Potato Crusted Quiche

The truth is, I hate making pie crusts. I generally make everything myself to avoid the trans fats of processed things but I almost always buy pie crusts. So, I decided to completely forget about the pie crust and use potatoes (my loves favorite veggie).

I don't ever cook with a recipe but here is the gist of what I did.

Saute veggies until tender (anything will do but I did peppers, onions, and zucchini). Mix veggies that don't need to be cooked into beaten eggs. Approx 6 eggs for a quiche.


Slice potatoes very thin and line an oiled pan with them. Bake for 10-15 minutes all by themselves to get them soft before adding the egg part of the quiche.


Don't tell your wife how to slice the potatoes more than once :)


Put sauteed veggies into the egg mixture. Poor the egg mixture on top of the precooked potatoes. Bake at 375 for approx 40 minutes, or until egg is fully cooked and there is a slight brown huge to the top of the quiche.


I kinda followed this recipe on this blog if you need more details :)

For the Love of Cooking

Kale Chips - Recipe #8 of 52

The garden plot between our houses on Laurel street has a winter harvest of Kale.


The big fluffy leaves have loved the mild winter thus far.


First de-stem the leaves. Then wash the leaves and dry them off very well. Add olive oil and a whole bunch of nutritional yeast and mix it all up. Finally, put the leave into a dehydrator and let them get nice a crispy.

#6 and #7 of 52 - Kale with Tofu and Butternut Squash Soup

The reason these two recipes are together is because I made them both at the same time and they used a lot of the same ingredients. The other reason is that neither recipe actually was something I found and followed but rather a conglomeration of multiple internet recipes.

The key to success is good ingredients. Like fresh fall kale, New England butternut squashes from a local farm stand, and good tofu. Now, around my home town you can not get good tofu but the Hippie Co-op in Brattleboro, VT, has some truly good tofu!

Kale and Tofu

Ingredients:
Kale
Tofu
Onion
Soysauce
Rice Vinegar
Sesame Seeds

First thing is to wash and de-stem the kale. The stems are tough so get as much off as possible. Then steam the kale in water with soy sauce for some flavor.


While the kale is steaming put the tofu in a dry non-stick fry pan. With the heat on high allow the tofu to start evaporating the extra water and turn golden colored. Once it stops steaming a lot and is slightly yellow on every side add some oil and the onions. Stir fry the tofu and onions until golden brown and mostly carmalized.

Add the steamed kale to the fry pan and mix well. Right before serving toss in soy sauce and rice vinegar and then top it with sesame seeds.



Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients:
Veggie broth (box or homemade)
Butternut squash
Onion
Carrots
Kale or Spinach or any other leafy green
Curry powder


(ginger is false advertising in this photo, sorry! i ended up leaving it out because a friend doesn't care for it.)

For this soup I used the water from the steamed kale (above) as well as water from cooking some pasta and roasting the butternut squash for the base. I ended up adding some more water and veggie stock later but only because I needed more volume to feed more people. The key to soup is right broth so I always try to make my own from left over veggie scraps.

The butternut squash was cut in half and roasted cut side down in a small amount of water and then covered with tin foil for 45 minutes (or until super duper soft). Once cooled, scrape out as much squash as possible without getting any of the skin and add it to the soup.



Also add onion, carrot, and anything green (spinach or kale are my favorites).

Then let is simmer for a long time. The longer the better because the squash gets rich and smooth creating a great texture for the soup. Once it is good and thick add your seasonings. My favorite thing to add is curry powder. Add just enough to add flavor but not too much to overpower the veggies natural flavors.



I served this soup with a good slice of ciabatta bread and crumbled goat cheese on top!

12. make peppermint tea from mint in the yard

The reason I added this goal to my list was #1 I LOVE peppermint tea and #2 I actually planted mint in my yard. Planting mint is usually a gardeners death because it spreads like crazy. However, my mint didn't work at all. Not a single seed germinated and the mint I transplanted dried up in the summer heat. So, I went to a neighbor's yard and weeded the mint out of one of her beds.

First I washed the leaves and then pulled them off the stems.



I filled the trays and stacked them up. My dehydrator doesn't have a thermostat nor a fan so I always rotate my trays every 2-3 hours.



When the leaves are completely dry they shrink a LOT.



Then I crammed them into a jar that sealed and am storing them for future use.



Next I will make individual tea bags! I love craft projects :)

#5 of 52: Peach Pound Cake

Ingredients

* 1 cup butter or margarine, softened
* 2 cups white sugar
* 4 eggs
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 3 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 2 cups fresh peaches, pitted and chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Butter a 10 inch tube pan and coat with white sugar. (This part is totally important because it give a great crust!)

2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition, then stir in the vanilla. Reserve 1/4 cup of flour for later, and sift together the remaining flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually stir into the creamed mixture. Use the reserved flour to coat the chopped peaches, then fold the floured peaches into the batter. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.

3. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Allow cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.

#4 of 52 - Veggie Sushi

There is no real recipe for these fabulous Veggie Sushi because you just add anything! This has been my favorite recipe of the summer because it uses all fresh produce, is cool and refreshing, and is great to bring to a party.

