Quinoa & Kale Crustless Quiche

This is my absolute favorite recipe to date on this blog.  Seriously, it is so so so good, I beg you to whip it up  yourself.  In this post, I told you about my obsession with kale and cheese, and in this one, you read about my love of the egg.  All these favorites combine for the perfect slice of deliciousness.  We enjoyed it for dinner first, and breakfast the next morning.  Rich kale, gooey sharp cheese, wholesome quinoa, carmelized onions, binding eggs.... If you are on the kale fence, as I hear many of you are, this is the dish to try it in.  I want to go make another right now!  Thank you @Food52!

Quinoa & Kale Crustless Quiche

Courtesy of Food52
Makes About 6 slices

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup quinoaAsk the
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• 1 cup water or stock (veggie or chicken)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small bunch (2 cups) kale
• 1 white onion, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• ½ cup of sharp cheese, such as white cheddar or gouda 
• 3 ounces of cream cheese
• 4 eggs
• Salt and pepper to taste 

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 and butter or spray a 9" pie dish. Rinse the quinoa. Combine the quinoa and water or stock in a pot. Bring to a boil on medium-high heat and then reduce to a simmer for about twenty minutes. Set aside. 
• Meanwhile, start to caramelize the onions. Heat the olive oil in a large saute on medium heat. When the oil is shimmering, add the onions. Slowly cook until  soft and browned.
  
• Transfer the onions to large bowl. Add the kale into the hot onion pan. On medium heat, cook until the kale is wilted but still bright green, about two minutes.
  
• Add the kale, quinoa, garlic, cream cheese and cheddar to the onions. Stir until mixed.
  
• In a small bowl, whisk the eggs until well combined. Pour over the quinoa/kale mixture. Stir until the egg clings to the greens. Add salt and pepper.
  
• Pour the mixture in the prepared pie dish. Bake for about 35- 45 minutes, until the top is golden and the pie has started to pull away from the edge of the baking dish.

 

The Perfect (Fr) Omelet

I remember the first time I had really good eggs. It was at my family summer cottage on Dorval Island near Montreal, and my Aunt Jane was at the stove.  This was before she and my uncle opened up their glorious bed and breakfast, and she had whipped up a batch of scrambled eggs for all the cousins. I undoubtedly ate and ran without stopping to share my delight in the eggs, but there was something in that scramble that made a life-long impression.

My love of eggs has blossomed since that first great scramble. A poached or fried egg adorn many meals these days: pasta, roasted veggies, sauted leeks, burgers. Breakfast for dinner is a favorite in the Hayduk (HeyLocke?) household. So much so that I've been trying to perfect my omelet for years. My first major leap was realizing how much better an omelet cooks over medium-low heat versus high or even medium high.  The next breakthrough was upgraded pans thanks to generous wedding gifts.  And recently, well recently, I hit the omelet jack pot when my obsession with tearing out and filing recipes really paid off.

I've made this "breakfast for dinner" omelet four times with my CSA eggs to make sure it really is "the" omelet recipe, ready for you dear readers. And it is. Oh, it is.

P.S. If any of you make this one, I'd love to hear your reviews in the comments section!

The Perfect Fromelet

Modified courtesy of Food & Wine's Omelet Souffle  

Ingredients 

1 serving

• Three eggs
• 1 pad of butter 
• Your choice of components: Onion, Mushrooms, Broccoli, Cheese, Bacon, Tomatoes, etc.
• Salt & Pepper

Directions

• Start your oven broiler. 
• Separate three large eggs. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks with a pinch of salt.
• In another bowl, whisk the egg whites until the top is frothy, about 1 minute by hand.  
• Note: If you want to try to original "souffle" style of the recipe, whisk much longer until soft peaks form. I prefer Fromelet (frittata + omelet) style and whisk less.
• Next whisk one-fourth of the egg whites into the yolks.
• Fold in the remaining yolks until the two are combined and the colour is uniformed. 
• In an 8-inch overproof nonstick or iron cast skillet, melt the butter over medium low heat.  Add the egg mixture, shaking to distribute evenly. 
• Let cook for about 1 minute, then sprinkle the toppings evenly over the top.  
• Transfer the entire pan to the oven and broil for 3-4 minutes before serving.  Holy yum!

