Pasta Night.

There are times when I don't want to hang out in the kitchen for hours. When that happens, it's Pasta Night. We use the whole wheat pasta, and I've grown fond of adding beans for protein... Nature's version of meatballs! Only oblong and without the meat. :)

Our friend Tom in London made this for us when we visited, and it was AMAZING. He added finely chopped bacon for the meat eaters, but it's great without.

Usually I saute either white or red beans (cannolini or pinto?) up with some onion and garlic in olive oil, add frozen spinach and an assortment of dried italian spices (basil, thyme, and oregano).
Once it's all hot and flavored through, add in chunks of avocado... C love likes to cook them a little (I think that's wierd) but I leave them to get warmed by the rest. Its a good contrast, and if I recall correctly, that's what Tom did, too.
Throw the mixture with the cooked pasta and sprinkle with Parmesan, salt and pepper.

It's filling, pretty healthy, and quick! and you can totally make it vegan. yum.
Thanks Tom!

Fresh Local Mozzarella

This is an interview with a cheese maker on our street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Boy was I surprised when they said the address of the store- it can't be more than 3 blocks away! I haven't gotten any mozzarella yet, though. I'm going to make plans for it first... yum!

http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/nyregion/1-in-8-million/index.html#/georgiana_depalma_tedone

enjoy.

This is a little note about Katy's baby shower in January! we made some yummy, good looking snacks, so I wanted to share the pictures with you. The Pengiuns turned out really cute (thanks Margaret!). the recipe is from AllRecipes, I think. it's just black olives, cream cheese, and carrots. We made them to match the baby animal theme.







The cookies were for favors. We got the recipe from my Grandma Hansen, but she got it from Tupperware. It's an almond-flavored sugar cookie with powdered sugar instead of granulated. wow. Then we made royal icing so it'd harden, and went wild decorating. Voila!

Quiche Quiche Quiche!!!

I know it's been a while, but i have a very good excuse! I haven't made anything in two months!! ok, just kidding. My camera broke and I had to mourn it for a while, then figure out that I can take pretty good pictures on my phone. So I'm up and running.
I wanted to explain one of our oldest standbys... and recently road-tested, friend approved. I think we started making Quiche in Spain, and we've gotten REALLY good at it. I'm not exaggerating people. Who wants to be the first investor in my quiche restaurant? Sign up now. You don't want to miss this opportunity.

Ok, here's the low down on how to make a tasty and impressive quiche:
it takes some time. do it in small steps or set out a bunch of time to get it all done.

First, the crust.
crust is easy once you get the feel for it. I haven't really tried to teach anyone how to make it yet (not even C.! i know! dag.) because it's not something you can teach in a day. it'd probably take at LEAST a year to do, since you have to change what you do if it's really humid or if the dough feels weird or if you put it in the fridge for a while, or if you use whole wheat flour. whew, I'm exhausting myself, people.
the original recipe i use is 2c flour, 2/3c shortening, a pinch of salt, and some (?) water. ice water. I wasn't taught to measure the water, and I wouldn't recommend it, either. read up on the methodology if you're really going to make it, but here's a brief outline on making crust:
1. Cut the shortening into the flour with a pastry cutter or a fork (in a pinch) (or in spain) until it's crumbly like sand mixed with small pea-sized crumbs. then stop!
2. add the salt whenever you want.
3. slowly add the ice cold water in parts and mix by hand until the dough is smooth, not to wet, and a little stretchy- it shouldn't break apart really easily.
4. let it sit! at least an hour. OR put it in the fridge and save for another day. it'll last a few days just fine. just bring it back to room temperature to roll it out.

Then: roll it out. put it in the pan.

Making QUICHE! yum.

cook up your veggies. saute some onions (or leeks), add chosen vegetable:
a. broccoli
b. spinach
c. zucchini
d. mushrooms
e. anything, really
add salt and pepper, or whatever spices you want. (dill.)


This is a picture of 4 eggs, three of which had double yolks! so lucky.

beat up your eggs (about 3-4, depending on how many you have and how much veggies you are adding. mix in 1/2 cup milk.


add cheese to the bottom of the crust. My brother in law swears by cream cheese! magic consistancy! easy to use! tasty with everything!
we use many different kinds of cheese: cheddar (extra sharp!), feta, gouda!, swiss, gruyere. shred it and put half on the bottom, half on top, about 1 cup total. but, the more the better.

add the veggies on top of the cheese.

add the eggs into the crust and blend the ingredients lightly. then add more cheese on top.

bake at 325 for about an hour- check with a knife starting at about 45 minutes.
then, REALLY, it's way way better if you let it sit for a good long while. even over night.