A Letter to YOU + A Pina Colada Souffle' Pudding

Dear Readers (or Friends, as I would like to consider you),

I am sorry I dropped the ball on the Blog Every Day in May Challenge.  I was actually having tons of fun with.  It gave me ideas of things to write about that I might never think of, and it pushed me creatively.  Plus, it helped me connect a little more with some of you.  And that was fabulous.

You know how it goes.  Life got busy, I got off track, and well -- here we are, ten days later, just now getting back into the swing of things.  I saw that writing a letter to you was the challenge of the day and I thought, "I am all over that!"

The truth is, I am bummed that missed some of the posts.  Especially the one where I was asked to rant.  I almost never rant publicly (or I do and then promptly delete it) and I was looking forward to being able to do that.  Because -- oh! -- I have some things to rant about.  Maybe I will still have to do that one ;)

But here is the thing -- I made myself a promise awhile back.  This promise went like this: "Tiffany, when your blog and your real life compete for time, your real life will always win.  And there will be no apologies."  And so, here I am today, saying sorry that I dropped the ball on the challenge, but not saying sorry for disappearing.  Because, honestly, that wedding I was in last weekend?  Or the visits I had with long lost friends this past week?  Or exploring a beautiful and new-to-me hiking place on a random Wednesday afternoon?  Or just hanging out with my husband, walking through the local festival, eating beer-battered-deep-fried-mushrooms?  Those moments that make my life beautiful.  And this blog?  It is a place for me to record those moments along with my food journey, not a place to take away time from other things I might want to do.

As we head into the summer months, please know that I will not be around all that much.  I will be too busy enjoying the sunshine and making new memories with loved ones.

At the same time, though, please know that I do love sharing with you -- both having you here and by visiting your pages to see what you are up to.  So, thank you.  Thanks for following along on my journey and thank you for your kind words, you uplifting comments, and your presence in my life.  I truly appreciate it.

With gratitude,
Tiffany

PS -- For Sundays with Joy this past week we made her grapefruit souffle', and it was FANTASTIC.  So much so that my husband asked me to make another one the next day.  I got a little creative with the second one and made my favorite flavor ever, pina-colada.  This may not be the most beautiful dessert I have ever made, but it is -- no joke -- possible my favorite.  If you have never made anything else from me, please let this be the one.

(The recipe looks scary, but after you do it once you will see how EASY it is. Please do not be intimidated!)

PINA-COLADA SOUFFLE’ PUDDING

Recipe inspired by Joy the Baker's Grapefruit Souffle' Pudding, found in the Joy the Baker Cookbook

SERVES 6  •  PREP TIME: 15 MINUTES  •  TOTAL TIME: 55 MINUTES

ingredients

• ¾ cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons
• 2 tablespoons sweetened coconut shreds
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3 large eggs, separated
• 1 ½ tablespoon coconut cream (from the can)
• 1/3 cup flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup pineapple juice
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees, with a rack in the middle and nothing above it.  Bring a teapot of water to boil.  This will be used later to make a water bath.
2. Mix the ¾ cup of sugar, sweetened coconut, and butter in mixing bowl of a stand mixer and beat for 1 minute.  Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating on medium speed until fluffy.  Slowly add the coconut cream.  The egg yolks and coconut cream will need to beat for about 2 minutes.
3. Add the flour and salt and beat until combined.  Alternate between the milk and the juice, and add to the mixer at medium speed until all mixed.  The batter will be soupy.  Place in a large bowl and set aside.
4. Clean the mixing bowl and the paddle very well.  Dry and return to stand mixer.  Add the egg whites and cream of tartar and beat on medium-high speed until soft peaks form.  Gradually add the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. 
5. Gently fold the stiff egg whites into the pineapple-coconut mixture, being very careful not to break the egg whites completely.  They should have a bit of fluff to them still.  Carefully pour the batter into the baking dish (medium sized) or ramekins (6). 
6. Place the dish or the ramekins into a larger dish (like a casserole dish).  Carefully pull out the rack in the oven just slightly so that you can place the dishes on there.  Very carefully, add the boiling water from the tea kettle so that it goes half way up the outside dish.  Then, push the rack back into the oven and bake until the top is lightly browned and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  This will be about 37 minutes for a full dish, or about 27 minutes for ramekins.