Whisked Bright Egg Yolks

 Frothed Egg Whites

 The Final Fromelet: Roasted Tomato and Goat Cheese

Curried Celery Soup

We all know not to judge a book by its cover, and in this case, that means not judging a recipe by its title.  I like celery as much as the next gal.  It's crunchy. It has has terrific hummus and peanut butter scooping propensities. I also love Indian Food.  Somehow, though, curried + celery + soup sounded, well... sorta just okay, not terribly special.

The deluge of celery in my weekly CSA and gorgeous list of accompanying ingrediants turned me onto this not-so-aptly titled soup and I am grateful for it.  Think Indian root vegetable stew, not just curried celery.

If you like Indian food and thick fall soups, this ones for you (that means you Penny!). Top with a dollop of fresh yogurt or sour cream and dig in!

Curried Celery Soup

Recipe courtesy of MyFarmShare 

4 servings 

Ingredients

• Vegetable oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced
• 6 celery stalks, diced
• 2 potatoes, diced
• 1 cup celery leaves, chopped
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 apple, diced
• 4 cups of chicken or vegetable broth  
• 4 teaspoons curry powder (or garam masala which is all I had on hand!)
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin (omit if using garam masala)
• 2 teaspoons thyme
• salt and pepper

Directions

• Sauté the onion, carrot and celery in a little vegetable oil for about 10 minutes.  
• Add the potatoes, sauté for another 5 minutes.  
• Add the garlic, the apple and the spices, continue to sauté for a few more minutes.
• Add the broth, scrape the bottom of the pan and bring to a simmer.  
• Cook for another 10 - 20 minutes (test to make sure a potato cube is cooked) and then add the celery leaves and cook for another 5 minutes.  
• You can blend the whole batch with in a food processor or with an immersion blender, however, I'd suggest just blending half for a chunkier end product.
• Add salt and pepper to taste, and serve topped with a dollop of sour cream or greek yogurt.

Roasted Squash & Carrot Quinoa

These fall gems arrived in my CSA delivery.  On the weekend, my husband and a few of our good friends spent the day catching striped bass on a boat off Montauk point.  The growing baby in my belly kept me ashore, (I LOVE fishing so this baby better be cute ;-) and I cooked up the accompaniments for the evening feast. You may have read about the delicious apple and pear crisp, and the salad below offered a calm compliment to the star of the of menu, fresh stripped bass in a coconut curry sauce.  Recipe for bass to follow!

Roasted Butternut Squash & Carrot Quinoa Salad 

Ingredients 

• 1 butternut squash
• 3 - 4 large carrots
• 1 white onion
• 1/2 log of goat cheese
• 1 cup dry quinoa 
• Fresh Sage
• Handful of arugula or other greens
• Salt, Pepper and Olive Oil

Directions

• Pre heat over to 375
• Peel, chop and cube the butternut squash and carrots
• Finely dice the onion
• Toss the onion, carrots and squash with 1.5 tablespoons of olive oil, 5-6 torn sage leaves, salt and pepper
• Roast in the oven for 35-45 minutes until tender
• Meanwhile, prepare the quinoa as instructed
• When the quinoa is finished, toss with 1/2-1 tablespoon of olive oil to break it up
• After the veggies are roasted, mix the quinoa, veggies, washed greens and goat cheese to coat
• Serve!

About Quinoa

Quinoa is a super food.  High in protein, gluten free and rich in 8 essential amino acids like lysine, Quinoa really is the ultimate grain.  It's also delicious.

Ina Garten's Apple & Pear Crisp

I've loved the Food Network since it's early 90's debut.  Like any good East Ender with a passion for cooking, that means I adore the one and only Ina Garten, a.k.a. The Barefoot Contessa.

Shopping at the Montauk fish monger one year, I saw her filming a segment.  Ohhhhh did that tickle my fancy!  We watched two takes, where Ina "asked" about the difference between types of scallops for the benefit of us viewers, and then I obsessively DVR-ed until I saw "our" episode air. (See how I did that, I made something about Ina mine!). In the episode, she and Jeffrey enjoyed sandwiches on the Montauk docks, OUR Montauk dock, and I ate it up.

This years crisp CSA apples have been a favorite in my household, and the delivery of pears last week had me looking no further than Ina for a perfect fall dessert.

