Quiche December 10, 2009

Making a quiche is easy – that’s it, if you already have the crust for it. You can either buy a pie shell or you can make your own pastry (pretty easy, just follow the instructions on any lard package) and freeze it. In the end, if you’re not too fussy about it, you can just make the quiche without the crust.

I baked my quiche in a 9×5 loaf pan, using the following ingredients: 3 eggs, 2 Tbsp margarine, 2 Tbsp tomato sauce, 1 red pepper, 2 green onions, grated cheese, milk, white flour, salt, pepper, paprika.

Instructions

If using pastry, coat the pan with it first and set aside. In a large bowl, beat eggs. Add the tomato sauce, the margarine, some milk and white flour (you want the batter to be slightly consistent, but still fluid). Mix thoroughly. Add chopped green onion and bell peppers. You can add all sorts of goodies that are left in your fridge, like ham, bacon, salami, tomatoes, mushrooms, spinach, olives, etc. Add salt, pepper and paprika. If using pastry, sprinkle it with cheese and then pour the egg mixture on top. If you’re not using pastry, simply incorporate the cheese into the egg mixture. Bake at 375F for 30 minutes or until done.

Cheap and easy to make snack November 28, 2009

Nothing fancy or very original here. But it’s cheap, tasty and healthy! All you need are some tortillas for the wrap and some veggies for the filling. You’ll need 1 pack of tortillas (try the small ones, 110 calories each from Superstore), 2-3 lettuce leaves, 1/4 red pepper, 1/2 avocado, 1-2 green onions, feta cheese and, if you’re a meat lover, any deli cold cuts.

Instructions:
1. Cut avocado in half, place half (with seed inside)in a plastic bag and refrigerate. Scoop the other half and mix with a bit of feta cheese.
2. Cut green onion. Add to avocado mix. Set aside.
3. Prepare lettuce and red pepper by cutting them into very small pieces.
4. Put one tortilla on a plate and spread some avocado mix. Add some lettuce, pepper and meat. Then wrap and use two toothpicks to hold it in place.

These quantities should be enough for three wraps. Yummy…

Creamy Mushroom Bruschetta/ Crackers November 18, 2009

Turns out ‘mushroom’ is the most sought-after keyword that brings people to this blog. So, if you are one of the mushroom-people give this quick appetizer a try – you will love it! I enjoyed it more with crackers (the President Choice multi-grain crackers from Superstore), but the initial recipe was for bruschetta. You’ll need: mushrooms – some 400gr of mushrooms – mix white mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, enokitake mushrooms, oysters mushrooms (really, anything you find! dried mushrooms work as well), 1 tbsp sour cream, 1 onion, oil, cooking wine, roasted pine nuts, basil, salt, and pepper.

Instructions:

1. Wash and slice all mushrooms.
2. Cut onion and saute for 2-3 minutes in a large pan with a bit of oil.
3. Add mushrooms.
4. Add a bit of cooking wine, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, mixing constantly.
5. When mushrooms are almost done, add the basil.
6. Put them in a bowl, add the sour cream and mix.
7. Add roasted pine nuts and mix.
8. Serve on crackers or toasted baguette.

Appetizers on my plate November 13, 2009

Here’s a plate of appetizers we had about a week ago. Nothing fancy, just:

• Tomatoes (pesticide free, Farmers’ market)
• Cucumbers (pesticide free, Farmers’ market, $3/ bag)
• Feta cheese (best feta cheese in town, called the Macedonian feta, in a huge yellow bucket from Kalamata, $30/3kg)
• Kalamata olives (Superstore, bulk foods)
• Hummus (Superstore, deli section – not impressed, if you have a chance get the canned one from the ethnic food section and mix with smashed garlic, olive oil, paprika, salt, pepper, lemon juice and parsley).
• Roasted peppers dip (Kalamata, $6)
• Red peppers (Superstore)
• Mortadella with Caciocavallo and Grapes (Lina’s Market)
• Hot Pastrami with Small Bocconcini and Tomatoes (Lina’s Market)

Crab Flakes Phyllo Pastry June 9, 2009

If you like pastries, this might be your thing. It’s similar to spankopita – except there’s no spinach. So we could call it crabopita…  You’ll need 1 pack of pollock flavored crab flakes, 1 pack of phyllo sheets (the ones they sell frozen in Superstore, Safeway or Coop), some 250 gr. Philadelphia cheese, 3-4 mushrooms, 1 grated carrot, 1 celery stick, salt, pepper, basil (or any dry spices you like with seafood), 3-4 tbsp melted butter, 1 egg (beaten).

Instructions:

1. Prepare the filling: in a bowl, mix crab flakes with the grated carrot and the mushrooms and the celery stick cut into small pieces. Add salt, pepper and the spices. Add the cheese and mix well.
2. Spread the phyllo sheets and cut them into squares (or into any shapes you want to use for the pastry).
3. Melt the butter, and use it to brush the phyllo sheets (I find that using 3 -4 of them per pastry is the best). Then spoon some of the crab mixture onto the phyllo sheets, and using your hands roll them (I prefer doing them like spring rolls, but you may choose other shapes, like triangles).
4. Brush each pastry with the egg then put on tray.
5. Heat the oven (350F) and leave them for 15 minutes or until the phyllo pastry is crunchy.