When it is finished and you pull it out, please be VERY careful not to spill the hot water on you!

The souffle’ can be served warm or at room temperature.  It is best the day it is made.

 COST: $3.76             COST PER SERVING (6): $0.63 

Kale + Chicken Sausage Strata

The wind today is out of control.  Like trash-cans-flying-around-the-street-and-fences-almost-falling-down out of control.  I made sure both of our cars were parked inside because the last time it was like this a tree fell on my brother's car, right outside my house.

The problem was, he was serving in Afghanistan and we were surfing in Costa Rica. (Who am I kidding?  He was surfing, I was floundering around, trying not to die.)  Good thing we had great neighbors who took pictures and documented the whole thing... Geico couldn't argue with that.

Today I have no fear of the wind destroying a car or a house.  I just don't think that will happen.  What I do hope will happen is some wind gust picking up my neighbors barbecue that smells oh so good and plopping it smack dab in my yard.  Tri-tip would be preferred.

But since that's highly unlikely to happen (fingers still crossed!) I guess I will be having leftovers tonight.

Not too shabby when it's this stuff, though.  Can't go wrong with kale in this house.

So now I eat, listen to the wind, and watch The Voice.  And wait for that tri-tip to fly in...

KALE AND CHICKEN SAUSAGE STRATA

Recipe inspired by Everyday Food’s Sausage and Swiss Chard Strata, April 2011

SERVES 6  •  PREP TIME: 15 MINUTES  •  TOTAL TIME: 1 hour 10 minutes

ingredients

• 1 packet chicken sausage, cut into cubes
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 2 small spring onions, finely chopped (bulb only)
• 1 bunch kale (about 1 pound), leaves torn off into 2-inch pieces and rinsed
• coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 day-old baguette, cut into ½-inch slices
• 2 ½ cups milk
• 6 large eggs, lightly beaten
• ½ cup shredded Asiago cheese

directions

1.      Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Heat a large skillet over medium-high. Add sausage and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned. Transfer sausage to a small bowl, leaving behind as much fat as possible. Add shallots and spring onions and cook over medium until translucent, 3 minutes. Add a little water to pan and cook, stirring and scraping up browned bits from skillet with wooden spoon. Add kale and cook, stirring occasionally, until wilted, 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.  Add to sausage and mix together.

2.      Spread half the sausage/kale mixture in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Top with bread, overlapping slices slightly. Top with remaining sausage/kale mixture. In a large bowl, whisk together milk and eggs, season with salt and pepper, and pour evenly over top. Firmly press on strata to submerge bread in egg mixture. Cover dish tightly with foil and let sit 10 minutes.

3.      Bake strata 45 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with cheese, and bake until cheese melts and egg mixture is mostly absorbed and set in center, 6 to 10 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

 COST: $10.25           COST PER SERVING (6): $1.71

Nutritional Information
calories 332.9   •    total fat 18.8 g    •    fiber 1.2g    •    sugars 5.5g   •    protein 29.2g

Leek & Bacon Baked Eggs

Simple and delicious.

Let's do this.

Gather your ingredients.  Yes, there is only five.  Plus salt and pepper, to taste.

Fry the bacon (five slices -- can be turkey, beef, or regular ol' pork bacon, you choose), and chop up the leeks (1/2 pound) and red onion (half).

Chop up some fresh chives, while you're at it.  (Enough to top the dish.)

Remove the bacon from the frying pan and place on paper towel-lined plate.  Cook the leeks and onion in the bacon fat for about three minutes.  Make small wells (2) and drop two eggs in each.  Cover and cook for about eight minutes.

Sprinkle a little salt and pepper on top, and enjoy!

Told you it was simple ;)

COST: $5.98    COST PER SERVING (2): $2.99

Sandwiches really are food... (Chilled Pea Soup with Egg Salad Sandwiches)

I grew up eating sandwiches.  Lots of PB&J (because it is THE BEST), tuna, turkey and avocado, ham and cheese, egg salad sandwiches, grilled cheese... shoot, I could keep going, but I won't.  The point is this: I ate sandwiches and they were good and I was full and that means they are real food.

