Gorgeous Tomato Spinach Quiche

I think some of you may have picked up that ESFSW and I like eggs - whether it is an omelette (his domain) or a quiche (my domain) we do enjoy a well prepared egg dish. I had been planning on making a fritta one weekend and informed ESFSW of this. His reply was "what is a fritta?" I told him it was like a quiche but without a crust! He thought for a while and said "can we have quiche instead?" I paused for a second and thought...I really didn't want to make a pastry crust. While they are not difficult I seem to be plagued by bad luck and problems that last several times I have made one and I really didn't want to deal with the roller coaster of emotions that go along with a failed pastry crust. Now I know it is ridiculous to have yourself worth wrapped up in the success of a pastry crust and yet some how I do! When one turns out I am flying above cloud nine and when it fails I am in purgatory. I think the most upset and angry ESFSW has ever seen me was when I realized I had seriously screwed up a pastry crust of a quiche. I mean with three ingredients: flour, fat and water, how one earth can one forget one!! And yet I did. I blame it on my roommates! Some how they have frequent success using oil for the fat and so I have tried, and tried and tried and have yet to turn out a pastry crust that I find acceptable. So I went back to my roots and returned to Crisco and butter....ah my old friends! 

What I used:

Crust -

1 1/4 cup flour

1/3 cup Crisco shortening (vegetable shortening)

2 Tbs butter

1/2 tsp salt

~ 2 to 4 Tbs ice water

* optional 2 tsp cayenne

Filling - 

1/4 onion - sauteed

10 medium mushrooms sliced and sauteed

2 Roma Tomatoes sliced and de-seeded

2 cups fresh spinach leaves

8 eggs beaten well

1/8 to 1/4 cup milk

1/2 to 1 cup Shredded cheddar cheese

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

~ Crust ~

In a medium bowl measure out flour and salt (and cayenne) - give the ingredients a quick stir. Add shortening and butter. With your hands (take off any rings - saves cleaning them later!) or with a pastry cutter or two knives incorporate the crisco+butter with the flour until the mixture resembles sand clumps. Add 1 to 2 Tbs ice water and incorporate into the mixture until it starts to come together. If it is too dry add more water. Don't over water you want the dough to be a tad dry but holding together pretty well. Turn out dough on to a large sheet of waxed paper. Wrap up and refrigerate dough for ~ 30 minutes (up to 1 day).

ESFSW does have a rolling pin - so a wine bottle stood in as a substitute!

When ready - unwrap dough and form a ball - leave it on the wax paper. Cut another sheet of wax paper and put it over the top of the ball of dough. Using a rolling pin (or anything about a foot long and round). Roll out the dough into a circle. Once it is the desired size and thickness to fit into a pie plate remove the top later of wax paper. Put the pie plate over the top of the exposed dough and with one motion holding on to the bottom layer of wax paper and the pie plate flip. Remove the wax paper and arrange the dough into the plate and style the edges any way you please! Set aside while you prep the other ingredients.

Rolled out dough

Crimping the edges

~ Filling ~

In a fry pan saute onions and mushrooms til they are cooked through in either butter or oil (your choice - just never use margarine because I may have to hunt you down and lecture you on why this is NOT a healthier alternative to butter! I'm a chemist so I know!).

Set the onions and mushrooms aside. Mean while heat a little olive oil in the pan. Once hot add the de-seeded tomato slices to the pan in a single layer. Let them cook about 2 to 3 minutes each side. 

Once those have cooked - turn off heat and set aside. In a large bowl beat eggs with the milk and a dash of salt and pepper (and any other spices you want). If the cheese isn't shredded yet you should get on that! Or in my case get a kitchen helper to do it (aka. ESFSW).

Bring the pie plate with the crust back over and layer the mushroom and onion mixture with the fresh spinach leaves (make sure that they are well washed and dried). Pour the egg mixture over the top of this. Carefully lay the tomatoes on top of the egg mixture and sprinkle the cheese on top and sprinkle some pepper for good measure! Now place the assembled quiche into a pre-heated oven at 375 F. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. The egg should only jiggle the slightest when it done. Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

Assembled quiche ready to be popped into the oven!

The baked quiche resting after all its hard work in the oven!

Using fresh spinach means that - it ribbons through the quiche , as seen by this cross section.

We served the quiche with mango and grape fruit salad and paired it with a dry rose wine. It was a lovely meal. and I was thankful that my crust came out wonderfully!

It looks as lovely as it tasted!

