Quiche me you fool!

I set out to make something amazing from the random food I had in my house tonight and BAM! I do believe I have succeeded.

Quiche du Shaina

Make your favorite pie/pastry crust and set aside.  Preheat oven to 375.

Chop the following and saute, add chili pepper, salt and pepper to taste
- 1 small red onion
- 2 large leaves of Swiss chard
- a bit of brocolli
- a handful of spinach
- a handful of currants

Make the egg mix, add a bit more salt and pepper to taste
- 4 eggs, beaten
- almost a cup of heavy cream (ok I guess this isn't the most healthy ingredient)
- a little bit of milk

Take the sauteed veggies and set aside in a bowl.  Toss in some grated chedder cheese as well as some crumbled feta.  Now put in about a 1/2c-1c of quinoa (I'd soak these or cook a bit first as tonight I used raw quinoa and it didn't cook enough in the oven).

Roll out your dough and put it in a pie pan.  Loosely scoop in the veggie mix.  Evenly pour in the egg mix.  Make sure the egg mix covers everything and that it reaches to the bottom of the veggies.  Put some more grated cheddar and feta on top.  Put it in the oven for 40min or until you feel like it's ready!

Enjoy!

2012

2012 will bring me strength -- the strength to continue to improve, to learn, to commit to myself, to be open to new possibilities.  This year will bring me closer to my mom, my family, and my friends.  It will validate that I'm moving forward toward the longstanding goals I have.

In other words, it won't be any different than yesterday, or last year. ...but hopefully some exciting things will happen along the way. :)


oof I have to put this video too.  So talented.

New Year's Day brunch

I over cooked the eggs but it still tasted great!

blue corn tortilla chips
black beans
over easy eggs
salsa verde
avocado
cheese

aaaand raspberry puree with OJ mimosas :)

oh! almost forgot the biscuits too

Thanksgiving Recipes

This year I helped host a big Thanksgiving feast/potluck at my house with 11 people in total.  I'll write more about that in my next post which will include more details about the weekend.  For this post - plain and simple here is what I made. PS you will probably ask yourself "Why gluten-free?"  Well, my mom who came up to visit is gluten-free, along with other dietary restrictions, and in addition one of my good friends who came to dinner is also gluten and dairy free.

Turkey
I got a pretty decent sized turkey, 18.23lbs.  It wasn't a special free-range, organic, heritage turkey but a super cheap turkey.  Next year I'll spring for the first.  I also decided not to brine it since it already had some (probably horrible but tastey) flavoring injected into it...and also because I didn't want to go get vegetable broth haha.  Instead I just made a yummy butter rub and put that all over the turkey and under the skin before roasting.

Rub:
Equal parts (about 1/4c) of fresh sage, thyme, and rosemary finely chopped (I used our coffee grinder)
1 stick of butter softened
1tbsp orange zest
A little orange juice
A little lemon juice

...ps the gravy that came from the drippings of this was absolutely to die for.  It was my favorite gravy I've made to date.

Quinoa dressing - gluten free and almost dairy free
I pretty much used the recipe below, although as soon as I started putting in the parmesan cheese I stopped because I had forgotten I wanted it to be dairy free as well.  It came out very, very tastey and a good alternative to more traditional stuffings/dressings.

http://cleananddelicious.com/2007/11/08/quinoa_leek_cherry_stuffing/

Apple Pie - gluten-free, and very fibrous!
For this I use my mom's recipe as a base...and then changed it up a bit.  Unfortunately I don't want to give away the recipe, but I'll give you the ingredients. The dough probably would have been better with Xanthan gum as I have recently learned about, but I didn't think to use it.  It ended up being pretty flimsy when putting together but still came out nice in the end.

Dough:
King Arthur's gluten-free flour
Vegetable shortening
Ice water

Pie filling:
Apples
Organic Honey
Ground flax seed
Psyllium husk
a teensy bit of butter and lemon juice to top it off

Don't forget to make fresh whipped cream! :)

Mashed Potatoes
Basic, but full of sour cream for a little extra kick! My mom and housemate actually ended up adding everything in but I think this is what went in

18-20 russet potatoes, peeled
2  sticks of butter
2 containers of sour cream
A bit of milk
Salt, pepper, and garlic salt to taste

Popovers with Pumpkin Butter
I made these Thanksgiving morning so we'd all have snacks for the long day in the kitchen.

Popovers:
message me for this recipe, it's too long to post.