Except, not everybody agrees with me. 

The first time I encountered this attitude was in college.  It was a rainy day, grey and cold.  Perfect for grilled cheese and tomato soup, right?  Right.  Especially grilled cheese with tomato and avocado.  But a friend of mine (from Guatemala) saw what I was making for dinner and said, "Aren't you going to eat real food?"  WHAT?  That sandwich and bowl of soup was real food.

A couple of years later I was visiting my boyfriend (now husband) in Brazil and there was interesting conversation I had with someone there.  It went something like this:

Her:  Here in Brazil we eat natural sandwiches, not like you guys in America.

Me:  What do mean? 

Her:  We don't eat hamburgers all the time.  We eat sandwiches with vegetables in them... like carrots and lettuce.

Me:  We do, too... that's what a sandwich is, most of the time...

Her:  No, you guys just eat hamburgers.  But we have real sandwiches.  With real food.

Me:  But that's what a sandwich is.  A hamburger is not a sandwich, it is a burger; they're different.

Her:  No, at McDonald's it says, "Sandwiches" and then there are hamburgers and cheeseburgers.  That's it.  But we have real food in our sandwiches.  That's why they are called natural sandwiches.

Me:  *Just shakes head*  Ok...

Leave it to McDonald's to teach the world that we only eat hamburgers and have no idea what a sandwich can actually be...

Fast forward to now.  My husband has always understood that we have "real food" in our sandwiches.  That has never been the question.  But whether or not sandwiches are "real food" is another debate all together.  He willingly eats them but tends to have a hard time believing sandwiches, especially when paired with soup, can be a light meal.

Gratefully for me, he is a fan of sandwiches.  We frequent Togo's often and hit up Giugni's whenever we are in the area.

Shoot, who am I kidding?  We have been known to make the 6 hour round trip just to get Giugni's.  So yes, we eat sandwiches.  Me.  Him.  Both of us.  And we like them.

I pointed out one day that when we eat, say, a grilled cheese with turkey, avocado, tomatoes, and a side of tomato soup, we have all the elements we would have if it wasn't in sandwich form.  Meat/protein?  check.  Veggies (or fruit that masquerades as veggies)? check.  Bread?  check.  It is just all squished together. 

"Good point," he said.

But when I asked him today if he considered them to be "real food" yet, he said, "Well, it is different than I am used to so I never crave it, but yeah... it counts.  I guess." 

I guess.

Oh well, you can't win them all, right?

That doesn't mean have I to surrender, though.  So chilled pea soup and egg salad sandwiches it was last night.  PERFECT for a warm summer evening.  Well, the soup was a little interesting, but I think with some green onions, maybe some turkey bacon crumbled on top, and a little bit of cheese it would be fabulous.  And egg salad sandwiches with arugula?  Win!

Pea soup with egg salad sandwiches (AKA Real food)

Soup recipe adapted from EVERYDAY FOOD, June 2012. 

FOR THE SOUP:
3 Tablespoons butter
1/2 sweet onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
4 cups shelled English peas
2 cups buttermilk
salt and pepper

In medium pot, melt butter over medium heat over medium heat.  Add onions and garlic and saute.  Add one cup of water and let cook 7 minutes or until onion is soft.  Add peas and cook about 4 minutes.  Put in blender along with buttermilk and blend until smooth.  Using a fine-meshed sieve with a large bowl underneath, separate solids from liquid.  Push down on solids to extract as much liquid as possible (this part takes time and patience).  Add salt to taste.  Put soup in fridge to cool, one hour.  Sprinkle pepper (and any other toppings you like) on top when ready to serve. 

FOR THE SANDWICHES:
6 hard-boiled eggs
2 Tablespoons mayo
1 teaspoon mustard
1 rib celery, diced
baby arugula
bread

Peel the eggs and cut into small pieces.  Mix with mayo, mustard, and celery.  Build sandwiches, placing arugula in the sandwich.

