This week is a powerful week filled with remembering Martin Luther King Jr. and celebrating my dad's birthday. Martin Luther King Jr. was an amazing inspiration and I'm sure he will be celebrated for years to come. My dad always comments, "why don't I have a holiday;" since his birthday usually falls on the holiday of Martin Luther King Jr. I roll my eyes and think to myself what amazing strides have you made for humanity?
My past with my dad has been colored with disdain, shame, longing for someone different to be my father and a little sprinkle of love. I have wrestled with these feelings probably most of my life. You may be wondering why would I feel this way about my father? I will share a few reasons why this is so but I ask you to keep an open mind and don't let your picture of my dad be blackened by what I share; he is a wounded soul.
My dad is an alcoholic, can say hurtful things, tacked on helping raise my siblings when my mom was working late as a nurse and after her death when I was 19. It was a treacherous journey for me as a young child and I carried my wounds with me as badges of honor for many years. I would try to elicit other people's sympathy where ever I went and really it was just perpetuating the hurt and disgust for my dad. One wounded soul trying to make another wounded soul see how they hurt them.
Years of sloshing through these painful memories a glimmer of light shown through. This holiday season was a triumph. My dad hasn't change much but I have and I can see his wounds more than ever. This doesn't mean I have a pity party for my dad but I treat him the way I would like to be treated. I was able to treat him with respect which was mind blowing. I tried asking him about him with no expectation of him doing the same in return. It felt good to show him respect for the first time in my life. I also kept my boundaries of not being his designated driver and suggesting a cab. All small strides but monumental in our relationship.
Martin Luther King Jr. was a warrior and spurred change in our society. More change still needs to happen. He was a great teacher of compassion and love. I'm starting to realize that maybe I didn't get the father I always wanted but my dad has always been a great teacher to me. A lot of the things I've learned from him are what I don't want to be but I've learned what Dr. King has taught compassion and love by trying to be that to my dad. Don't get me wrong I am not always glowing with these qualities; sometimes I have melt downs and want lie on the floor kicking my legs and scream, "why don't I have a more supportive father!" But sometimes I see the glimmer of what I'm meant to learn. Also, I can thank my dad for my love of cooking. My dad and I don't have deep meaningful conversations but we can connect about food. So I thank my dad for the hardships I have gone through and that he gave me the gift of cooking.
I made this galette for my family when they were here for the holidays. Oh what a special galette! There is magic in this galette. Happy face. Make this recipe for someone you love or if you are ready; for a relationship that needs a little healing. Or maybe for yourself because sometimes we are the ones that need it the most.
My past with my dad has been colored with disdain, shame, longing for someone different to be my father and a little sprinkle of love. I have wrestled with these feelings probably most of my life. You may be wondering why would I feel this way about my father? I will share a few reasons why this is so but I ask you to keep an open mind and don't let your picture of my dad be blackened by what I share; he is a wounded soul.
My dad is an alcoholic, can say hurtful things, tacked on helping raise my siblings when my mom was working late as a nurse and after her death when I was 19. It was a treacherous journey for me as a young child and I carried my wounds with me as badges of honor for many years. I would try to elicit other people's sympathy where ever I went and really it was just perpetuating the hurt and disgust for my dad. One wounded soul trying to make another wounded soul see how they hurt them.
Years of sloshing through these painful memories a glimmer of light shown through. This holiday season was a triumph. My dad hasn't change much but I have and I can see his wounds more than ever. This doesn't mean I have a pity party for my dad but I treat him the way I would like to be treated. I was able to treat him with respect which was mind blowing. I tried asking him about him with no expectation of him doing the same in return. It felt good to show him respect for the first time in my life. I also kept my boundaries of not being his designated driver and suggesting a cab. All small strides but monumental in our relationship.
Martin Luther King Jr. was a warrior and spurred change in our society. More change still needs to happen. He was a great teacher of compassion and love. I'm starting to realize that maybe I didn't get the father I always wanted but my dad has always been a great teacher to me. A lot of the things I've learned from him are what I don't want to be but I've learned what Dr. King has taught compassion and love by trying to be that to my dad. Don't get me wrong I am not always glowing with these qualities; sometimes I have melt downs and want lie on the floor kicking my legs and scream, "why don't I have a more supportive father!" But sometimes I see the glimmer of what I'm meant to learn. Also, I can thank my dad for my love of cooking. My dad and I don't have deep meaningful conversations but we can connect about food. So I thank my dad for the hardships I have gone through and that he gave me the gift of cooking.
