Sunday, April 5, 2009

Fig and Blackberry Crostata....am I a sugar addict?


I made this crostata a few weeks ago with the last of the good blackberries, and at a time when figs were at their peak. No, it's not a pizza. It is, indeed, a crostata.

Being one to believe that more is more, I may have misread (ignored) the instructions to leave at least a 5cm wide border all around the sides. As a result, there was not enough to cover enough of the fruits to sufficiently transform what is meant to be a freeform pie into the work of art called a crostata.

J had a birthday last Tuesday. No, I did not make him anything special. In self defense though, I did ask if he wanted me to make anything for his birthday. His answered no. And being someone who never takes things at face value, I began to wonder if his lack of enthusiasm for my food is directly related to the fact that I only ever make sweet foods. While I am more than happy to munch on sweets all day--- which I do on a frequent basis, forgoing main, proper meals in place of sugary goodness---J has a (much) lower threshold for sweet things. He likes a few mouthfuls here and there, but on an average day, I'd say that three servings of anything sweet is his limit of sugar intake in one sitting. Which works for me, because I end up polishing off the rest of the food. Life is good.


Or so I thought. I have been pondering about this lately: do all the people in your lives enjoy most of the things that you make? Because here's a BIG revelation: the people in mine surely don't. With the exception of my siblings, who are borderline carnivorous, most of my friends don't eat or even buy sweets, which I find completely unimaginable. One of my friends confessed at a recent lunch meeting that he could not even remember when he last bought a candy bar/cookie/anything sweet from the supermarket. The horror!!

After observing how most of the ladies at work took 2 days to finish a small bag of 6 shortbread biscuits that I made and gave to them, I can't help but wonder if the problem has always been mine. I take on average 5 minutes flat to polish off 6 shortbread squares for breakfast with my morning tea. And no, this is not the embarrassing scenario where I am the only one who do not realise how bad her cooking/baking really is, so get that thought outta your head!



What I want to know is what you, my readers, consider to be your sweetness threshold. Whether it is something like mine (I can polish off ten 2cmx4cm pistachio nougat bars in half a day---ohhohoh I'm a patissier's and a dentist's dream!!), or somewhere along the lines of my friend, who thinks that sugar is just another type of food he does not need. I look forward to reading your comments!!

This crostata recipe is adapted from Chef Catherine Adams' recipe which was featured in the Australian Gourmet Traveller magazine. Please click on this link to get to the recipe page. I took the liberty of substituting the raspberries with the blackberries; feel free to use any other fruits that are in season.

13 comments:

Siri said...

Just wanted to say that I loved your post and I feel you on the whole non-sugar eating friends/co-workers out there. What is wrong with these weird-os anyway? My husband would be a good example of this type of person- which makes making an entire pie for the two of us tricky.

Nice photos too, by the way. I think figs sit well for the camera.

-Siri

Mallory Elise said...

um, well your blog name is "5 types of sugar" so i think it's safe to say you're addicted to sugar. dork. like how im addicted to cod fish. cod fish thats reeeeaaalllly salty :P

i know what you mean about people "appreciating" or at least wanting baked goods. my family isnt much for sweets. my mom says "oh you'll make me fat" and my dad eats no sugar. my siblings, well i guess they'll eat anything. but you just gotta find those who want it. my housemates eat everything. hehe. and my neighbors. classmates. bartenders (i trade cakes for cocktails, true story!!!!) anyways. im getting excited to anorexic grapes :P and this tart thing looks brilliant.

Snooky doodle said...

This crostata looks delicious !

Ash said...

Wow! I love you're pictures here!! I always wanted to make one of these, now perhaps I may have to! :)

Cannelle Et Vanille said...

who isn't right? beautiful christy!

Y said...

My family aren't huge eaters of sweets either - which totally doesn't explain ME. To be fair, I think I like making things more than I do eating them. I'm more likely to crave something savoury.

Your crostata looks perfect!

Anonymous said...

I once went on a date with a guy who , when I asked him what (not IF) he wanted to get for dessert, told me: "I prefer to eat healthy food."
Needless to say he was enjoying his healthy lifestyle alone after that.

Anonymous said...

I get what you mean...
so many of my friends are sugar intolerant and after half a chocolate bar they have to drink an entire bottle of water
but that's ok because then i get to eat most of the baking that i do.
crostata looks delish!

Maria@TheGourmetChallenge said...

Thats so funny! I made this crostata too, I DID leave enough pastry to wrap over it but it still turned into a fig pizza. I think it needed to be chilled for a little longer, definitely something that needs more practice.

Silvana said...

Oh... I SO get what you mean!! what my husband llikes most is sponge cake.alone.no cream.no filling.no frosting... can you believe it?
Crostata looks good, I saw quinces here (Argentina) already and maybe they're a good option for this dough.

Anonymous said...

There is practically no limit to how much sugar I will consume in a day. I think I can safely say the same for my boyfriend and best friend (both happily accompanied me to several chocolate shops and bakeries over the past few days). And I've yet to hear any complaints from the various friends and former coworkers I bring baked goods to. I guess I'm lucky. :P

Steph said...

This is the first time I've seen a crostata. It looks really good. I love nougat too.

Nelly said...

Hi =)
I love ur creation
wish u could visit my blog too =)
http://www.eggandsugar.blogspot.com/