Tuesday

Quiche me quick!

Foodloose and fancyfree, I like light, airy quiches that are not weighed down by cream and crusts. I've had good luck with the standard broccoli-cheese and spinach versions, time to try something more adventurous ;)

Watercress, fennel and goat cheese held center-stage in this weekend's quiche. The shell was made with phyllo dough. I will confess that I've had something of a love-hate relationsip with phyllo. We fell in love one December over baklava (will save that story for another time ;) After the first flush of infatuation died down, horrified by the butter I was slathering over the delicate sheets, we drifted apart for a while. Happily, we've come together for this quiche.

Deconstructing the quiche:
- Thaw 6 phyllo sheets. Brush with butter and fold into squares. Tuck into muffin cups. Do not let dry. (Be lavish with the butter, yes, I finally said it!)
- Saute onion, watercress and fennel a little. Just till the watercress wilts.
- Beat 3 eggs. Add a couple tablespoons milk (cream, if you're brave!) Salt and pepper to taste.
- Add the (cooled) watercress mixture. Add goat cheese (cheddar also works GREAT!)
- Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Makes 6 regular muffin sized portions.

Voila!

I loved the watercress-fennel combination - brought in a nice sweet/savory flavor to it. Goat cheese made it incredibly creamy. (IMHO) A little cheese goes a long way, don't want to smother your quiche in cheese. Loved the phyllo because it turned out light and crisp, golden brown to complement the creamy/savory filling. Come to think of it, I may make this for a brunch thing next weekend. Lets see how it holds up in mass-production!

Credits:
1. "Foodloose and Fancyfree" stolen from here!
2. The idea for the filling came from the BBC food website.

Update! Sent this one to Erielle at Fancy Toast for February's DMBLGiT. Be warned, the gallery will make you weep in ecstasy!

Saturday

Watch and Learn


I'm away from home this week, gentle reader. And yes, I'm homesick for snow. Remembered a recent tryst with Pear and Gorgonzola on Flat Bread (picture above) and thought I'd share.

All is well at my end. Travel is delightful, the men here hold doors open for me and call me m'am :-) Learning much, doing alright, barring the occasional frumpiness. Those with strong stomachs may continue reading...

When ever theres a stressful presentation or some such public appearance involved, invariably, I go and get my hair cut. Of all the asinine ideas! I always tell myself that a haircut will be relaxing and I will look better. Ergo, I will be confident, competent, etc and ace the presentation. Ha ha.

The hair styling process is fraught with existential crises. Most people are stunned when they find out I go to great lengths to get my hair to look the way it does. I have considered launching Bad Hair Anonymous. At the hair salon, I usually go in and ask them to get a couple inches off my current hair and put layers in. Inevitably I end up looking like a cross between Rajnikanth and Farah Fawcett, with a little Ace Ventura thrown in for good measure. I kid you not. Patients at clinic are kind to me when they see my hair disability.

I've even tried picking Asian and Hispanic hair dressers, in the hope that they may be more familiar with working with my kind of hair. The Asian hairdresser kept up a litany of hair removal services as she cut my hair. If I weren't suspended in a rotating chair, I would have happily gone for her jugular. The Hispanic hairdresser tried in vain to find a topic of conversation. She asked me if I had kids, if I was married, finally, if I had a cat! That was truly the worst hair cut in a long time. I guess she figured I didn't really need to look good. Next time, I am going to get my story together. I will lie through my teeth but will walk out looking completely gorgeous. Just you wait!

Monday

Monday musings

Freezing rain on a Monday morning (sigh)...

Suffice to say that this promises to be an interesting week. Time to turn to my old standby - Approach Avoidance!

Lets revisit fond food memories from the summer...Watched the clouds float by as I munched on an egg salad sandwich and chips and washed it all down with a cold beverage from the Co-Op. Picnic lunches by the river are the best :-)

Thursday

The Morning Post

I've been looking for a good New Year's Resolution. Something that I'd look forward to keeping... I've settled on 'Make everything a little boozy'! Put this in action a couple days ago and whisked a little Grand Marnier in while making french toast. Classy and subtle, not the town drunk :-)

Clearly my South Kanara side is my well-behaved side. Its probably the Bombay side that picked the New Year's Resolution! Cheers!

Saturday

Eyes of the beholder


Devoted food bloggers would rather be behind the lens than in front of it and I am no exception. Was fooling around with the camera this weekend (I'm a real social butterfly like that!) and took this picture (see above).

Yes I have a mirror in my kitchen! Its great entertainment :-D The apartments I've lived in have had such interesting kitchens! Back in Bombay, everything was custom-made. The apartments in grad school were old war horses - scarred by our collective culinary adventures. I cannot count the number of times I got carried away chatting with S and suddenly there was cloud of black soot wafting into the room. Lets just say I'm the burnt-smell consultant. Call me if you need me!

The current apartment is charming and I have gotten much advice about how to arrange the kitchen, most of which I have cheerfully ignored! In my apartment hunting days, I even came across a condo with no dishwasher in the kitchen but a mirror above the kitchen sink!!

I'd like to share this one with Ilva for the kitchen roundup!