Once upon a time there was the interwebz. The interwebz was a funny ol’ thang. It was born in a pin prick of light, a cyberspace baby and it grew and grew and GREW. The interwebz became everything, and though you can’t touch it, you always know it’s there.

It lives and breathes through you and I: a hobby, a way of life, an institution, a religion.

I’d always been a sucker for the interwebz. I remember being in highschool, saving my pennies so that I could buy some skanky old modem. I plugged it into the telephone socket and dialled onto… telnet. I MUD’d and IRC’d and then I mIRC’d which for those of you as ancient as me, you’ll remember the god-given communal sigh of relief we all breathed when mIRC’s interface actually had separate windows.

Oh yeah, Captain Nerd here.

The interwebz gripped me young and it gripped me good. It brought me happiness (because chatting to complete strangers seems to have always brought me joy) and sheer heartbreak (when my dad physically ripped my precious modem from the wall).

I’m sure I could have been institutionalised for my obsession with being online but hey I’ve managed to avoid capture so far although… and Panu will attest to this… when 3G drops out on my blackberry, I start to gnaw on my lip and pick at my nails and fidget with nervous energy because What. If. It. Never. Comes. Back?!  WHAT IF I MISS A TWEET?! For realz. I’m actually totally certified insane.

Hi, my name is catty and I am an interwebolic.

Not that being an interwebolic is all bad. Far from it! My relationship with the interwebz has always been nothing if not positive.

The interwebz has taught me and nurtured me and connected me and showed me and laughed with me and dare I say, loved me. It’s given me an avenue to express myself in 140 characters or less, and well, when I have more than 140 characters to express I have my blog and you, all of you crazy awesome readers, the interwebz has brought me you, the wonderful blueberries in the tart that is my life.

I’ve made true friends through the interwebz, I even thought I found true love once but then it turned out to be not so true. It’s all right, interwebz, it wasn’t your fault. The interwebz has brought people into my life. Sometimes for a moment. Sometimes for a day. Sometimes a week. And maybe a life time. Who knows.

Most recently, the interwebz has shared with me the wonder that is Maria, a stunning Finnish girl living in Sydney, creating some of the most awesome traditional Finnish dishes definitely that side of the hemisphere. This here is based on her berry tart recipe and it is delish!

So to all you other interwebolics out there, don’t be ashamed. Be proud, peace out and may y’all live happily ever after.

ps. I was not stoned while writing this post. I think.

Blueberry tart (inspired by Maria’s mamma’s berry tart recipe)
Pastry:
100 grams butter, softened
85 grams caster sugar
1 egg
150 grams plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

Filling:
500 grams blueberries (or mixed berries)
2 tablespoons corn flour
250mL light sour cream
1 egg
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
70 grams caster sugar
  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/355°F and grease a 24cm tart/pie/quiche tin.
  2. To make the pastry, beat together the butter and sugar until creamy. Whisk in the egg.
  3. Mix the baking powder and flour together and add to the egg mixture. Using a wooden spoon, mix all together until you get a sticky dough.
  4. Place the dough in the tart tin and flatten against bottom and edge. Set aside.
  5. In a bowl, mix the berries with corn flour until they are coated. Spoon onto prepared pastry.
  6. Mix together sour cream, egg, vanilla extract and sugar and pour the mixture over the blueberries.
  7. Bake in the pre-heated oven for about 30 minutes or until edges are brown and filling has set.
  8. Leave to cool. Keep refrigerated.
  9. Serve with vanilla ice cream.
Serves 6-8.

16 Thoughts on “dedicated to the interwebz and you my readers, the wonderful blueberries in the tart that is my life

  1. Naww *blush* Catty, thank you so much, I feel so honoured! Haha Your tart looks absolutely fantastic! And I’ll have to agree with you on the wonders of the interwebz! xxx

  2. Pingback: Tweets that mention dedicated to the interwebz and you my readers, the wonderful blueberries in the tart that is my life « thecattylife – up close and personal to all things… edible -- Topsy.com

  3. Yum yum yum blueberries…we can’t get enough these days…they’re so good this time of year. Thanks for a delicious looking recipe for us to bake them into!

