I now have just a few moments to breath deeply and not ponder too hard or too long about what needs to be done as soon as my feet hit the floor tomorrow morning.
For those of you who have been following me for a little while now you may have noted my penchant (nice word) for lists.  You might say that I'm addicted.  Lists are soothing.  Lists give me a sense of accomplishment.


Some of the things that have gotten me through this week are:
1. This song seems to hold no end of inspiration for me while I'm running.  It's been months now and I'm still on it hard.  It even moves me to ridiculous gestures while I'm running the streets - SAD.
2. I think that just maybe I'm starting to get this Pinterest thing.  I've gone there just to see if there is inspiration just a couple of times.  I always leave it knowing exactly why North Americans are grossly over weight.  If Pinterest is any indication as to how most of us are eating then about 90 percent of us are eating sweets or baked goods pretty much all the time.  The rest of us 10 percent seem to be consuming some kind of mexican pasta dish.  Weird.  Random.  Embarrassingly compelling.
3. The sun.  It came out to play this week.  Things warmed up to a balmy 15 degrees or so at one point.  The sun is also sticking around until about 7:45 in the evening these days.
4. The fact that by the end of this weekend I will be looking out of clean windows.
5. I have so much fun reading this blog and getting inspired by her writing style.  I can't wait to support her by purchasing her book when it comes out.

Some things that made the above list seem especially precious:
1. 4 day work weeks sound wonderful but they suck when you have to fit 5 days work into 4.
2. Monday's flat bike tire has somehow jacked up my bike and now there is something obstructing the back tire making it twice as hard to peddle.  My ass is in some serious pain. And I hate my bike right now.
3. This forever juggle that we adults do (most of us) between what we want to do and what we can accomplish in reality.
It is this last thing, this last item on my ick list that I will dwell on briefly.
I have a lot of lists and most of them are short term but there are also some mid-term and long term lists as well.  Getting a Masters Degree - Long Term.  Deconstructing my back deck area - Mid Term.  Making cookies - Short Term.  You get the idea.  My short term lists this week went out the window completely.  One thing after another crowded the lists completely out of reality.  Can't even begin to tell you what those things were at the moment but there it is.  I'm sure that you've had those weeks too and therefor you can well imagine what some of those things might have been.  I managed to squeeze this little gem in though and subsequently crossed one little tiny thing off one of my 'short term' lists.
Savoury tarts are a funny thing and to be honest I couldn't tell you why this is a tart and not a quiche save that it's made in a tart shell.  This got made because I recently acquired a tart shell and I wanted to use it.  It also came to life because I had chard.  It also exists because it's pretty easy to put together once you have the requisite ingredients (milk/eggs/cheese/veggies).  I made my own crust but I wouldn't diss you for buying a ready made instead, I would just tell you to watch how much you can pour into your crust size.


 I've got a couple more 'short term' lists on the go for this weekend and cooking is definitely a list of it's own.  I'm glad though that even in the middle of a massive juggle week it's still possible to find a way to knock a thing or two off the list without too much effort.


Chard, Leek and Chevre (goat cheese) Tart
adapted from Simply Organic

Crust (I tried this stupid, weird, Amazingly easy crust from David Lebovitz)

Filling

3 cups chard, chopped
1 cup chard stems, chopped
2 cups leeks, thinly sliced
1 cup button mushrooms (I had them and needed to use them - you could easily leave them out), quartered
3 med cloves garlic, minced
1 cup milk
5 eggs
2 tbsp italian seasoning (basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, parsley)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp pepper sauce (optional)
1 cup medium cheddar, grated
1 cup chevre

Heat a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat.  Once hot add in about 3 tbsp of oil or butter (might need a little bit more) and add the leeks and chard stems.  Cook together for about 5 minutes.  Turn the heat down a little and add in the garlic, chard leaves and garlic.  Cook together for another 5 minutes.  Turn off the heat and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine the milk and the eggs together.  Whisk until thoroughly mixed.  Add in the seasoning, salt, paprika, nutmeg and pepper sauce.
Sprinkle half of the cheddar onto the bottom of the tart crust.  Spoon the veggie mixture on top of that and spread it evenly around the tart shell.  Plot the chevre in large tbsp dollops throughout the tart.  Pour the egg mixture into the tart shell.  Sprinkle the last of the cheddar over the top.
Bake for 35 - 40 minutes or until the centre of the tart is not jiggling.
Cool for about 7 - 10 minutes before slicing.