few tablespoon cold water
a healthy handful of fresh chopped herbs. i used sage, oregano, and thyme, because that's what i had.

pre-heat the over to 350. using a pastry blender (or fork, or food processor) blend together butter, flour, salt, sugar and herbs until the consistency is crumbly and none of the butter pieces are too big.  using your own two hands, form the mixture into a ball, adding cold water by the tablespoonful to combine.  place ball of dough into a waxed paper bag (or whatever you use for wrapping) and flatten into a disc with the palm of your hand.  pop the dough into the freezer for ten minutes, or into the fridge for longer.  when it's chilled, remove and turn disc onto floury surface to roll out.  use your tart pan as a guide and roll into a circle large enough to fill the pan and its edges.  pre-bake for ten minutes or so if you're of the persuasion that likes things done right.

filling (adapted from carolyn cope's recipe)
1 cup of ricotta
1 cup or so of chopped garlic scapes (hard to find here, I used green onions instead)
zest from a lemon
a handful of thyme
2 eggs
salt and pepper to taste

combine all ingredients in a smallish-sized bowl and whisk with a fork to combine.  pour mixture into your pre-baked tart crust and cook for 30 minutes, or until the middle of the tart has set and the pastry is thoroughly golden. serve hot or cooled.

if you haven't had your fill of garlic scapes, make pesto.