Mushroom and Onion Tart for One

You won’t want to wait until this pretty little treat is cool enough to eat because the smells will have been taunting you for quite a while. But after you finish burning your upper palate, you’ll love how simple this pie tastes, how earthy and savory, and yet so delicate at the same time!

For the Crust:

¼ cup all-purpose flour

Pinch salt

1 TBLSP coconut oil (or vegan butter)

2 ½ teaspoons cold water (half could be vodka)

½ TBLSP olive oil

For the Filling:

Slosh of olive oil

¼ yellow onion, chopped

1 clove garlic

½ TBLSP water (or veggie broth, or white wine)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 ½ TBLSP non-dairy milk (I like almond, but coconut or soy would be nice, too)

1/3 cup of mushrooms, sliced or chopped (I used button, but a mix of oyster, Portobello, and etc. would be even better)

1 or 2 thin slices of onions, halved

Another slosh of olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1 sprig of fresh thyme (or a pinch of dry), stems removed

Make the Crust:

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a single-serving pie or tart shell with parchment paper, cutting it neatly to fit. Mine is about 5-inches across. (It doesn’t have to be round, and you could even free-form it on a lined baking pan.)

1. In a small bowl, combine the flour and salt. Cut in the coconut oil with a fork until it makes little pills. Add in the cold water (or half vodka) and oil, and mix together. Use your hands to make it into a nice tight ball.
2. Press the dough into the prepared tart shell with your fingers, bringing the dough up the sides at least ½-inch. You want a good lip to help control the tasty goodness that goes inside.
3. Bake for 5-7 minutes. It won’t have changed color at all, but it will have a slight skin when you touch it with your fingertips.

Make the Filling:

1. In a sauté pan, heat the olive oil, and then toss in the chopped onions. Cook them until they’re translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for another minute, and then add the water (or wine or broth) and deglaze the pan, scraping up any lovely onion bits that might have stuck to the pan. Salt and pepper generously, and then take the pan off the heat.
2. Put the sautéed onions in a blender or food processor, add the milk, and blend until it’s smooth.
3. In a small bowl, toss the mushrooms and sliced onions in another slosh of olive oil, and sprinkle with some salt and pepper.

Assemble the Tart:

1. Spoon the smooth onion mixture into the tart shell.
2. Sprinkle the mushrooms and onion slices generously across the top of the filling. Sprinkle the thyme leaves over the top.
3. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until golden brown and the edges of the mushrooms are also golden and scrumptious.

Devour as if the gods will steal this tart in 3, 2, 1….

Pear Tart for One

Every day, I count how many grams of protein I’ve eaten. Sometimes it’s hard to get up to my “normal” range (39-45 grams a day), so I have to supplement my meals with a protein-heavy dessert like this one. <sigh> Poor me. It’s such a chore to get enough protein sometimes.

For the Crust:

2 teaspoons vegan butter (I like Earth Balance)

4 teaspoons granulated sugar

2 ½ TBLSP almond meal (garbanzo or coconut flour would also work, as would all-purpose)

2 teaspoons brown rice flour

1 teaspoon brown rice syrup

For the Filling:

2 ½ TBLSP almond butter (you could certainly use peanut butter, too)

4 teaspoons water

2 teaspoons maple syrup

Slosh of vanilla extract

For the Pear Topping:

1/3 (or so) of a medium-sized pear

2 teaspoons granulated sugar

Sprinkle of ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons of sliced almonds for garnish (you don’t have to match the butter—if you’re using peanut butter in the filling, you could still use almonds on top, or mix and match. Whatever makes you happy.)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

Make the Crust:

1. Melt the butter in a small bowl in the microwave (30 seconds should do it). Then add in and combine the sugar, almond meal, and brown rice flour. Mix in the brown rice syrup. Stir it enough that all the dry ingredients are a bit moist.
2. Press this mixture into the bottom of a single-serving tart dish (mine is about 5-inches across) or freestyle it in the center of a parchment lined baking sheet. If using a tart dish, bring the crust up the sides a bit. If freestyling, make a little lip to catch the cream filling.
3. Set the crust aside.

Make the Filling:

1. Put the almond butter, water, maple syrup, and vanilla in a small bowl and give it a vigorous stirring until it’s well combined and not watery or lumpy with almond butter. 
2. Spoon the cream into the crust and smooth the top.
3. Set the crust and its friend the cream aside.

Make the Pear Topping:

1. Core and slice the pear by cutting it in half lengthwise and then cutting the half in to 1/8-inch slices. (Don’t peel them. The peels add nutrition and flavor, but they also make it pretty.) You’ll probably need more than a quarter of the pear and less than half. It all depends on how crowded you make the top. Don’t worry. You can always eat any extra slices.
2. In a small bowl, toss the pear slices with the sugar and cinnamon.
3. Place the pears on top of the cashew cream in the crust. I like to make a circular pattern, but you could go wild. Why not?
4. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the pears are soft when you poke them with a fork.
5. Sprinkle the finished tart with sliced almonds as it rests comfortably on a rack to cool. It doesn’t have to be cold before you slice it, but it tastes best cooled to room temperature.

 Variations:

• Try it with almond milk (or other non-dairy offering) instead of water in the cream. You'll get a more creamy cream that way. Yogurt would also be nice. 
• Mix in some raisins or other kind of dried fruit, like apricots or chopped dates. You could put them in the cream or sprinkle them on top of the cream as a layer, or mix them in with the pear pieces in the cinnamon and sugar. 
• You could certainly use apples instead of pears.