Recipe for Three Ingredient Gluten Free Pancakes

We don't specialize in gluten free baking, but I do like coming across recipes that are naturally gluten free; no special flour, no special ingredients. Now, I was skeptical about these gluten free pancakes, but they turned out and tasted quite good.

This recipe will make approximately eight 3 inch pancakes (any bigger and they're difficult to flip). I don't recommend doubling the recipe. They're quick to mix up so if you need more, while one batch is cooking, prepare another.

Ingredients

 

2 bananas

2 eggs

1/8 teaspoon baking powder

 



Mash bananas until chunky.

Beat two eggs in a separate bowl.

Add baking powder and eggs to bananas and mix.

Pour 3 inch circles onto well greased (we used butter) hot grill or pan.

When the baking powder has activated (pancakes will fluff slightly)
 flip and let cook until golden.



Ta da!
 Top with fruit, syrup, or dust with icing sugar.
It's up to you!

Season Finale

Here's a truth. I didn't want to open The Little Tart this year. Two weeks after my mother passed away I was looking at real estate in Vancouver and Nova Scotia. I wanted to move as far away from Haliburton as possible. 

Bill and I tell people it was our dream to move here, and it was. But we moved here three and a half years before we intended because my mother required 24 hour care and we needed a house in a place that would make it feasible to care for her.  Until February of this year, all of the eight years we have lived here has been about taking care of my mother and running the business - in that order. There's a hole in my heart and this beautiful place we live in, for me, has represented Alzheimer's and loss.

 And now that I've bummed you out, let me quickly brighten things up.

 

I'm so very glad we opened this year. I'm so very glad we stayed. This spring, summer, and fall has been quite the wild ride. Besides the summer that wasn't (due to unseasonable weather) our stove broke down, our car broke down, and our roof is, yet, still unfinished. Panic? Yes, I think I will, thank you. But also laugh because it's life and sh - stuff happens and through it all we discovered the kindness and caring that surrounds us here. Offers of help and support and kind words of encouragement overwhelmed us through all of this year's ups and downs.

We have made so many friends and met so many wonderful people and we certainly have no intention of abandoning everyone who has kept us here and helped us grow this tiny little pastry shop in the middle of nowhere. We know you've been spreading the word far and wide so we'll be sticking around!  

We have been asked if we will be opening this winter. The answer, I'm sorry to say, is no. Not this year. Three months after we were married, Bill and I went from being a couple, to being a couple of caregivers. We're going to start our time off with some R&R (and in our case that means "roof repair"). We have a couple of big jobs around the house we want to take care of, some personal "stuff" to take care of, and we need some time to just breathe.

 

Having said all of that, I cannot end the season without saying thank you once again for your support, your patronage, and for giving us an absolutely amazing (sometimes entertaining, puzzling, and downright bizarre) year. You kept us hopping and run off our feet and even when it sucked - it didn't. We can't say it enough and we mean it whole heartedly - our customers are the very best in the world. Bill and I are grateful for each and every one of you.

Thank you for another wonderful season!

Autumn Splendor

It certainly is looking like we're in for some beautiful weather this weekend which makes for a fabulous country drive. The colours are so rich and vibrant you'll think you're travelling through a picture postcard.

Our roofing job is taking longer than expected and so we are not open today and since Bill is still on the roof that leaves me to prep solo. That's okay. We will be open at our regular time tomorrow and hope we'll be seeing you!

Good-bye Summer

Good-bye summer, you crazy season
We'll miss you as autumn rolls in
May memories of sunshine and fun time with friends
Warm us until you come around again.

The Little Tart in #MyHaliburtonHighlands

We Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way...

Summer Season Finale

Well, that concludes our summer season. It was certainly a busy one. As a matter of fact, this was our busiest summer so far and we are grateful to everyone The Little Tart a part of their summer, cottage country tradition. Thank you.

We are going to catch our breath and will open again on Friday September 5th with new fall hours.

We hope you had a wonderful summer and look forward to seeing you this fall!

Labour Day Long Weekend Hours

It is the last long weekend of summer.

 

We'll be here! We hope you will be too!

 



Labour Day at The Little Tart, Haliburton, Ontario

Patty Cake - Inaccurate and Misleading

The Little Tart pastry shop

As promised in a previous post, here is my take on the seemingly innocent children's rhyme "Patty Cake" and why I believe it is inaccurate and misleading.

Patty cake, patty cake, baker man.