Pumpkin butter:
The recipe came straight from the link below with the minor exception of a mixup addition of cumin along with cinnamon.  It added a savory kick which everyone really liked.
http://smittenkitchen.com/2007/10/pumpkin-butter-and-pepita-granola/

French baguette - attempt 1

My bread exploded!  ...but the crumb looks nice.

Here are the possible ideas I have fore why it exploded:
a. I under-proofed it
b. I over-proofed it
c. My cuts for expansion were too shallow
d. There wasn't enough outer tension in the dough

Let me know what you think!

Cooking with friends

I'm quite late on adding these...but here they are!  the first two are from a lovely dinner with a friend and include a caprese salad, fresh bread,  and pasta primavera with oyster mushrooms.  For dessert we had a German style apple pancake. Yum.
...the canning I did on my own. I have yet to open a can of my apple walnut raisin jam/conserve/concoction, but i'm sure it will be good.
And then...spaghetti squash with apple, spices and whipped cream. tasty!

Introspection on love

Things are changing: the season, this blog, my outlet for expressing myself, my circle of friends, and most recently my outlook on love -- or rather the possibilities that may be out there.  Oh ya....this is a mushy, emotional post.

I have spent most of 2011 rejecting the idea of true love.  Recently I've found myself more open to the idea that it might be out there.  I'm still skeptical, a bit disillusioned and not quite certain, but I'm definitely moving away from the idea that it absolutely doesn't exist and more towards being open to what possibilities are out there.  Something I wrote a while back went a little something like this:

I want to find someone who:

...pushes me to my limits and beyond, who encourages me to be a better person as a whole and someone who wants the same in return.
...stimulates my intellect as well as my body, on a continuous basis
...needs to be his own person as much as I need to be mine, but who is still able and willing to be part of an 'us' completely.
...inspires me in some way every day and who finds me inspiring.
...can be different from me and show me new aspects of life and perspectives I had never dreamed of.
...realizes that we will change over time and will need to adapt to new obstacles and circumstances.
...will join and support me in my conquests and goals, and I in his.
...accepts me exactly as I am and who I accept exactly as he is.

Am I asking for too much? Does it this exist?

Yes I realize that love exists - I've seen others experience it.  I have experienced it, I think, but it just wasn't lasting.  But I digress. I am now in this changing state of mind, one in which I am having a hard time figuring out what I want and need and where to go from here.  Most of this year has been easy, and limited to only small-time emotions with the occasional flurry of something special.  Perhaps not the best....ok definitely not the best for my whole self, but I guess that's just living.  Also, I think this romanticism that I'm starting to feel is contagious.  I mean to say, I think I caught it from someone else.  I should probably thank him for saving me from feeling like it would be okay to be a cold-hearted bitch for the rest of my life.  ;)

More recently I noticed something interesting and wrote this (I know it seems rather random but really it's not):

Two lovers. Two lovers catch themselves looking at one another from across a room and know what it means to be touched, kissed, and embraced by the other. They know the sound of the other's laugh and the aroma of their skin.

Two lovers meet and enjoy the splendor of the other's closeness. They are well versed in their partner's desires. Their bodies commit to each other fully as the world washes away for a time and they melt into each other.

Two lovers depart as quickly as they met, and once again feel as alone as before their visit. When they look upon each other, it is with wanting eyes. Neither knows what should be said. Neither knows what more the other desires. Neither knows that they both crave the same warmth and passion to fill their hearts. Neither can understand or sympathize with what is not discussed.

And so they will continue on as both lovers and strangers to each other. They will be in the same room, lying in the same bed, their bodies pressed against each other, and at the same time they will be in different worlds. They won't question each other for deeper meaning, and they won't ask to change what they have together. Each will continue to bring happiness to the other as well as leave the other unfulfilled.

The above is a bit...what? ...perfect? low maintenance? detached? happy? sad?

And so where do I go from here?  No clue.  I don't really think I need to know.  I am ready to take things as they come and make sure I'm doing what's best for myself. 

Wow - now that I've written this I'm debating posting it.  I've turned off comments because I'm not really sure I want any (even from the few people who read this).  During my trip this summer I began enjoying writing a lot and so I'm continuing on here.  But I also learned through that, that sometimes I just need to write to examine my thoughts.  I think trying to do it through here might be a better medium than incessantly talking about myself to those who are around me.  At the same time it's oddly comforting to know that someone may read this at some time.