Carb Fest

Our card game yesterday turned into an interesting experiment. While we always bring food, this time we had a “Tea” theme. We had five kinds of tea sandwiches, deviled eggs, salad, scones, crumpets, jams, cream, and fruit salad, an assortment of cookies, chocolate fudge and Tarte Tatin, along with a variety of teas. We always joke that we “never have enough food”.

We start the day by putting out the buffet, and we have a chat, eat a bit, and catch up with each other before we start playing the game. We graze throughout the afternoon, taking little snacks between hands, and have our dessert after the last hand.

Well, we soon realized, just a little bit into the first round, that we all seemed to be a bit “off”. As the day moved on, we were slower in making decisions, made more mistakes, and it took about an hour longer than usual to play. We thought that the caffeine in all the tea we were drinking might perk us up, but it didn’t. We realized that it was the food - mostly simple carbs, with the white flour in the bread, scones, and crumpets, and all that sugar, butter, and cream. We all try to eat healthily, and this food was definitely out of the norm for us - a “simple” carb - fest. It was fascinating to see the direct correlation between “bad” food and sluggish performance at the card table, and confirmed that we were doing well to avoid these foods other than as occasional treats. We agreed, however, that we really enjoyed this indulgence!

I am also pleased to report that my Tarte Tatin turned out quite well. This Tarte is slices of apples baked in a caramel sauce, with a single crust on top. To unmold it, you place your serving plate firmly on top of the pan, hold it tight, and flip it over quickly, so that the whole assembly drops from the pan to the plate, without sending scalding caramel flying across the kitchen. The result (hopefully) is a crispy pastry crust topped with gorgeous caramelized apple slices, which is served with very lightly sweetened whipped cream. Despite the previous array of food, we managed to eat most of it!