COST: $7.79     Cost per serving (4): $1.95

Sundays with Joy -- Avocado Fries

This weeks recipe was something I would have never in my wildest of wild dreams have come up with.  Avocado Fries. 

I mean, really the concept is simple... kind of like fried green tomatoes.  Which are amazing, right?  So why not with avocados?  Yet, I still would never have come up with this combination.  Just a few simple ingredients: avocados (obviously), eggs, flour, oil for frying, and bread crumbs.  It also called for Cayenne pepper, but you will never find that in my house.  Never. 

Instead of going for bread crumbs I decided to make them myself.  I figured out how to do this a few months back, and even though it is way easier to buy the store ones and the taste isn't that much different, I feel a sense of pride when I make bread crumbs from scratch.  I feel so... domesticated.

If you have never made bread crumbs from scratch, have no fear.  It is really, really easy. Takes about 10 minutes, too.  And you can season them any way you like.  There are four things you need:  bread, salt, seasonings, and a little bit of olive oil.

First, you take your bread (I used three slices of potato bread this time, but you can use any) and you grate it into, well... crumbs.  Makes total sense, right?  Throw those crumbs into a frying pan, add your salt and seasonings (I use garlic salt, oregano, and thyme), and drizzle some olive oil on top.  Turn the heat on to medium and then stir frequently for 5-7 minutes.  That's it!

Now that I had that done I was ready to go onto the actual recipe.

I have mentioned it before, but it is worth repeating.  I heart avocados.  Oh yes, I do.  So does my husband.  He likes them sweet, I like them salty, but whatever, we love them.  So this sight makes us happy.

There you go, avocado fries.  I must say, the concept is a little weird, right?  As my husband pointed out, "Isn't the point of eating fruit and veggies to be healthy?  Doesn't deep frying them kind of take that away?"  Hmm... Dude's gotta point.



But that didn't stop him from getting seconds, thirds, and then more...

So yeah, maybe not your healthy veggies-on-the-side that you go for, but a dish you can enjoy none-the-less.  And my thought is this: If I can do it to green tomatoes, why not to avocados?  Yeah, that's what I thought.

Recipe Adapted from the Joy the Baker Cookbook

INGREDIENTS:
3 slices of bread
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon thyme
2 avocados
2 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup flour

DIRECTIONS:
1.  Make bread crumbs (see above).
2.  Cut the avocados in half, peal skin off, and slice
3.  Beat eggs together.  Put the eggs, flour, and bread crumbs out.  Heat up vegetable oil in small frying pan over medium heat.
4.  Taking one piece of avocado at a time, dip in egg, then flour, and then bread crumbs.  When you have 6-8 pieces drop them (carefully) into oil. 
5.  Let cook in oil for 4 minutes, flipping once.  Carefully remove from oil with a fork and place on paper-towel lined plate.
6.  Continue dipping and frying until all pieces are done.

Cost: $3.74                  Cost Per Serving (4 servings at 6 slices each): $0.93

Sundays with Joy -- Leek & Asparagus Quiche

For the longest time I have been wanting to join some sort of cooking group.  I did the cookie swap in November, which was a blast, and I wanted more.  Unfortunately all the groups I found didn't fit right for me.  Either they were doing stuff I wanted to do but didn't have the skill level required (remember -- I am teaching myself how to cook here, folks) OR I had the skill level required but not the time OR I had the time but didn't want to do the recipes.  But I have a found something that fits me perfectly.  Sundays with Joy.

Here is why it fits me:  I am not only learning to cook, but I am finally, finally, starting to want to bake.  I used to hate it.  All that measuring and what-not... it was too complicated.  But as of late I have found myself baking a lot.  Cookies, tarts, bread... it has gotten into me.  And I am really really enjoying it.  So going through Joy the Baker's cookbook one recipe per week sounded like a great plan for me.  Especially since the title had the word "simple" in it ;)

For the past two weeks I have seen a few of the bloggers I follow (specifically Bakeaholic Mama, the starter of this brilliant plan) put up recipes for scones and muffins, and I thought, "I want those!"   Well, if I want some, I know how to get them... get in the kitchen and make it happen, right? 

