simple quiche

something I've made a few times in the last few months. I enjoy it a lot, but it's quite heavy, so it's best combined with a salad.

crust: I use the better homes and gardens recipe so far. or you can use a packaged crust.

then I put swiss cheese in the bottom of the pan (or gruyere) 3/4 cup. then about 4-7 pieces bacon chopped and cooked on top of the cheese. next, chopped raw green onions. next, i have tried fresh dill and enjoy the taste. maybe 2 Tbs fresh snipped dill (optional). top with as much fresh spinach as you can squeeze in.

Mix together 4 eggs, 1 cup cream (or milk) a sprinkle of nugmeg and salt and pepper to taste. combine and pour over mixture in crust.

cover the crust with tin foil and bake for 325 for 45 min (this depends on your oven...) mine runs hot so i lower the temp and also the time.

if this is your first time making quiche i would not bother with a homemade crust, but if you've made it before put in the extra effort as it makes it look so much more appealing and the taste is much more authentic. you can use a wine bottle or a large cup as a rolling pin.

"Healthier-than-thou" Tuna Sashimi Bowl

So if one day you feel particularly lazy and particularly health-conscious you can try this quick and, as the name suggests, healthy meal!!! The preparation couldn't be easier - the only downside is that you'll need to find a place that sells sashimi-grade tuna and other Japanese ingredients.

So here it is in no particular order and without any measurements:

Fresh Sashimi-grade Tuna
Uncooked Soba noodles (that's buckwheat)
Seaweed salad (pre-made)
Lemon
Miso paste (any kind)
oil (something light)
Sesame seeds (optional)
Soy sauce and wasabi for dipping

The only thing that needs to be cooked is the noodles. Follow the instructions on the package - I believe 4 min at rapid boil is just right. Drain them under cold water as soon as the 4 min is up!!! Transfer some of the noodles (or all) into a nice bowl.

Then cut your beautiful tuna into sashimi slices - any size you like - and arrange it on one side of the bowl on top of the noodles. Put some seaweed salad next to the Tuna for contrast!

Now comes the experimentation part - making some sort of sauce to "dress" your bowl. I dissolved about half a teaspoon of Miso paste in some freshly squeezed lemon juice and then added some vegetable oil and water to dilute it. Keep trying the sauce until you like how it tastes. When you're satisfied with it just pour it on top of the tuna (but not so much on the seaweed) and VOILA you have just created one of the HEALTHIEST dishes on this blog!

Oh of course, you will need some soy sauce and wasabi to dip your sashimi in! Also, if you have sesame seeds you can sprinkle them on top, as well.

Enjoy!

Cardamon pasta

I had to make something for lunch tomorrow, and I'm obsessed with the cardamon that I bought recently at costplus world market. love it.

so:
whole wheat pasta
red onion
carrots
mushrooms
red onions
green beans (yum so fresh from new leaf!)
tomato
(basically i used the veggies that were in my veggie drawer and hadn't gotten moldy)
cardamon
garam masala
cayanne pepper
salt
honey
olive oil
(peanuts or mint might be good additions)
leftover feta burger

sauted the onions and carrots with the spices and honey in olive oil. when they are a little soft, add the green beans and mushrooms. continue to add spices until there is a strong flavor to your taste. once the veggies are cooked but still firm (al dente) add them to the cooked pasta and cook the meat, and add it. You can serve with a salad or eat plain.

BBQ: lemonade, potato salad, burgers

I used some recipes from epicurious. Apparently I had no idea how to BBQ, it's harder than it sounds. You have to pile the coals in a pyramid, put paper underneath them, and open the lil holes while it's burning. wait for them to get grey before you cook the food.

I made a lemonade, and I added mint leaves, and frozen berries. I think frozen berries are a great addition. They look really beautiful and turn the lemonade a pretty color.

I made a potato salad, recipe follows. I used balsamic vinegar, frozen peas and garlic. It wasn't super flavorful, and might benefit from a flavored oil or extra herbs... i'm not sure. it looked pretty though.

potato salad with mint and peas Gourmet | July 2004 Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 25 min

Makes 6 side-dish servings.

The Last Touch

2 lb small red potatoes
2 tablespoons white-wine vinegar
1 tablespoon minced shallot
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup thawed frozen or cooked fresh baby peas (5 oz)
1/3 cup chopped or torn fresh mint leaves

Cover potatoes with cold salted water in a 3-quart saucepan, then simmer, covered, until tender, 10 to 15 minutes.

While potatoes are cooking, whisk together vinegar, shallot, salt, and pepper in a large serving bowl.