Apple & Pear Crisp    
Courtesy of Ina Garten & The Food Network

Ingredients (Base)

• 2 pounds / 4 ripe pears
• 2 pounds / 6 firm apples
• 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/3 cup of agave syrup or 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup whole wheat or (white) all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

 Ingredients (Toppings)

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat or (white) all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup of agave syrup or 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup old-fashioned oatmeal
• 1/4 pound (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced
• Note: The recipe calls for 2 sticks, but I used one and was happy with the end result
• Vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt 

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
• Peel, core, and cut the pears and apples into chunks. Place the fruit in a large bowl and mix in the zests, juices, sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. 
• Note: Out of nutmeg, I used ground ginger instead
• Pour into a 9 by 12 by 2-inch baking dish.
• For the topping: Combine the flour, sugars, salt, oatmeal, and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed for 1 minute, until the mixture is in large crumbles. If you don't have a mixer (like I don't at the Montauk house), mix and chop the ingredients together by hand with a knife until the butter breaks up. 
• Sprinkle evenly over the fruit base, covering the fruit completely.
• Place the dish on a sheet pan and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until the top is brown and the fruit is bubbly. 
• Serve warm topped with vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt.  

 

This October is #AppleLove recipe month, led by The Spicy RD.  Check it out on Twitter with the hash tag or here!

Lauren Lately: Veggies with Goat Cheese, Lemon or in Pasta Sauce

Most of my meals are not documentation worthy, however I still enjoy preparing and eating them. "Lauren Lately" is a series that will feature a few go-to items in my dinner rotation on those nights when I want to cook, but don't have the gumption to create a blog-worthy meal.

1) Roasted Veggies with Chili Oil & Goat Cheese  
Ingredients

• Sturdy vegetables, i.e. turnips, beets, carrots, butternut squash, peppers, onions, potatoes and/or parsnips
• Chili Oil
• Goat Cheese
• Salt, Pepper and an Herb (dried or fresh thyme, sage or rosemary)

Directions

• Preheat oven to 375. 
• Peel, clean and chop vegetables into 1-inch cubes. If squash or potato heavy, consider smaller cubes or 3 minutes in the microwave to speed cooking time.
• Toss cubes with salt, pepper, chili oil to coat and a few dashes of herbs. Personally, I'm in a dried thyme phase.
• In a roasting pan or tinfoil boat (much less clean up!), roast the vegetable for 35-45 minutes, tasting for readiness.
• Remove from the oven.  While piping hot, mix in a bowl with a tablespoon or two of goat cheese which will melt into a tangy and perfect coating.

2) Steamed Veggies with Lemon Olive Oil
Ingredients

• Green vegetables, e.g. Pole beans, string beans, broccoli, chard, kale, snap peas and/or brussel sprouts
• Lemon Olive Oil

Directions

• Clean, trim and chop green vegetables into bite sized pieces.
• Lightly steam (3-4 minutes for the soft greens, a minute + for the beans, a bit longer for broccoli or brussels). Steam in a glass dish with water in the microwave, stove top in a steamer basket or in a set like ours. Just avoid steaming in plastic, a no-no according to my dietitian friend, because of possible chemical transfer (phthalates and BPA, eek!).
• Toss the veggies with a few glugs of artisanal lemon flavored olive oil* and serve along side grilled chicken or fish. 
• If you don't have lemon olive oil on hand, combine a few healthy squirts of fresh lemon juice with regular olive oil, (then read the note below and contemplate an order!)

*Nudo Extra Virgin Olive Oil with Lemon has been a secret obsession of mine since reading about it in this newsletter.  Simple salad dressing or on veggies as above it is delish. Its so NOT LOCAL, I almost didn't fess up. However the eco-friendly merits slightly cleared my conscious since: a) Nudo farms organically, b) They market a lovely adopt an olive tree program and c) They employ a policy to ship by sea and land wherever possible. The chili oil in the roasted veg recipe above is also Nudo, and a part of their "Three Tenors" trio (Hello holiday or housewarming gift!)

3) Pasta with A Quick Homemade Sauce
When I first went "public" with this blog, a dear friend jokingly remarked she enjoyed it even though heating up pasta sauce was daunting to her.  I laughed... then started obsessing about quick homemade sauce recipes for her.  Below are my general guidelines.  Is the end result fine-dining? Probably not. Is it an easy and enjoyable homemade supper? You betcha.

