6th Annual 2013 Arts Off 84

I look forward to this event each Labor Day weekend. The mission of the Art Crawl is to promote the works of local and regional artists and to provide an art presence along 25 miles of highway 84 between Pine River and Longville, Mn.

My friend JoAnne was ready for shopping with her SPROUT bag, a purchase from last year. These feed bags (for wild game) have been repurposed into sturdy shopping bags.  

There were some 50 artists spread out in 8 locations over 25 miles. What a great way to spend part of a beautiful sunny day browsing and admiring the work of such talented artists. There was something for everyone.  

  

The ingenuity of this artist by using a real tepee to display animal skin rugs inside was impressive.

But it was Heidi of Park Rapids whose creativity got my full attention. Just looking at her wares for sale made you want to run to the nearest thrift store.

Even her business card was imaginative using mailing tags.

  Bird feeders using jello molds and tops. Lawn art flowers made with silver trays and bowls for centers.

Wondering what to do with your fondue forks or two tined serving forks? Here's a great idea for labeling in the garden. I just could not pass up on this purchase. Unfortunately, I have only had pumpkin vines this year and not a pumpkin in sight to even think about needing a label. The fork label will be saved for next year.

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Tomato Basil Cheese Tart

Cook's notes: This recipe was supposed to be a tart, but I did not have the right pan at the lake so it became a quiche. It is a good way to make use of fresh basil and tomatoes.

Ingredients:

• pie crust
• 2-3 sliced tomatoes (patted dry on a paper towel)
• fresh basil
• 1 TB. parsley flakes
• 3/4 tsp. dry mustard
• 3/4 cup whipping cream
• 3/4 cup half and half
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese 
• 5 strips of bacon (optional)
• 1/2 cup chopped sweet onions

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 425
• Roll out pie crust and place in pan, flute edges 
• Blind bake: cover pie crust with 2 pieces of foil make sure foil is smoothed out to corners

• Bake for 15 minutes
• In a pan fry bacon and chopped onion together, drain on a paper towel
• In a blender add dry mustard, whip cream, half and half and parsley flakes-mix well

• Remove foil from tart pan/quiche pan and add bacon, onion, grated cheeses on bottom of pie crust
• Reduce heat to 325
• Pour cream from blender over bacon onion mixture 
• Add sliced tomatoes and chopped basil on top
• Using  foil from blind  bake tear long strips and place around outside edge of pan to prevent browning
• Sprinkle with more cheese on top and bake 20-25 minutes at 325 check for doneness by inserting a butter knife in and should come out clean  from center 

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