I'm already offended.

Bake me a cake as fast as you can.

Do you want it good? Or do you want it fast?

Because if you want it fast you can just mosey on down to the local grocery store and pick yourself up a package of Betty What-a-crock fake mix. Oh, and don't forget your plastic air tight container of oil based, preservative infused frosting. Nummy! (Buttercream my apple crumble.)

Where was I?

Roll it and pat it…

Hold on. Are we talking cake or pie here?

You roll and pat a pie.

You mix and pour a cake.
 

Mark it with a "B"

Script costs extra.

And put it in the oven for baby and me.

You should not feed baked goods to your baby. It's irresponsible and bad parenting.

Now. May I suggest my own original lyrics.

Make a pie.

Bake a pie.
Sweet delight!
Early in the morning,
'Til late at night.
 

Measure it.

Mix it.
All from scratch.

Num num,

Another bite
Down the hatch!
                       - Terri Ross

In a future post I would like to discuss "Sing a Song of Sixpence" (Oh the carnage!)

So Good You'll Goo Yourself

It happens in the parking lot.
It happens on the front deck.
It happens in the store.

You told us about it. We gave it a name.

So Good You'll Goo Yourself

Two Bakers, One Oven

We are now in the heart of summer and I would like to address a question we are asked quite frequently this year.

"Will you have this item on this day?"

Our response: "We don't know." And here's why.

The Little Tart is not your typical pastry shop. We have two bakers, one oven. Nothing we do comes from a bucket, package, or a can. It is not premade, par-baked (I didn't even know ...that was a term until recently) or pre-baked. From crust to crumble, it is all from scratch. We prep every day, all day, and we bake every morning. Quality and customer service is our number one priority.

Because we are a drive-to business, we realize most of our customers are coming from a distance. Some of you have driven anywhere from ten minutes, to an hour and a half out of your way to visit our little store. We are not only appreciative, but grateful and that is why we would never want to misinform you. We do our best not to disappoint.

Until an item is fully baked, cooled, and on the shelf, there when you come through the door, we can not say we will have it. finally, here's why:

Anything can happen:

We plan for the day, but just couldn't work it in.
We ran out of that one ingredient to finish.
The power went out.
The oven died. (I know, eh?)
We have to learn to use our new oven because no two ovens bake the same. (Every baking time and temperature is now different.)
And finally, (and this has happened, more than once I'm sad to say), we made it, it baked perfectly, but on the way to the shelf, one of us dropped it. (Have you ever seen a baker cry? Poor Bill.)

Anyhoo, it's a long winded explanation, but it's the best one we have. We hope you understand. We truly are doing our best to keep the store stocked and hope you find something here you enjoy.

In my next post, I will address that cute children's game "Patty Cake", why it is misleading, inaccurate and why we should stop teaching it to our children!

Have a great day!

 

Our Recipe for Stealing a Bit of Summer

Home Made Ice Coffee

Bill and I loving refer to this time of the year as, "lock down". Operating The Little Tart seven days a week leaves little time for "summer" and so we have to sneak it in here and there when we can. Our day often begins somewhere between 4am - 5am (depending on the day's menu) and ends anywhere from 9pm - 12am (depending on the next day's menu). The work goes on even when The Little Tart is closed and so it's nice, when we can, to take a fifteen minute break, sit on the back deck, and soak up some vitamin D.

This afternoon we closed the doors, looked at the mess, the dishes, and the amount of prep remaining as we head into this busy Canada Day weekend and decided to indulge in a pick-me-up glass of home made iced coffee.

What I like about making our own ice coffee is knowing what's in it and it's so easy (not to mention tasty) I want to share it with you.

Now keep in mind this recipe can be tweaked and twisted and turned into whatever tickles your taste buds. We like to taste the coffee in our iced coffee and so we use a dark roast instant coffee. The amount of sugar might seem a little much, but trust me, it's not overly sweet. And by all means, try whatever dairy (or non dairy) works for you. I happened to have 35% cream in the house.

So, whether you're lazing on a deck chair on the dock, or, if you're like us, just trying to steal a bit of summer, enjoy! 

Ice Coffee

1/4 cup boiling water
2 tbsp. instant coffee (more or less, depending on taste)
2 tbsp. sugar (more or less depending on taste)
1/4 cup cream (10%, 35%, your choice)
3/4 milk (1%, 2%, soya, almond, your choice)
4 or 5 ice cubes

Add the instant coffee and sugar to boiling water and stir until all melted. Add cream and milk. Stir. Pour over ice. Add straw. Enjoy!

