Quiche: Roasted Vegetable

The Quiche: Originated by the Germans. Perfected by the French. Adored by me.

Quiches are an extremely versatile dish. They can be eaten for any meal of the day. The can be altered to be as heavy or as light as you'd like them to be. And they are an "all in one" meal: because of their depth, no side dishes are necessary (although a small side salad is preferred!). They are so very tasty. And, most importantly, it is very hard to get them wrong. Easy. Easy. Easy. I've been making about one a week for the last couple of weeks. Here is my favorite version. Lark said that it's one of the best things I've ever prepared. I think the sweet flavor of the roasted vegetables is what makes it come together. Yummm... enjoy!

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Prep Time: 15-20 mins

Cooking/Cooling Time: 1.5 hrs

Amount: 1 Quiche

1 ready made pie crust (or shortcut pastry)

1 red onion cut in eights

1 red bell pepper - chopped

1 yellow bell pepper - chopped

1.5 cup fresh or frozen broccoli

1 Tbs Olive Oil

2 eggs

4.5 oz cream (or milk)

4 oz gruyere (or your favorite) cheese - grated

Salt & Pepper

1. Preheat over to 200 C/400 F

2. Line pie-crust with baking paper & dry beans & cook for 10 min

3. Remove beans & cook for additional 5 min

4. Place all veggies on a baking sheet & drizzle with Olive Oil

5. Roast veggies in the oven for about 25-30 minutes or until slightly charred

6. Reduce oven temperature to 180C/350F

7. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs with Milk & add salt and pepper to taste (& favorite herbs for an extra kick!)

8. Stir in cheese

9. Spread veggies over the bottom of the pie shell, splitting apart the onions

10. Pour egg mixture on top

11. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the liquid has completely set

Feel free to serve this hot or cold! It's delicious both ways!

Corn & Pancetta Breakfast Pie

This "pie" is extremely simple, light and pairs well with a fruit salad or sliced apples on the side.  We found it to be a perfect (gluten free) Sunday morning breakfast.  Enjoy!

Ingredients

3 cups whole milk

2 cups fresh corn kernels (or 2-6 oz can corn/10oz frozen corn)

3/4 cup finely ground cornmeal

½ - ¾ cup cubed ham or pancetta

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for the dish

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Honey to drizzle

Directions

1.    Heat oven to 350° F.

2.    In a large saucepan, over medium heat, bring 2 cups of the milk, ham and the corn to a boil.

3.    In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining milk and the cornmeal. Whisking constantly, slowly add the mixture to the boiling milk. Reduce heat and simmer gently, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in the butter, thyme, salt, pepper, and eggs.

4.     Transfer to a buttered casserole or cast-iron skillet. Bake until golden and set, about 30 minutes.

5.     For an extra treat, drizzle with a little honey before serving

Granola

A "go-to"granola recipe.  Easy, quick and can be fiddled with to make it exactly perfect for you.  Feel free to play with the nuts, spices and dry fruit additions.  Adding different seeds and grains is also an option!  But here is the base.  Delicious, I promise:  

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees & place rack on a middle shelf.

Mix  together Dry Ingredients in a large bowl….

• 4 cups old fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
• 1 cup nuts, chopped (I like a mixture of almonds, cashews, and sunflower seeds)

Melt together in small saucepan until just combined ….

• 2 teaspoon cinnamon 
• 1/2  tsp nutmeg
• 1 TBS salt
• ¼ cup each: butter, olive oil, honey, maple suyup & brown sugar
• 1 TBS vanilla extract

Add wet ingredients to dry and stir until all dry ingredients are coated.  Spread evenly on to a nonstick cookie sheet & bake for 30 minutes or until just browned.

Cool completely.  Break apart and add one-cup dried fruit of your choice (figs, dates, mango, raisens, crasins, apples…). 

Enjoy!

Light Coconut Pancakes (GF)

These tasty little cakes are extremely light, fluffy and deliciously tropical.  It's like biting in to a fluffy (yet rich) little tropical cloud.  