You will need:

Sushi wrappers
Sushi rice (or just short grain white or brown rice)
Veggies
Soy sauce
Wasabi
Rice Vinegar

Here are some of my favorite insides: asparagus, marinated tofu, red pepper, sweet potato, carrot, and avocato.



Cook the rise as normal. Once cooked add a few tablespoons of rice vinegar to make it the rice start sticking. Then cool the rice before you add it to the wrappers.

Once the rice is cool, get all of your ingredients out and around you. Make sure that you have a bowl of ice water nearby too for your hands. Dipping your hands in the ice water will keep the rice from sticking to your fingers as you spread it out on the wrappers.



Once you spread the rice out everywhere put the goodies on one end and roll them up TIGHT!



Then slice into small bite sized pieces and serve with soy sauce and wasabi!

#3 of 52 - Falafel

Falafel from Vegetarian Times - great in a pita or just plain with all the toppings!

* 1 15-oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
* 3 Tbs. tahini
* 1 large egg
* 2 Tbs. grated lemon zest
* 1½ tsp. ground cumin
* 1 clove garlic, minced (1 tsp.)
* 1 tsp. lemon juice
* 1 tsp. ground coriander
* ½ tsp. chili powder
* ¼ tsp. salt (or to taste)
* ¼ cup all-purpose flour
* 2 Tbs. finely chopped onion
* 2 Tbs. chopped parsley
* ½ tsp. baking powder
* Olive oil, for frying

Yogurt Sauce

* 2 cups plain nonfat yogurt
* 3 Tbs. chopped cilantro
* 2 Tbs. lemon juice
* 2 Tbs. grated lemon zest
* 1 Tbs. ground cumin

Directions
1. To make Falafel: Pulse chickpeas, tahini, egg, lemon zest, cumin, garlic, lemon juice, coriander, chili powder, and salt in blender or food processor until mostly smooth, but still chunky. Transfer to bowl, and stir in flour, onion, parsley, and baking powder.
2. Shape 1/4 cup chickpea mixture into 1-inch-thick patty, and place on platter. Repeat with remaining chickpea mixture. (Falafel patties can be made ahead and refrigerated overnight.)
3. Pour enough olive oil into large skillet to have 1/4 inch in bottom. Heat over medium-high heat. Place patties in pan, making sure patties don’t touch. Cook 3 minutes per side, or until golden brown. Transfer to paper-towel-lined platter to drain. Repeat with remaining patties.
4. To make Yogurt Sauce: Combine all ingredients in serving bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with warm Falafel.





Perfect to serve with the Zucchini and Tahini sauce!

#2 of 52 - Scuppernong Cake

My dad has had tons of grape vine in his garden for years. It grows like wild but never produces grapes. So, this year my mom found the infamous grapes at the Reading Terminal Market in Philly. Scuppernong or muscadine grapes have a tough shell, two big seeds inside, and a tangy taste.



When you google scuppernong recipes you get a lot of jelly and jam recipes and then one cake and one pie recipe! I went for the cake because I didn't have many grapes. First you cut the grapes in half and pop out the insides. The gooy center with the seeds comes right out and as you boil them the seeds separate. Once you pull out all of the seeds you add the grape shells to the boiling pot and cook them forever!



Here is the official recipe:

2 cups scuppernong grapes
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sugar
6 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
A pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

To prepare scuppernongs:

Rinse grapes and slice in half. Squeeze insides into saucepan, reserve skins. Cook insides on medium until juices bubble and seeds loosen. Remove from heat and gently squeeze out seeds, then put the insides and the skins back in saucepan and
cook on medium until skins tenderize a bit and juices thicken, about 20 minutes.

For cake:

Preheat oven to 350 and butter and flour a springform pan.

Beat eggs and sugar with electric mixer until thick and pale yellow, about 2 minutes. Add butter, oil, milk and vanilla and mix until blended.

Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Add to liquids and mix, scraping down the sides, until well-blended.

Stir grapes into batter, reserving a handful of grapes for the top of the cake. Pour batter into the prepared cake pan and smooth out the top with a spatula.
Bake in the center of the oven for 15 minutes, then sprinkle the top of the cake with remaining grapes. Bake until the top is a deep golden brown and the cake feels quite firm when pressed with a fingertip, about 35 minutes more. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then release onto a rack. Serve at room temperature.

The final product (which was much better with icecream because it was a little dry!)

26. make a new recipe every week #1 of 52

#26 is make a new recipe every week. Well, 32 weeks have past and I definitely have not done a new recipe every week. However, if we change this goal to mean "do 52 new recipes in the next year" then I will be all set! Just yesterday I did three new recipes and here is #1.

Zucchini Verrines with Tahini Dressing
(from vegetariantimes.com)



* 3 Tbs. tahini
* 1 tsp. lemon juice
* 1/2 clove garlic, minced (1/2 tsp.)
* 2 medium zucchini, coarsely grated
* 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped
* 2 tsp. toasted sesame seeds

1. Whisk together tahini, lemon juice, and garlic in small bowl. Stir in 3 Tbs. water, a few drops at a time, and mix until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Cover, and chill.

2. Combine zucchini and mint in bowl. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.

3. Divide zucchini among glasses. Top each with dollop of tahini dressing, and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve with small forks.