Drain potatoes and halve or quarter if desired. Add to vinegar mixture while warm and toss to coat. Add oil, peas, and mint and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper and serve warm or at room temperature.

Epicurious.com © CondéNet, Inc. All rights reserved.

I also made hamburgers. I saw lots of recipes for feta burgers so i decided to make these. they came out really big so i think you could make more than 8 servings, and they are really poufy. definitely the indentation is important, i didn't bother to do it. the garlic sauce (i think it's an aioli) is really good, and i might start keeping it on hand to serve with other things... and to ward off vampires. but unfortunately it might also ward off cute boys who want to kiss me so it's a trade off.

feta burgers with grilled red onions Bon Appétit | July 2007 These newfangled burgers are stuffed with feta cheese. Pressing the center of the raw hamburger to form a slight indentation prevents the burger from puffing up in the center when cooking.

Makes 8 servings.

Pam Anderson

3 pounds lean ground beef
1 cup (packed) crumbled feta cheese
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
8 large garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
2 medium red onions, peeled, each cut crosswise into 4 slices
8 hamburger buns
2 large tomatoes, each cut crosswise into 4 slices

Break up beef in large bowl. Sprinkle feta, oregano, salt, and pepper over; toss. Divide into 8 portions; form each into 41/2-inch patty, pressing in center to form slight indentation. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill.

Puree garlic in processor. With machine running, gradually add 1/2 cup oil; process 30 seconds. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill.

Spray grill rack with nonstick spray. Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Brush onion with 1 tablespoon oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place burgers and onions on grill. Cover; cook 5 minutes. Turn; cook until onions are charred in spots and burgers are medium-well, about 4 minutes longer. Transfer to plate. Brush cut sides of buns with garlic oil. Place buns, cut side down, on grill; toast about 1 minute. Turn; cook until heated, about 1 minute.

Place burgers on bun bottoms. Top each with onion, tomato, and bun top.

Epicurious.com © CondéNet, Inc. All rights reserved.

I also made the fruit salad again, but I didn't bother with the ginger sauce. I served beer too, but nobody drank it... we went to the beach and met some guys there and they gave us some cheapy beer... ah labor day! It was a lovely day.

Strawberry Shortcake

Krustez baking mix (you'll find it in the pancake section) is so good. I'm like one of Pavlov's dogs. I drool whenever I hear the name. I always see on the back a recipe for Strawberry shortcake and I finally tried it out. Turns out it's really good.

I made the Krusteaz shortcakes, make sure you combine all the dry ingredients first, and then add the liquid to the dry. Use parchment paper so the bottoms won't burn and so they won't stick to your baking sheet.

For the topping, cut strawberries into pieces and coat with sugar.

Top everything with whipped cream, either whip your own until it forms soft peaks but not until stiff, or buy the stuff in the can. (I made it with sweetened yoghurt, which was ok... but it's definitely better with whipped cream)

Yum!!!

From the Box Falafals

Thank you Cost Plus World Market! I bought a box of Al Fez "Lebanese style falafel chickpea onion, & herb snack" there. All you do is follow the directions, which is basically pour the mix in a bowl with some water. Then, the hard part is the frying, but that's not even that hard. I ate them in a sandwich with some pita bread, tomatoes, lettuce, and Al Fez Tahini dressing. Yum!!! This is a really easy way to make an impressive and healthy meal. (If you serve it with salad and whole wheat pita)

Lentil Dal

Again, I made this awhile ago, so the recipe will be unfortunately even more vague than usual. This is a Deirdre-ized version of the Eastern food Dal, which is, according to my friend Danny, "any type of legume dish" at least I think that's what he said...

I couldn't find much clear information on how to cook lentils, pretty much all I got from the web was, "cover them with water" which is about as vague as you can get. So, I covered them with water, but ended up having to add much more water as I went along. I would say maybe a 3-1 ratio is about right, especially if you want it a little soupy.

1 cup lentils
3 cups water
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes
6 slices salami
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garam masala
1 bay leaf
yoghurt
1 cup rice
salt, pepper

Add the lentils and rice to a pot, simmer on low heat, covered. Add a bay leaf while it is cooking, and cut the salami into 1/2 inch squares and add that as well. Once the lentils have absorbed most of the water, test them and see if they are soft enough. Make sure they don't absorb all the water or they will burn. Once they are soft add the cherry tomatoes and the spices and cook until the tomatoes have softened. Serve over the cooked rice, and drizzle the yoghurt on top. Remove the bay leaf before serving.