Crab Flakes Oriental Salad June 8, 2009

This salad is so easy to make and so tasty, that you’ll wanna eat it all at once! It’s also rather cheap to make, since you’ll need 1 pack of crab flakes (the ones you find in Superstore or Safeway, it’s really crab flavored pollock), 2-3 potatoes, 1 celery stick, 300 gr. olives, 1 carrot, 4-5 cherry or grape tomatoes (for decoration and as a side), mustard, dry basil, dry parsley, oil, salt, pepper.

Instructions:

1. Cut potatoes and carrot into cubes and boil.
2. When water is boiling, sink the celery stick for 2-3 minutes to tenderize. Remove and cut into pieces.
3. Drain potatoes and carrot, put in a bowl, add celery stick pieces, olives, and the crab flakes (cut into small pieces).
4. In a small bowl, put 1-2 tbsp of mustard and 1 tbsp of olive oil. Mix thoroughly, add salt, pepper, parsley and basil.  Pour over the potatoes and mix well.
5. Serve with tomatoes.

Sicilian eggplant stew – spread May 27, 2009

Italians call this a specific southern Italian dish. Of course, in other parts of the world, it is thought to be specific to other places, like in the Balkans. Wherever you have eggplants, you’re bound to have a variation of this food considered ‘traditional’. While it’s not that easy to prepare, you can keep it in the fridge (or in a den, in a sealed jar) for a long time. It also helps with your daily veggie portion, and it goes wonderfully with crackers, biscuits, or just bread.

You’ll need: 2 eggplants, 2 bell pepper (red, yellow or orange), 4-5 roma tomatoes, 1 onion, 4-5 garlic cloves, 2 celery sticks, salt, pepper, oil. Optional: 1-2 carrots.

Instructions:

1. You can choose to roast the eggplants and the bell pepper, or not. If you choose to do so, it will take less time to cook the stew. To roast, put in the oven (on a baking sheet or something similar) for 30-40 minutes (350F) or until the skin cracks. Take them out and peel them, then cut into pieces and set aside.
2. If you do not roast – cut the eggplant and remove the skin. Cut the peppers.
3. Peel the Roma tomatoes (sink in boiling water for 2-3 minutes) – or use the canned diced tomatoes.
4. In a big pan, fry for 1-2 minutes the chopped onion and garlic. Add the peppers, the eggplants, the tomatoes and the celery. If you want extra taste, grate the carrots and add them – in the Italian version, you can also add green olives and capers. Add salt and pepper.
5. Let boil for some 30-40 minutes (more if you didn’t roast the eggplants) or until all the veggies are fully cooked and can be easily mashed. I like to mash everything, so that all the veggies blend into each other, then eat it with crackers or with mustard and paprika bites.

Mustard and Paprika Bites May 23, 2009

These little bread-like biscuits work well with soup or with spreads like veggie spreads, humus, eggplant salad or sicilian eggplants. They’re fairly easy to make, and you can keep them in the fridge for a few days. You’ll need: 2 cups of flour, 1-2 tsp yeast, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp dry mustard, 2 tbsp margarine, 4-5 sundried tomatoes, basil, parsley, salt, pepper and some milk.

Instructions:

1. In a very large bowl (has to be large enough so that you can knead the dough in it), put the flour and add the paprika, the dry mustard and the margarine. Using your hands, mix the margarine with the flour.
2. In a small cup, put the yeast with the sugar and add a bit of hot water. Let stand for at least 5 minutes.
3. In another small cup, put the sundried tomatoes with hot water. Let stand for 10 minutes, then discard water and cut into small pieces.
4. Add all remaining spices, the sundried tomatoes and the yeast mixture to the flour mix. Gradually pour milk, and mix with your hands until the mixture becomes a dough. Sprinkle some flour and knead for 1-2 minutes.
5. Roll the dough into a cylinder, then using your hands press it into a flat oval shape. Using a knife, cut three strips lengthwise, then divide them into equal squares.
6. Put the squares on a baking sheet, brush them with milk (or with a beaten egg) and sprinkle with paprika.
7. Put in the oven (375F) for 15 minutes or until done.

Another quick snack: Bocconcini and Tomatoes Salad April 24, 2009

This one’s another easy snack: a simple tomatoes salad with Bocconcini cheese. Got a small container of Bocconcini cheese from Linda’s Market for around $3, which was good for a 4 portions salad.

Ingredients: 200 gr. Bocconcini cheese, 4 tomatoes, 2 green onions, fresh basil, salt, pepper, olive oil, balsamic vinegar. Optional, 2-4 Kalamata olives, 1 boiled egg, 4-5 lettuce leaves.

Instructions:

1. In a small container, mix 1-2 tbsp olive oil with 2 tsp balsamic vinegar. Finely cut 2-3 leaves of fresh basil, add salt and pepper to taste, and mix well.
2. In a salad box, mix sliced tomatoes with the green onion (finely chopped). If using lettuce, toss that in as well.
3. Add oil and vinegar mixture and mix well.
4. Add Bocconcini cheese (cut in halves), Kalamat olives and the sliced egg.

Quick Snacks: Bell Peppers with Ricotta Cheese and Dill April 23, 2009

For a quick bite, cut a bell pepper into four slices and fill it with Ricotta cheese.

Ingredients: 1 bell pepper, 4-5 tbsp Ricotta cheese, 1 tbsp sour cream, fresh dill finely chopped, salt, pepper. Optional: green onion on side.

Instructions:

1. Mix Ricotta cheese with sour cream, fresh dill, salt and pepper.
2. Fill each quarter of the Bell pepper with the mixture. Serve with green onion on side.