Ingredients (must have and totally 100% optional)

• A large white onion
• Herbs of some sort (basil, thyme, oregano)
• 4-6 fresh tomatoes or a a can of whole tomatoes
• Parmesan Cheese
• Salt & Pepper
• Pasta
• 100% totally optional ingredients: Protein (ground chicken, sausage, lamb etc.), Fennel, Carrot, Celery, Garlic, Hot Pepper Flakes or Cayenne

Directions

• Meat base: Over medium heat, break up and begin to brown the ground or chopped protein of your choosing (turkey, chicken, beef, lamb, veal, sausage). About 1/4th a pound per person, though the end result will easily freeze if you have left overs. I love meat combination's here (lamb and veal, chicken and sausage) and just as often stick with straight veggies. 
• Veggie base: Add a few glugs of olive oil to a saute pan and continue.  
• Add one half a chopped onion to the meat or olive oil (or a full onion if serving more than 4 people), and saute over medium heat until glistening.  If you have it on hand, this is where you can add chopped fennel, carrots or celery sauteing it all for 5-7 minutes.
• Add freshly chopped tomatoes (4 for two people, more for additional eaters), or a can of tomatoes to the pan, and lower heat to medium low. 
• Add in the chopped or dried herbs (a pinch of dried oregano, a few full basil leaves...its not scientific), and a few cranks of salt and pepper. 
• Optional: Add 1-2 cloves of chopped garlic, and/or a dash of cayenne or a dash of hot pepper flakes to kick it up notch.
• Cook for 15-20 minutes, mixing every 5 minutes or so to break down the tomatoes.
• Meanwhile, bring pasta to a boil on the neighboring burner. When it's done, add 1/2 cup of starchy water from boiling the pasta to the sauce pan to loosen it up. 
• Pasta + sauce + grated cheese = dinner in about an 35 minutes including chopping.

Homemade Tapas: Baked Goat Cheese in Peppers, Onions & Tomato

Tapas always reminds me of the Cafe Babareeba in Chicago. You'd think it would remind me of my honeymoon in Spain, or one of the fantastic restaurants here in my adopted hometown of NYC.  Instead, say the word tapas, and I am fondly recalling my first memories of dining without parents with my high school girlfriends.  When asked for restaurants in Chicago, some two!?! decades later, I am still sending people to Babareeba on Lincoln and hoping they enjoy it as much as I have.

One of my first go-to items is actually still on the menu, "Goat Cheese baked in Tomato Sauce." A simple, yet perfectly delicious appetizer.  When our local farmer's market cheese monger suggested a bright and creamy goat cheese last weekend, in a flash I was back at Babareeba, sopping up that perfect little appetizer with good crusty bread, talking about boys, sneaking in the occasional sangria and laughing with my oldest friends.

I've recreated a slightly more filling version below, bulking up the sauce with some gorgeous CSA mini bell peppers and optional sausage.  We plopped the entire pan on a hot plate directly on the table, ripped off hunks of crusty bread and gorged straight from the source. Deliciso!

Goat Cheese Baked in Peppers, Onion & Tomato Sauce

• 12-15 mini bell peppers OR 3 - 4 large bell peppers all red, yellow or orange
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 1/2 a large white onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 log of goat cheese
• Olive oil, plus more for the table
• Salt & Pepper
• Optional: 1 link of sweet or spicy sausage of your liking, sliced thinly
• Large loaf of your favorite crunchy bread or baguette

Directions

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. 
• Dice the onions and peppers into bite size pieces
• Swirl olive oil twice around a cast iron or oven-proof saute pan.  Add the peppers and onions, and saute over medium heat, stirring frequently, for 4 minutes.
• If using sausage, add sliced sausage and cook for 4-6 minutes until done, stirring frequently. 
• Add chopped garlic, salt & pepper, and cook for 1 minute stirring until fragrant.
• Lower heat to low-medium, pour tomato sauce over and cook for a few minutes until the sauce is warmed. 
• Slice goat cheese into 6-8 pieces and place on top of the tomato pepper base. 

• Add the entire pan to the oven, and cook at 325 for 8-10 minutes until cheese starts to melt but doesn't fall apart.  Optional: Turn on the broiler, and broil for another 2-3 minutes to brown the cheese. 
• Remove from the oven.  Divvy onto plates or serve straight from the pan on the table along side a baguette, olive oil and salt for dipping.

Without Sausage                                      With Sausage