Sesame and Balsamic Glazed Asparagus Cranberry Tart for Tongue Ticklers

I love playing with flavors and ingredients. The sweet and the savory seem to be not a very likely match for a tart, but I was determined to try it out. Once I brew something in my head, it is hard for me to rest until it gets executed.  So I took the risk and tried it out building the recipe while I was actually working on the tart, with only the asparagus and dried cranberries in mind.

Now talking of a guest post, there could not have been a more pleasurable one than this. This blogging affair for me had begun as a journal, but over these few years I have myself standing in a place which I obviously could have never imagined during those first few months. I have a shimmering web of friends in every corner of the world and I see the world and the food through their eyes and words even if I cannot be physically there.

But that was not what it was then; when I would open my blog every hour and wait for a comment, wanting to know someone, converse on the same table.

But it happened. One day I came across a food blogging event called FIC, hosted by the Sunshinemom. I had no idea what FIC was and who the Sunshinemom was. All I understood was I had to send something over that was green! I had the Beans with Coconut, and I wrote to this so called Sunshinemom. And it all began there, with my admission to the world of Food in Color (FIC) and under the warmth of this Sunshinemom.

Slowly we connected. I had a friend.

The Sunshinemom is no one but Harini; a lady with vibrant personality and the author of Tongue Ticklers.  If you have not visited her blog yet, please take some time in your hands, for you will easily spend a few hours soaking in her eye candy photographs and inspirational vegan recipes. (Catch her in Flickr and see her wonderful photo stream. Tongue Ticklers is also on Facebook!)

We did not “chat” everyday, not even regularly. But when you connect with someone, you just do even without chirping. The vibes we shared strung us together across the continents. We did share little bits of our life, feelings, little conversations about family and kids. But I know we had more than that. Few months back when I was planning on my trip to India, Harini wrote to me and said she will come by and meet me and we are not even neighbors in India. In fact she had to take a flight. I was touched beyond words. Unfortunately the meet did not happen this time, but we spoke and we talked like old friends without inhibitions.

It is a privilege for me to do a guest post for her.  And I will be honored to have her sometimes soon.

Yes I was talking of combining not so usual ingredients, and this one has a few to begin with. Then the sesame, balsamic and almonds came along. I found these really slender young asparagus and could not resist myself. So I picked them up with not many plans. But when I came home and saw the bag of dried cranberries on the kitchen counter top, my brain started ticking.

Remember the Olive Oil Tart Crust I had done? Well it is time to go back there again, since I needed to do a vegan recipe for Harini. Besides, after that discovery, we have mostly stuck to the dairy free crust with not much to lose. It is a bit tricky but quite flaky and airy like any good old tart crust.

Please head over to Tongue Ticklers to have a slice of the Sesame and Balsamic Glazed Asparagus and Cranberry Tart…

(recipe found in Tongue Ticklers).

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Farinata with Grilled Vegetables

Okonomiyaki, aka Japanese Pizza

Ladenia – Pizza from a Greek Island