I made this galette for my family when they were here for the holidays. Oh what a special galette! There is magic in this galette. Happy face. Make this recipe for someone you love or if you are ready; for a relationship that needs a little healing. Or maybe for yourself because sometimes we are the ones that need it the most.
Oh My Galette!
The crust was inspired by Smitten Kitchen. I love her blog and I love this crust. Galettes are great because they are very forgiving; the dough doesn't have to be perfectly round to make a beautiful galette. It is great that you can put almost anything in the middle. I'm sure I'll be making many more varieties of these. I have also substituted pear for the apple in this recipe and it came out just as great.
Ingredients:
Crust
1 1/4 cups of all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/4 of plain yogurt
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup ice water
For the Filling
1 medium size butternut squash, coarse chop
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 leek, diced
1 large Braeburn or Crispin apple, chopped
1 tablespoon of fresh sage, minced
1 teaspoon of salt
3/4 cup of gruyere cheese, grated
Instructions:
1. Pastry Dough: In a bowl, combine the flour and salt. Add butter; use a pastry blender, cut the butter into mixture until it resembles coarse meal. Make a well in center of mixture. In another bowl combine yogurt, lemon juice and water; whisk together. Add half of the liquid mixture to the flour/butter mixture. Mix together with your hands. Then add the rest of the liquid. Mix together. Don't over mix. Form a ball and cover. Place in the refrigerator for at least a hour.
2. Filling: Peel butternut squash and scoop out seeds. Coarsely chop the butternut squash. Put 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan. Add butternut squash and heat on medium high heat until lightly golden brown about 20-30 minutes. While squash is cooking chop the leek, apple, and sage. The last 5 minutes of cooking the squash add in the leek, apple and sage; stir to blend. Add salt to taste. Remove from the stove. Place in a bowl and mix cheese in.
3. Remove the ball of dough from the refrigerator. On a floured surface roll dough out with a rolling pin into approximately a 12-inch round. Transfer to a ungreased baking sheet. Spread squash, apple, leek, and cheese mixture on dough leaving 1 1/2 inches around the edges. Fold the border over, pleating where necessary to make it fit. The center will be open.
4. Bake until golden brown about 30-40 minutes. Remove the galette from the oven and let stand for a few minutes. Cut into wedges and serve. Serves 4 to 6.
Ingredients:
Crust
1 1/4 cups of all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/4 of plain yogurt
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup ice water
For the Filling
1 medium size butternut squash, coarse chop
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 leek, diced
1 large Braeburn or Crispin apple, chopped
1 tablespoon of fresh sage, minced
1 teaspoon of salt
3/4 cup of gruyere cheese, grated
Instructions:
1. Pastry Dough: In a bowl, combine the flour and salt. Add butter; use a pastry blender, cut the butter into mixture until it resembles coarse meal. Make a well in center of mixture. In another bowl combine yogurt, lemon juice and water; whisk together. Add half of the liquid mixture to the flour/butter mixture. Mix together with your hands. Then add the rest of the liquid. Mix together. Don't over mix. Form a ball and cover. Place in the refrigerator for at least a hour.
2. Filling: Peel butternut squash and scoop out seeds. Coarsely chop the butternut squash. Put 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan. Add butternut squash and heat on medium high heat until lightly golden brown about 20-30 minutes. While squash is cooking chop the leek, apple, and sage. The last 5 minutes of cooking the squash add in the leek, apple and sage; stir to blend. Add salt to taste. Remove from the stove. Place in a bowl and mix cheese in.
3. Remove the ball of dough from the refrigerator. On a floured surface roll dough out with a rolling pin into approximately a 12-inch round. Transfer to a ungreased baking sheet. Spread squash, apple, leek, and cheese mixture on dough leaving 1 1/2 inches around the edges. Fold the border over, pleating where necessary to make it fit. The center will be open.
4. Bake until golden brown about 30-40 minutes. Remove the galette from the oven and let stand for a few minutes. Cut into wedges and serve. Serves 4 to 6.
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