Quiche

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.

Another apple dessert: Apple omelette

Apple by Abhijit Tembhekar

Apple omelette is so easy to make! It’s good warm or cold, simple or with icecream or jam. You’ll need 4 apples, 4 tbsp white flour, 4 eggs, cinnamon, some butter and around 1 cup of milk. Optional: rum, raisins, vanilla essence.

Instructions:

1. Peel and cut apples into cubes. Butter an oven proof deep dish and put the apples in.
2. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Add rum and raisins, if using.
3. In a separate bowl, mix eggs with flour. Gradually incorporate milk.
4. Pour over apple cubes and bake at 375F for around 45 minutes or until the mixture has thickened.

Photo credits: Abhijit Tembhekar

Orange Jam and Walnuts Cake

It will only take you some 10-15 minutes to prepare this cake, then leave it in the oven for about an hour. It combines the sweet-bitter flavor of orange peel jam and the distinct taste of walnuts – try it with tea or milk! You’ll need: 2 eggs, 2 tbsp orange peel jam, 6-7 tbsp sugar, 12 tbsp flour, 100 ml milk, 100 ml oil, baking soda and walnuts. Optional: raisins, rum.

Instructions

1. Mix eggs with sugar.
2. Gradually add milk and oil. Add baking soda (1 tsp dissolved in a bit of lemon juice).
3. Incorporate flour. If you’re using a bit of rum, incorporate now, as well as the raisins. You can soak the raisins into rum for a few minutes then toss in the batter.
4. Pour into pan.
5. Sprinkle with walnuts and the orange peel jam. To release the flavor of walnuts, you can roast them beforehand in a frying pan for some 5 minutes on the stove. If the batter is quite thick, the walnuts and the orange jam won’t sink in.
6. Put in the oven (350F) for one hour (or until golden).

Quick and Easy Creme Brulee

Creme brulee is not as complicated as it seems. In fact, it only takes some 20 minutes to prepare everything (and some 40 minutes in the oven). No need to worry about complicated bain marie/ water bath, here’s the quick version. You’ll need 1 l milk, 8 eggs, one and a half cup of sugar, some vanilla essence and lemon zest.

Instructions:

1. In a pan, melt half of the sugar until it becomes liquid. You’ll need to use an oven-proof pan. If you are using a ceramic or glass oven-proof dish, quickly pour the liquid sugar into the dish and make sure you coat all the base surface while the sugar is still liquid.
2. In a separate bowl, mix the 8 eggs. Gradually integrate the rest of the sugar and the milk.
3. Add vanilla essence or vanilla sugar and a bit of lemon zest.
4. Pour everything into the oven-proof dish or pan, and put it in the oven (300 – 350F would do it) for some 40 -50 minutes.

I found this nice video depicting the process step by step. Although the instructions are not in English, it’s quite good in terms of finding out what you’re supposed to expect when making this delicious dessert.

Quick snack? Try this wheatlet milk porridge/ pudding

Felt like eating something sweet, but more like a snack than a dessert. As I didn’t have much in the fridge, I went for the easiest solution: wheatlet with milk porridge. Some more fancy links are provided in the end of this post, but if you’re interested in the quick recipe, here it is:

You’ll need milk, some sugar, and wheatlet (you’ll find it the bulk section of all grocery stores – also called semolina or griess). In addition, you may add: vanilla sugar or vanilla essence, some lemon zest, raisins or other dried fruits, nuts. And in the end, definitely sprinkle a bit of cinnamon on top of the porridge.

Cooking instructions:

Heat milk (4 cups) on the stove, adding sugar (around 4-5 tablespoons, but better taste it and see what works for you), vanilla sugar/ vanilla essence, lemon zest (if wanted)). Stir.

Start adding the wheatlet (around 1 cup – if you like the pudding more consistent, almost like a cake, then add a bit more; otherwise trial-and-error method), by sprinkling it over the milk and then stirring. You’ll need to keep on stirring every now and then, as the milk starts boiling. If you want to add dried fruits, do so in the end and use less sugar.

When it boils, you’re done. Pour the porridge into bowls, sprinkle the cinnamon and you’re good to eat. All in all should take around 20 minutes.

Fancier recipes: Semolina with milk, Semolina Pudding.