The Summer Season Begins Today!

 

Ontario Tourism Week

The Little Tart's "Ooey Gooey Butter Tart"

It is Ontario tourism week and if you're celebrating here in cottage country's Haliburton Highlands, come on by for a visit and try one of our "Ooey Gooey" butter tarts or maybe one of our other tasty pastries.

Haliburton county is a beautiful place to explore and you never know what hidden gems you'll find as you ride the highlands.

Motor, pedal powered, or on foot, we hope you'll find us at The Little Tart on your travels through Haliburton county.

See you soon!

The Little Tart's tasty pastries.

Home and Cottage Show Weekend

 

It is the Haliburton Home and Cottage Show weekend and once again... we're not there. But that's because we're here and so we were thinking (as we so often do), if you plan on attending the Haliburton Home and Cottage Show this weekend, perhaps you'll visit The Little Tart afterwards, OR, perhaps you'll visit The Little Tart after attending the Haliburton Home and Cottage Show. Either way is fine with us.

 

We'll be here from 10am to 5pm all weekend.

 

Waiting.

 

With delucious home baked goodness to tempt your tastebuds.

 

(Just saying.)

 

Yep. 

 

Have a great weekend!

 

 

May Showers Wake Sleepy Flowers?

Koshlong Lake

It certainly doesn't feel like spring these days here in cottage country Haliburton. Bill and I took a short drive to Koshlong Lake a few days ago and were happy to see the ice has finally melted and the lake is completely open!

Sleepy Flowers

Yes, we have had fall-like weather this spring, but it's like that old saying, "April snow, May showers, wake up all you sleepy flowers."

Well, it could be an old saying if we all say it for the next... let's just hope for warmer days to come because we can't wait for the season to begin. We're looking forward to seeing everyone again!

Welcome to May!

A Great Start to Our Sixth Year!



The Little Tart's Sixth Year!

This Easter weekend was the launch of The Little Tart's sixth year in cottage country's Haliburton. It is our first ever Easter weekend opening and to be honest, Bill and I were expecting to spend most of this weekend waiting and hoping. But we are happy to say we were busy all weekend long. Thank you very much to everyone who made us a part of their Easter celebrations and for this wonderful start!

We are OPEN until 5pm today.

Next weekend we will open from Friday through Sunday from 10am - 5pm.

The following weekend beginning May 1st, we will add a day and be open from Thursday through Sunday from 10am - 5pm and will keep these hours until the kiddies come out of school and then we'll begin operating seven days a week as summer gets in to full swing. (Yes, it is coming!)

But you don't have to remember all this. I'll gladly remind you!

Enjoy the rest of your today and as always, we look forward to seeing you! 

Open for Easter Weekend!

We can't make the sun shine, but if we could we would bake it on a shortbread crust and dust it with icing sugar!

The Little Tart's Lemon Squares
 

This Easter Weekend begins The Little Tart's 2014 season. We are open from Friday April 18 through Easter Monday from 10am - 5pm

The following weekend we will be open Friday through Sunday from 10am - 5pm with new hours beginning May 1st.

Have a wonderful Easter weekend!

Pies for Easter Weekend

The Little Tart's Coconut Cream Pie

We are offering several deluscious pies available to order this Easter Weekend:

For $15 we offer:

Lemon Meringue
Coconut Cream
Banana Cream

For $25 we offer two new pies:

Strawberry Cheesecake
Blueberry Cheesecake

The Little Tart will be fully stocked with tarts, squares, cookies, and many other guilty pleasures to tempt your taste buds. Simply call us to place an order! We look forward to seeing you and hope you have a wonderful Easter Weekend!

Opening Easter Weekend!

What a winter this is turning out to be! We have been buried in snow, paralyzed by a deep freeze, then teased with a few nice days only to start all over again. We sure hope everyone is surviving this crazy winter weather.

Bill and I are already thinking about our 2014 season and have chosen an opening date of Friday April the 18th! That's the Friday of Easter weekend this year.

Every year we try to come up with new items to add to our menu and this year is no exception. We may not be open, but we are experimenting with some new recipes with the hopes of finding some new and exciting baked goods worthy of our wonderful customers.

In the meantime, don't let this winter get you down. Just like there's always a tomorrow, spring will inevitably arrive!