14 oz coconut milk (use "light" for lower fat recipe)

2-4 Tbs Sugar (more if you use non-sweetened coconut)

1/4 cup flour (gluten free optional)

3 cup grated coconut

3 Tbs lemon juice & 1 Tbs lemon rind

1 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

3 eggs

1. In a small sauce pan, bring coconut milk & sugar to barely a boil
   
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, coconut, salt, baking powder and lemon
   
3. Stir in coconut milk
   
4. lightly whisk the eggs and add to mixture
   
5. Stir until all is combined
   

Makes lovely little silver dollar pancakes for 4-6 people

Zucchini in Excess

Last week we found ourselves with an ABUNDANCE of Zucchini in the refrigerator.  Here's what came of it (Dad, this one is for you):  

Zucchini Barely Salad

This is great as a light and delicious side dish for a summer dinner.  It takes about 20 minutes to whip up and comes together nicely.  The flavors meld even better the longer you're able to refrigerate it prior to consumption. 

2 Cups of Vegetable Broth

1 Cup Barley (or Spelt)

2 Medium Zucchini (can use up to 3 or 4 if you have them) - Diced

1 lb Cherry Tomatoes

1 Sweet Onion - Diced

4 Tbs Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper to Taste

Handful of Basil or Mint leaves

Balsamic Vinegar to Taste

1. Cook the Barley or Spelt as instructed on the package replacing broth for water
   
2. Heat oven to 450 Degrees
   
3. Toss all Veggies with 2 TBs Olive Oil, Salt & Pepper
   
4. Pour in to a roasting pan and cook for 30 minutes
   
5. Drain Barley & Toss with Veggies
   
6. Slice mint/basil & Add
   
7. Whisk 2 Tbs Olive Oil, Vinegar, Salt & Pepper together and add to Barley, Veggie Mixture
   

Lightly Fried Zucchini Flowers

Who knew the flower on a baby Zucchini could be so delicious!  If you grow your own Zucchini, pick the flower off early and let the Zucchinis continue to grow.  Or you can buy the Zucchinis young at a nature mart, use the flower AND the meat is still great for cooking.  

Olive Oil for frying

6-8 Zucchini Flowers

1 Egg Yolk

1/2 Cup Ice Water

1/2 Cup flour

Salt & Pepper

1. Heat about 1/2 inch of olive Oil in a small, but deep, frying pan to 375 degrees (be careful not to go over this so you're Oil doesn't start burning and smoking- this happened to me!)
   
2. Beat yolk, ice water, and flour together until it is the consistency of a heavy cream
   
3. Dip flowers in the batter coating each flower completely then allowing excess batter to drip off
   
4. Fry each flower until just lightly brown on all sides
   
5. Allow to dry and drain on paper towels
   
6. Serve immediately
   

Kick As- Banana Date Bread

Low gluten. No additional lard. Low sugar and yummmmmmmmmmmm.

Date-y Banana Bread

½ cup whole wheat flour
½ cup buckwheat or Spelt flour
½ cup rice flour (or “Mix It” mix)
¾ tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp salt
¼ cup Milk + ½ tsp apple cider vinegar
Mashed overly ripe banana (3-4 bananas)
1 egg
4 oz (1 individual size cup) unsweetened applesauce
½ cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
About 6-12 whole dates

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and lightly grease an 8″ x 4″ bread pan.
2. Combine apple cider vinegar and Milk and set aside.
3. Sift together flours, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
4. Add sugar, applesauce, mashed bananas, egg, milk mixture, and vanilla.
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry. Mix well.
6. Chop dates in to 1/2 and mix to combine.
7. Pour batter into pan. and bake for 1 hour - 1 hour and 10 minutes.
   
   

Cinna-Chocolaty Banana Bread

Oh yum. Today I threw together a VERY quick and easy banana bread. This whole thing takes 1 hour from start to cook. Plus, no extra lard added- just wholesome deleciousness (ok, minus the chocolate and sugar)

Cinnamony Chocolaty Banana Bread

3-4 very ripe bananas (the size doesn’t much matter; medium to large works)
2 large eggs
1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 large chocolate bar well chopped in to small pieces
For topping:
2 Tbsp. Coursely Chopped Cane Sugar
1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Butter or spray an 8-inch square pan.In a medium mixing bowl, mash the bananas well with a fork or potato masher. Add the eggs, and stir well to combine.
3. Add the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and vanilla, and stir to mix
4. Add ¾ of the chocolate bar and stir briefly until just mixed
5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and set aside.
6. In a small bowl, stir together the topping ingredients. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the batter in the pan, and top with the remaining chocolate
7. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean
8. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes before serving