November 1st is not just my sister's birthday or my departed Uncle John's. It is All Saints Day. It is also the day my friends and I have, as providence unfolded, launched a new project called: Tarts of the Saints. A little bit of creative spark between us; breaking free from the insufferable cloistering of the cornie-19 cycle, empowering our resilience and inspiring ourselves and each other; moreover serving, as we hope to remind you, the reader, of your own natural creative inheritance.
What exactly are the Tarts of the Saints?
Our team, if you will, picks a Saint. Over the course of a week, we learn about that Saint, and from our discovery, we choose a tart recipe that we believe best represents the story of that individual and their contribution to our world. We put on our cornie-19 gear and proceed to bake; on Sunday evening we exchange our samples in a cornie-19 safe environment. Then we review each other's point of view about the Saint, why we chose the recipe, and how we made our tarts. Then we vote.
Once our website is up and running the chosen tart recipe will be posted publically. One part of this experiment is learning and another is about standing our own creative ground. My perspective only. The others will have their own and will share their own thoughts.
There is no competition. That is a lie. We are all incredibly competitive. Each one of us, like you the reader, is also very talented; holding a unique and richly inspired point of view.
So, who is our inaugural Saint? Why none other than St. Frumentius; an obscure Ethiopian Saint from the 4th Century.
Here is what he looks like:
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| Creator: Father Pachomius Copyright: © Copyright Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA |
I like his hair.
The story of St. Frumentius's journey to sainthood begins in the fourth century (around 340 AD) as a young Lebanese lad who was on a sailing expedition with his brother, Aedesius, and Uncle. Sailing East on the Red Sea the party stopped at a harbor in Ethiopia, there they were ambushed; the entire party was lost except for Frumentius and his brother Aedesius. They were taken to the royal court in the Kingdom of Axum where they won the favor and the trust of Ousanas, known as King Ella Allada. Before the King died he granted both brothers their freedom. At the request of the widowed Queen, they remained in the court until their son, Ezana, became of age and was crowned King. Aedesius returned to Lebanon. Eventually, Frumentius joined him for a time; traveling throughout the region. Both brothers became ordained priests. While in Alexandria, Frumentius was consecrated as Bishop of Ethiopia. It was during his stay there he also requested missionaries to accompany him back to the region. Upon his return, Frumentius baptized King Ezana, and the first monastery, Dabba Selama, Doga Tembien was built. Frumentius was known as Kesate Birhan (Revealer of Light) and Abba Salama (Father of Peace).
There is little additional history about Frumentius other than there is some confusion over the country of India vs. the country of Ethiopia. In ancient times, the country of Ethiopia was known as India.
Now, what to do about the tart?
After spending some time researching Ethiopian desserts, fruits, vegetables, and scanning my numerous cookbooks I decided to place my efforts on a Fruit Mince and Apple Tartlets from one of my favorite cookbook series Women's Australian Weekly. Adding to the experience I decided to make my own fruit mince.
What was it that made me migrate to this particular recipe? Sultanas. While this story is about a Saint, the real curiosity for me is the King of Axium or otherwise probably known at that time in history the Saltan. (I can hear it now. Yes, a raisin inspired me. Raisins are grapes, grapes make wine, wine is inspirational, therefore grapes are inspirational, Jesus liked wine, work with me here.) Plus they are a healthy food choice. And another thing: (there is always another thing) a song popped into my head - wait for it!
It was during the reign of Ousanas that Christianity was introduced into the region of Axum or what in modern times we know of as Eritrea. His son Ezana was the first King to embrace the religion; he was baptized, he built churches and he encouraged the spread of Christianity. There is little know about Ousanas or Ezana but, what is clear is their lives, and the lives of Frumentius and his brother, Aedesius were deeply intertwined with reciprocal and mutual respect. Thus, these relationships poked at my curiosity.
As I started working with the recipes I attempted to channel or imagine what and how people of the 4th century would have prepared a tart; what they may or may not have had access to including the potential flavors and ingredients. What would be the goal? Imagined it would involve more emphasis on the flavors of the ingredients and less on sugar.
Let stand for 40 minutes.
Coarsely grate the butter over mince, add brown sugar and stir well to combine.