Left overs can be re-frigerated and re-heated for up to a week. While it takes a while to assemble and bake it is worth it and yields a meal for 4 to 6 or leftovers if it just you. And is a balance of all the food groups!

Happy Eating!

If you hadn't noticed the pictures in this post are much better than previous posts. That is mostly due to using ESFSW's newest toy to take the pictures and not my tablet. 

Split Pea Soup!

What to do! What to do! I have ham in the freezer that has over stayed its welcome and the freezer decided to punish it with freezer burn! I really should have used it months before and yet I just didn't have any plans for it. But I didn't really want to toss it in the trash that is such a waste in so many different ways! Besides the solution is simple - split pea soup!

I was going to make it just for myself to have during the week, but thought why not make it on a Saturday night for ESFSW and myself to have with grilled cheese sandwiches (we still had sourdough from Boudin's to eat up). He didn't seem to excited at first, so I pried a little since usually he is all for what I have suggested to make in previously - granted I haven't suggested anything too crazy yet! Come to find out pea soup always made him feel sick when he was a kid, he theory is that he is slightly allergic to peas which is tied to his peanut allergy. I was a little skeptical til I did a little research and found that these allergies can be linked! If you want to know more about pea allergies you can check it out here:

Allergy Notes

Anyways - I kinda pushed him into trying it again since he did out grow other allergies from his youth and his peanut allergy has lessen (not to the point I could feed him one without an adverse reaction - insert sad face here - you see I am quite the fan of the lowly peanut and many things that have peanuts in them!)

Anyways on to the soup!

Here is what I used:

Vegetable Stock

2 to 3 cups dried peas (soaked in water)

1 lb bag frozen peas

1 small onion (diced)

4 celery stocks (chopped)

2 cloves garlic (minced)

1 turnip

3 carrots (chopped)

2 cups chopped cooked ham (or a ham bone if you have one on hand) - if you are vegetarian or vegan just skip!

2 tsp cumin (optional)

2 bay leaves

salt and pepper - to taste (only add salt at the very end)

Here is what I did:

The night before (or in the morning) put the dried peas and rinse them off in a strainer. Put them in a medium to large bowl and fill with water. Cover the bowl with a towel (so nothing falls in!)

Soaking Peas

In the morning the peas should have soaked up some to most of the water. If you aren't going to use the peas right away drain the water and put the peas into a ziplock bag and place in the refrigerator.

soaked peas

In a large pot - heat 2 Tbsp of olive oil. Add mince garlic onions and celery and saute until the celery is softens and the onions are translucent. Then add carrots and cumin and continue to cook until the carrots begin to soften. Now add vegetable stock and soaked peas and the bay leaves. 

*I didn't take pictures of the saute-ing process. Please forgive my over sight. But, honestly do they all start looking the same!

The soup - halfway done.

Bring the soup to a boil and then lower the heat and let the soup continue to simmer. Stir occasionally. In this step the soaked peas will basically disintegrate. 

While the soup is simmering - peel the turnip and cut into cubes. 

Peeled Turnip - I only add half because I got such a large one

Cubed turnip

Add the turnip to the soup and at the same time add the bag of frozen peas (if you leave them out while you are working on the soup they will thaw so that you don't lower the temp of the soup too much). Using the combo of frozen peas and dried peas allows the soup have the consistency of split pea soup, but also have whole peas present in the soup.

Frozen peas!

Next cut up the ham and add it to the soup. Let the soup simmer for about 20 to 30 minutes. Make sure to stir the soup from time to time.

Soup right after the ham is cooked.

Soup simmers the turnip and split peas will turn more mushy and thicken the soup.

After the soup as simmered a bit longer

Taste the soup and decide if salt and pepper if needed.

ESFSW made grilled cheese sandwiches that we ate with the soup and it was a great combo. We had lots of left over soup for us to split and have for lunches or dinners. I froze half of the leftovers so that it keeps longer.

ESFSW giving his rating of the meal!

This is a nice alternative to the super smooth strained pea soups. Heartier and full of vegetables this is a great dinner for cold nights. I hope you enjoy!

Recipe:

32 oz Vegetable Stock

2 to 3 cups dried peas (soaked in water)

1 lb bag frozen peas

1 small onion (diced)

4 celery stocks (chopped)

2 cloves garlic (minced)

1 turnip

3 carrots (chopped)

2 cups chopped cooked ham (or a ham bone if you have one on hand)

2 tsp cumin (optional)

2 bay leaves

salt and pepper - to taste (only add salt at the very end)

Soak dried peas over night in water. In a large pot - heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add minced garlic and the chopped onion and celery. Cook til both celery and onion are soft and translucent. Add carrots and cumin. Continue to saute til carrots begin to soften. Add the vegetable stock, bay leaves and split peas (soaked) bring to a boil then reduce heat and continue to let soup simmer. Add chopped up turnip and thawed frozen peas. Add ham and let soup simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot!

