The Joys of Wisdom Teeth Extraction Part II

I'm still required to sleep with my head elevated at a 45-degree. To me that means:
1. Waking up with a neck/shoulder-ache
2. Blankets sliding off my shoulders, causing me to wake up in the middle of the night shivering from cold
3. Lack of sleep

Even with my head elevated, I still woke up with a swollen face. At least I can start drinking warm liquids again.

I realize that the surgical procedure itself isn't too horrible. I actually enjoyed the effects of nitrous. It's the post-surgical recovery that makes the whole surgery thing miserable. But hey, this is the perfect opportunity to experiment with different soups and smoothies! Strawberries and watermelon was on sale this week, so I made this Strawberry-Watermelon Gazpacho.

Technically gazpacho shouldn't be like a smoothie, it should have chunks of vegetables in it for texture--but alas, I can't chew yet. I combined strawberries, watermelon, a clove of garlic (marinated in vinegar and soy sauce), and some orzo (with sorrel-basil pesto) leftover from A la Carte Kitchen, and a dash of balsamic. Pureed everything together--and it worked! Tasted just like gazpacho, except without the tomato. Almost like a fruity salsa.

Then there's the Bible study coming up this Sunday...Since the last tart crust turned out way too tough, I wanted to give the crust another shot just for the sake of practice. That and we have lots of the aforementioned strawberries.

I tried a few different formulas, applied different mixing methods, different baking temperatures...
There appears to be two different ways of mixing: the creaming and the cutting. The former involves blending the softened butter with sugar, adding the eggs, then blending the flour without overmixing. The latter involves mixing dry ingredients, cutting in the butter, then blending in the eggs, again without overmixing.
The temperature is either 350F or 375F. So far, I've found out...

1. The 'creaming' method produced a sturdier, heavier, cookie-like crust, but tends to be pretty tough. I baked the first one at 350F. It turned out pretty, but upon cutting into it, it was almost as tough as the one I made two weeks ago. But when I smeared ganache on it, and let it sit in an airtight container overnight, it softened up and turned tender, just like shortbread. Don't know what happens if baked at 375F.

2. The 'cutting' method produced a more delicate, flakier, crisper crust. Baked this one at 375F. The edges got a little too dark to my liking, and it wasn't as smooth-looking as the 'creaming' method. But according to Mom, this was the type of crust that would come to her mind when she envisions 'tart crust'. On the other hand, she doesn't like the heavy American-pie dough, so it could be just her personal preference for the lighter, crispier crust--and the tart crust is actually supposed to be like a heavy cookie.


The above photos are the tart shells done via 'cutting' method. Crispy and delicate.

Next time, I'll try baking the dough made via 'cutting' method at 350F. Maybe the lower temperature will help retain the pretty outline. The dough made via 'creaming' I'll bake at 375F, see if that will make it more crisp and not as heavy. Maybe the 'creaming' method dough is perfectly fine, and it's supposed to be tough when it comes out of the oven--then once filled, the filling will add moisture and soften it up??

So much to learn, so much to experiment...