  4. mIRC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    High school days, oh yes! I remember! My school was the first in Melbourne to get the internet, “to help the students learn”… and we all just chatted on mIRC to random strangers. There were no firewalls or anything back in those days either so people just surfed and chatted and saw whatever they wanted!

    xox Sarah

  5. Hail Captain Catty and the good ship Blueberryz, afloat on the great cyberocean 😉 That’s a trip down memory lane alright, although, coming from rural rural Cornwall it took us an age to get a decent connection. That’s not to say I wasn’t a mean player of BBC/Acorn games (the ones that came on cassettes – remember them?).

    More recently the web has opened up a whole wide (if slightly obsessed) world of foodie fun in London, and is starting to open wider vistas abroad – and the thank the Cyber Godz for that. So I’m with you and your blueberries all the way.

    PS – a very tasty looking tart. Ahem.

  6. I am quite proud and pleased to be a blueberry in your tart (which, btw, looks perfectly yum)! My relationship with the interwebz is love/hate – love the connections I’ve made with people I would otherwise have never met, hate the fact that I sometimes focus on it so much to the exclusion of all other hobbies and interests. Working on the whole balance thing but it would help if I could have a bit of this dessert . . .

  7. Maria: Thanks for sharing the recipe! And yes, we are all in debted to the wonders of the interwebz x

    Blue-Eyed Bakers: blueberries are wonderful things.. did you ever see my blue velvet cupcakes, filled with blueberry love?

    Sarah: oh MAN you had mIRC at school? We weren’t so lucky (or maybe I’m just like way older than you!) but I remember when my school got ONE computer LOL. Love IRC though, if nothing else it taught me how to touch type LOL!

    The Grubworm: I AM SPEECHLESS. You seriously crack me up like nothing else! 😀

    Tangled Noodle: You are a wonderful blueberry in my tart! I love all my blueberries 🙂 And yes, i totally need to work on a balance too…

  8. This is the cutest thing ever! Blueberries in the tart that is your life! I heart you. It’s been an awesome year knowing you and I swear London is going to be a far less sunny place without you when you go back to kangaroo land 🙁 I know it’s ages away from now but ACTUALLY not really! I mean who’s gonna make me this amazing blueberry tart then? WHO? At least you’ve written a recipe; I’ll just have to make myself one. x

  9. gawd i so love the interwebz too even if that makes me a true geek, so sue me i am and proudly wear that label on my forehead. I miss mIRC days – sick as it was, I found out that the guy i was chatting to for ages was the guy i liked in the boys’ high sch across mine and who later became my boyfriend. love wasn’t so true though. nevertheless, what fun! hot damn, this is that blueberry tart you were talking about right. looks soo good imma licking it off my screen and imagining that Macbook screens have gone 2D – image + taste xxx

  10. jenny on July 8, 2010 at 10:44 am said:

    Hahahaha this is so funny! great post… and yummy blueberry tart!! blueberries are meant to be really good for you right?

  11. I was chatting on MIRC at work and found my present hub. LOL! He was looking for Pamela (he had Pamela Anderson in mind) so he landed on me. Funnily we chatted only once for 20 minutes … amazing that one contact leads to. 😉 Hub is proud to be a geek and I love my geek.

  12. diva: hahaha true geek FTW! 🙂 yeah mIRC turns not-so-great boys into knights in shining internet armour but oh well, we all learn 🙂

    jenny: YES! blueberries are fricking great for you so eat lots.. in a tart! 😀

    The Cooking Ninja: awwww that is so sweet! I love hearing happy internet endings actually… it’s a great way to meet people, once you weed out the weirdos!

  13. Linda at Pink Elephants coffee,LLC on December 17, 2010 at 11:41 pm said:

    Australia? You’re replanting to Australia?? I try to imagine your future recipe postings. “Hammerhead Honey Horns”, “Funnel Web Cake”, “Great White Woobies”,
    “Koala Kuchen”, “Sheila’s Sayonara”, “Sea Snake Snaps”, “Portuguese Man O’War Mango Macarons”, “Croc’ Crackled Grackles”, “Dundee’s Doody,”and “Jerked Dragon
    over Matcha Mashed Potatoes with Mate’s Pot Puds”. I’m jealous!
    Seriously, though, you’ll get to see Lorraine and wonderful others.
    And your velvet blue cupcakes were GORGEOUS.

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