Omelette Night 2

Time for omelettes again! 

There was a little hiccup in ESFSW and my communication over who was actually going to be cooking the omelettes. In the end he ended up doing the omelette making although I put the salads together and cooked the sausage. It wasn't until after I had started cooking the sausage that I realized I could have made sausage patties to have with the omelettes....que sera sera!

The photos for this post were taken by myself using a tablet, so they aren't the best. In time we will work out the kinks and I will have my actual camera back.

Here's what we used:

4 Eggs (two each omelette)

Sausage (uncased, spicy breakfast sausage)

1 Avocado

Shredded cheddar cheese
salt
white pepper

Salad: Spinach, Tomatoes and Radish

Here is what we did:


Brown sausage in a small fry pan/omelette pan with a little olive oil.

Browned sausage - set aside on paper towel to soak up extra oil.

Mean while whisk four eggs together with a small amount of milk/half and half with a dash of salt and white pepper. Make sure the eggs are beaten well!

It is best if you are making multiple omelettes to have multiple pans so that who ever is enjoying the omelettes can enjoy them together! Using one pan that the sausage was browned in dump out any pooling oil. It can be poured into a second pan. Heat both the pans over medium high heat until water droplets sizzles when splashed in the pan. Pour half the egg into each pan and let the egg cook. Adjust heat as needed so that the egg cooks evenly. Using a soft spatula you can gentle nudge the egg around the pan so that the bottom and edges set well.

Once the egg is starting to set up you can add the omelette fillings that you want. We chose sausage, avocado (cubed) and cheddar cheese (grated).

Cheddar and Avocado! One of my favorite combinations!

Add fillings trying to keep it on one side of the egg

The tricky part is folding the omelette in half. This works best not to do it too soon. I've always used a hard spatula but ESFSW uses a soft one which makes turn delicate egg easier without it tearing.

Folding the omelette in half.

After the egg has been folded over let it cook a little bit more. If you have an electric range you could probably turn the burners off at this point since they remain hot. If you are lucky enough to have a gas range just turn the heat down to the lowest.

Spinach and Green Leaf Lettuce

In the mean time, prep the salad that you will serve with the omelettes and toast any bread that you decided to serve with the omelettes. I used spinach and green leaf lettuce and then added some radish and tomatoes.

ESFSW's Omelette!

ESFSW definitely pulled through despite having to deal with a different stove, different pans, a small kitchen and trying to work around another person cooking! He made wonderful omelettes despite him not be in his element! I can't wait to taste his future cooking endeavors!

Happy Eating!

A Valentine's Day In

I am not a huge Valentine's day fan but, it is still nice to take the time to prepare a nice meal. ESFSW and I had gone to Stone Brewery for dinner the Saturday Valentine's Day as our night out. It was a great end to a nice day spent in Fallbrook. The meal as always was delicious (despite ESFSW not being able to get the sausage sampler) and the beer sublime like usual (mostly because they had some of our favorites! Russian Imperial Stouts how we love indulging in your dark malty complex and intense flavors!) But, enough about Stone for now...there will be a separate post on them anyways in the days to come. Valentine's day fell on a Tuesday this year and as I have a standing tutoring appointment that night ESFSW and I decided to postpone our Valentine's day for the following day and we would eat in. I was in charge of everything except the grilling and the table setting. We made cheddar mustard risotto, sauteed mushrooms and leeks and grilled steaks (hmmm...we seem to do those a lot judging by my posts...we don't really! I swear!).

Menu: Cheddar Mustard Risotto, Sauteed Mushrooms and Leeks and Lemon Marinaded Grilled Steaks

Rough Recipe: Cheddar Mustard Risotto (Tweaked slightly from Nigella Express Recipe)