Didn't exactly follow the recipe.
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| The Mince Photo and copyright thInQlots |
Adaptation: Instead of using brown sugar I used honey. Don't ask how much, not much I just squeezed the bottle. I also added slices of lime, lemon, ginger, and a discarded orange section. I did not include the water. I may have added more rum, who knows, I can't remember. Instead of allspice, I used cinnamon sticks, and you can see a loose leaf tea strainer on the right in the photo, in this case, it contains whole cloves. This is a preferred method for me, as it seems a more natural way of infusing flavor. I did include a bit of ground nutmeg and a splash of vanilla and cinnamon extract. Didn't measure, just added. And, the mixture was cooked much longer than 10 minutes. How long? About as long as it takes to make the pastry, that is how long. Low heat means low heat, in my mind, this is a process that cannot be rushed. The mixture with all the natural fruits will burn easily if your element is too high. You are wanting your flavors to blend together not burn together. (Symbolic suggestion if one is paying attention.) Once satisfied, I removed the pieces of lime, lemon, ginger, orange, cinnamon sticks, and the tea strainer.
Recipe Credit: Western Star
Recipe for Pastry
1 lb lard
1 can 7up soda
Cut lard into the flour until it is the consistency of coarse oatmeal
Add 7- up and mix thoroughly.
Place in the fridge for at least an hour.
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| The Pastry Photo and copyright by thInQlots |
Adaptation: I included a smidge of vanilla flavoring and a tiny bit of honey, like a drizzle, not a dump. The recipe is very sticky and one really has to work with the flour; however, the fussing is all worth it.
Recipe credit: Young Structural
Okay, let's get back to the tarts I am getting hungry!
Recipe for Fruit Mince and Apple Tartlets
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
1 green apple, peeled and finely chopped
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
1 tablespoon dark rum
Combine fruit mince, walnuts, apple, lemon rind, and rum in a bowl. Then spoon the mixture into the pastry shells that you have already prepared. (Surprise, didn't tell you to prepare the pastry shells, applying discernment here.) Bake in a moderate for about 10 minutes. Dust with icing sugar before serving. (I did not use their suggested pastry as per the recipe I used the one included in this post.)
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| Apple and Mince Mixture Photo and copyright thInQlots |
Adaptations: Certainly! Before putting the filling into the tart shells, I sprinkled just a bit of brown sugar on the bottom of the shells, then I added the filling. While the tarts were cooking in a saucepan combine some berry sugar (1/4 c), butter (1-3 tablespoons), the lemon juice from the lemon in the recipe, vanilla, and a cinnamon stick. The amounts are guesses, I just used my eyeballs and instincts. Warm on low heat until the butter is melted. When tarts come out of the oven, glaze the tarts with the mixture while they are still warm. Why did I do this? Well, I excluded the sugar from the recipe, the suggested pastry recipe was made with butter, an egg yolk, and lemon juice and I was adapting and concentrating on the expectation of flavors.
Recipe credit: Australian Women's Weekly
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| Tart of Saint Frumentius Photo and copyright thInQlots |
The Tart of Saint Frumentius is all about relationships, balancing the sweet with the pungent strength of the prunes and currents; ensuring the flavor of the apple and walnuts could be enjoyed against the base tones of the pastry. I really like this recipe combo; it's not too mincey in flavor, it's fun and different, and I have a lot of confidence in it.
A recipe is a set of instructions to prepare for a particular outcome.
This particular experience seems to me to parallel Frumentius's relationships within the Sultan's court, with his brother, the Kingdom, and his Christian faith, especially after such a traumatic beginning. He clearly has had a set of instructions provided to him over the course of his life and working within those instructions, adapting here, and there, he experienced his calling. His contribution must have been more significant than the storytelling of history can reveal for he is called the Father of Peace; a title that carries a great deal of responsibility.
Before closing, and for those who have followed me for a while, this will not be a surprise, but gosh, one must have a baking song, and of course, as I was reading the recipe one popped into my head, a special one just for this occasion. (extra link as Blogspot is being silly about youtube links: https://youtu.be/0fAQhSRLQnM )
Enjoy!
