Recipes by Zola - The No-Bake Fruit Tart

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The No-Bake Fruit Tart

Zola Gorgon

What to do, What to DO!

In Chicago, my favorite bus "billboard" is one that says, "If You're Bored in Chicago, it's Not Our Fault". The bus board is run by a magazine company that publishes a weekly called Time Out. Time Out is a magazine that lists everything you can do in Chicago for the upcoming week. There's a section on plays, one on music, a big section on featured restaurants and the list goes on and on. It's really quite a thick magazine. Of course there are ads included too.

Each week I look forward to getting this publication in my mail. I want to plan my week and I don't want to miss any of the big events. There are so many things to do in Chicago that it would be a shame not to know about them and an amazing number of them are free. No charge, whatsoever.

Even if you just went to the neighborhood festivals each week you'd never run out of things to do. Each neighborhood blocks off at least one block to traffic. Bandstands are set up at each end. The music varies from one festival to the other but there are always up-and-coming acts. The shows run from about noon on Saturday til late in the evening and then again on Sunday. There are also booths set up in-between the stages. The booths sell food, beverages, all sorts of crafts and there are sometimes neighborhood advocacy groups advertising their positioning or looking for volunteers. This mix changes with each neighborhood too.

As far as admission, they "request" a $5 donation. You don't have to pay it, but the donation goes to pay for the porta-potties and the off-duty police who patrol as well as for clean up. If you are going to participate in one of these festivals I would think that's about the least you can ante up.

Think about it. You can listen to two bands at a time for about 12 hours a day. There's always plenty of seating, some in the shade even, and plenty of options for a relatively cheap meal. And that's just one thing you can do.

Many museums offer free exhibits throughout the summer. The symphony concerts are free at the stunning open Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park, there are things like the annual Air Show, the annual Venetian Festival (when they dress up boats and parade them through the harbor), followed by fireworks. There are also events like open air Farmers' Markets where in Chicago, chefs do food demonstrations and pass out treats. This city is one big festival of music, art and other entertainment; pretty much free. And then we have one of the most beautiful zoos. Free too!

So if you are thinking of traveling to Chicago this summer and you will be eating up most of your budget just getting here, don't sweat it. Pick up a copy of Time Out or ask the concierge at the hotel and you'll be entertained as much or as little as you want. And if you're not traveling I hope you are even half as lucky as us to find plenty of entertainment in your town.

For today's recipe I'm going to give you an easy no-bake tart recipe. I saw a pie version of this in a magazine early in the summer and I've been inventing variations ever since. I've been inspired with all the fruits available and the variety of possible crusts so what I'm going to do here is sort of give you a chart. You can choose one from the fruit column and one from the crust column and go for it!

This cool pie will be a perfect ending to a hot day.

The No Bake Fruit Tart

Choose a fruit from Column A, a crust from Column B and then just follow the assembly instructions.

2 lbs (or 4 cups of ripe fruit; 2-1/2 cups of cookie crumbs washed and peeled)

If fresh fruit is unavailable or you don't want to have to peel the fruit you can use canned or jarred fruit

Column A: Column B
Mango: Gingersnap cookies
Strawberry: Graham Crackers
Peaches: Short bread cookies
Raspberries: Chocolate cookies
Pears: Sugar cookies
Other fruit inspirations include: pineapple, apricots, blackberries, cantaloupe, and papaya.

Other ingredients that apply to any flavor of pie:
10 Tbl of butter, melted
1-1/4 cups of milk
3/4 cup of sugar (with sweet fruits you can reduce the sugar or even use Splenda)
5 Tbl of cornstarch
Whipped cream or whipped topping (optional)

For the Crust:

Take out your 10" tart pan with removable sides. This is best done with a smooth-sided tart pan (non- scalloped). A cheesecake pan works just fine. Put in your crumbs and drizzle on the 10 Tbl of melted butter. Mix with a fork until fully combined. Then spread the mixture across the bottom of the pan and up 1" on the sides. To make this easier, I spread a sheet of plastic wrap over the crumb mixture. This way the crumbs don't stick to my fingers. When you have the crust spread you can take away the plastic wrap. Set the crust in your refrigerator to cool while you prepare the fruit filling.

Place your fruit in a blender or food processor. Blend on high until the fruit is pureed. This should only take about 10 seconds and you can do it in two batches if necessary. (If there are seeds in the fruit you chose you can go one more step and strain out the seeds, but this is optional).

In a medium saucepan combine the milk, sugar and cornstarch. Whisk until dissolved. Add the fruit puree and cook on medium-high heat until the mixture is thick and bubbling. This should take about 7 minutes. Stir often or even constantly. Remove from heat and pour this mixture into your prepared crust. Cover and refrigerate several hours or overnight. When ready to serve, take a sharp knife and run it along the inside edge of the tart pan to loosen crust. Remove your pan sides and you're ready to slice. Use a long, sharp knife. You can serve this topped with whipped cream or a topping like Cool Whip. (Cool Whip now comes in a can that you can spray; just like canned whipped cream.) This way you can put a decorative dollop on each slice. It's also great plain.

Enjoy!
Cheers,
Zola

Send email to Zola at zolacooks@gmail.com.

This news arrived on: 08/04/2008

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