You can access the recipe by clicking the link or picture above. My tweaks were minor and instead of recopying the recipe and potentially forgetting a step I thought I would just outline what I changed. I made sure to get Extra Sharp Tillamook Cheddar to make sure there was a good strong cheddar flavor. I have been tempted however to get some Irish cheddar and try this recipe with that (but I digress). I also used Trader Joe's vegetable stock. What is nice about this stock is it has a deep color and strong flavor which melded well with the cheese and the mustard. I did use slivered green onions although I have skipped that ingredient in the past and never missed it. The two biggest changes is the amount of mustard I added...lets say it was an overly generous squeeze out of the stone ground mustard bottle. Hey ESFSW has two bottles, why not use lots! Although I probably could have used a smidge less than I did use. Now despite being at Trader Joe's just prior to cooking dinner to buy a bottle of Zinfandel to go with dinner I did not buy wine for the risotto. So I whipped up a 1 part water, 1 part apple cider vinegar with a Tbs of sugar to replace the white wine. This does give a more intrusive flavor than a white wine would have given, but it adds to the complexity of the cheddar and mustard. While, risotto can be time consuming this recipe really isn't too bad as long as you have everything prepped and ready before you dive in. 

Rough Recipe:  Sauteed Mushrooms and Leeks

Mushrooms - trimmed and sliced

Leeks - chopped into 1/2 in thick pieces

garlic

butter

Melt butter in a fry pan add garlic and saute gentle. Add mushrooms and saute. When the mushrooms are half way cooked add the leeks and cook til they have softened but the green parts are a deep bright green. If you want a more buttery flavor drain the juice that cooks out of the mushrooms when cooking before adding the leeks. If the pan seems too dry then add more butter as you cook. Serve immediately.

Rough Recipe: Lemon Marinaded for Steaks or Chicken

1 gallon size zip-lock bag
olive oil
Lemon juice
Lemon zest
garlic (3-6 cloves, peeled and crushed)
salt
fresh ground pepper
(any other desired herbs - fresh will yield more flavor)

Combine all the ingredients in the zip-lock bag. Add meat and let marinade in the refrigerator for up to a day. Flip the meat over at least once to get both sides marinading evenly.


~
This was a pretty good joint venture for ESFSW and I. He helped a lot with shredding cheese to cutting up mushrooms and leeks for me and then of course being the Grill Master! The final result was wonderful and a whole lot less stressful compared to going out on Valentine's Day. And we felt all special lovey feelings that couples in love are suppose to experience mid-February. The wine on first sip was a bit of a disappointment but after letting it breath a bit more it opened up nicely! Good suggestion from the Trader Joe's employee - Leonhart Zinfindel.

There was also dessert, but you'll just have to wait for the recipe to hot chocolaty goodness!

Apple Cherry Cheddar Scones

A Baking post!

A while back my bf and myself took a little drive out of Sunshineville proper to the town of Julian. We decided this trip we would get pie first since the Julian Pie Company closes at 5pm and we missed having their pie the last time we had been up. While standing in line we were discussing what type we were going to get and discussing ice cream or no ice cream. Then low and behold I see you can have your pie served with a piece of cheddar cheese. I got all excited and decided absolutely no ice-cream for me for cheddar is the way to my heart!!! My bf gives me a strange look and made some kinda comment along the lines of ...not that again... You see our last trip up the only place open was an other restaurant which had decent pie but not as good at Julian Pie Company's and the cheddar I got on it was definitely not top notice cheddar. So while good it was not excellent and definitely not the way to introduce this seemingly odd concoction to my bf. In my quick research of the origins of cheddar on apple pie it seems to come from regions that produce really good cheddar cheese (Vermont, NE, NY). My grandfather who grew up in Wisconsin also was a fan. Apply pie and cheddar cheese must be eaten correctly. This means no store bought pies and only top line extra-sharp (the sharper the better) cheddar cheese (please no store brands! My go to standby is Tillamook).

So...how does a discussion of apple pie and cheddar cheese leads to scones...it shouldn't be a huge leap if you look at the post title.

I found a recipe for Apple Cheddar Scones from the food blog SmittenKitchen. The recipe posted there had been tweaked from one in The Perfect Finish. The recipe in SK instructed to use white cheddar although I used yellow cheddar and it didn't look terrible. I also substituted half of the regular flour for whole wheat and I added dried cherries. I know this makes the recipe a bit more expensive to make since dried cherries are not cheap, but the cherry and apple with the cheddar flavor is to die for, at least in my opinion. While I am a lazy baker when it come to steps like brushing with an egg wash. But I do recommend not being lazy in this case because it does make the scones look so much more appetizing.  The scones got rave reviews from all who tried them and I was assured while I thought the cheddar taste was a bit wimpy that you could taste the cheddar and it made a tasty combo. My bf gobbled the ones I gave him right up! I think I might tweak the recipe by adding more cheddar or sprinkling some one the top to bake. From there I might go wild and add cheese to pie crusts...that is if I don't eat the cheese before I get to baking it!