The funny thing is that this week the recipe was not a sweet-treat such as a scone or a muffin, but a quiche.  That probably doesn't sound so funny to you -- until you hear that my poor husband has eaten egg-something everynight this week.  Fried eggs, scrambled eggs, egg and avocado pizzas... I think the last thing he really wanted to eat this weekend was some more eggs.

But he was good about it and supported me.  Which I needed, because I kind of felt like a fool asking the grocery-store-dude if he could help me find leeks when they were right there.  I guess that is what happens when I have only ever bought frozen, chopped leeks before...  (BTW - found out that nutmeg is considered a "seasonal item" at Trader Joe's.  Why?  I get that we use it in pumpkin pie, but wouldn't they think we might possibly want to use it at other times of the year for other things as well?)

I was happy he was a good sport, and so was he.  He loved this.  And when I told him some of the other bakers were putting bacon in it he said, "Oh!  You HAVE to do that next time!" 

It is official: there will be a next time.  Probably with bacon.

I have done it.  My very first recipe from my new cooking group.  I feel pretty darn good about myself right now!  Ninety-nine more to go...

Recipe from Joy the Baker Cookbook: 100 Simple and Comforting Recipes.

Basically, it is a puff-pastry fitted to the dish (I used a thawed-once-frozen one and I don't feel guilty at all!) filled with cooked asparagus and leeks on the bottom and egg/milk/cream/and a dash of nutmeg, along with a big handful of Gruyeye cheese.  Bake at 350* for 55 minutes and viola!-- breakfast/brunch/lunch/dinner is served :)

(For the full recipe, get the cookbook!)

Cost: $14.25                   Cost Per Serving (8): $1.78

PLUS bread, salad... around $2.50 per plate
(The cost could be lower if you find cheap asparagus -- I could not.)

Some Non-Stories and a Vegetable Frittata

This is normally the part where I tell you some story.  You know... I did this, thought that, and then BAM, here I am, eating what you see above.  But I don't have that today.  What I do have is a really great and EASY recipe that I love, and some pretty pictures to go along with it.  Or I could tell you about cutting open pig hearts with my students yesterday and all the blo---- ok, never mind.  Like I said, recipe and good pictures.  Sounds about right for today :)



This is one of those quick-fix meals that is super cheap as well.  Vegetarian to boot.  I like meat, don't get me wrong, but I like vegetables as well.  Speaking of vegetables...

Alright, quick story.  (This is me typing this, are you surprised?)

The other day I wrote on my blog about all that I had learned this year (which you totally read, right?  RIGHT?!), the very first one being that "veggies have flavor -- and it isn't Ranch".  And then later that night I saw that Google Translate had sent traffic to my blog so I clicked on in to find out what that was all about.  Basically someone in Brazil was reading my blog (Ha!  Caught you!) and needed it translated.  Super cool.  I am all over that.  Interested in seeing how well they did, I started reading through... Home = Casa, About = Sobre, so far so good.  And then I see #1 of what I learned:  "Vegetarians have flavor  -- and it isn't Ranch."  I am a cannibal and I didn't even know it!  HAHAHA! 

Ok, back to the recipe and pictures.  (Yes, this is how my brain works, and no, I do not have ADD.  My mind just runs in circles a lot.)

Four easy steps to make this frittata happen:

1) Cook onion and green beans over medium (with a tablespoon of olive oil) for 8 minutes.

2) Add tomatoes and cook again, 2 minutes.

3) Add egg/sour cream concoction.  Cook 2 minutes until the edges are set.

4) Put in oven on 425F for 8 minutes.

From start to finish, 20 minutes.  My kind of cooking!  My guess would be that it is probably yours, too.

Recipe taken from Everyday Food, March 2012

• Yield Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 8 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 medium red onion, diced medium
• 1/2 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 tomato, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (I did two.)
• 1 cup grated Parmesan

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and sour cream and season with salt and pepper. In a 10-inch cast-iron skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium. Add onion and green beans and cook, stirring occasionally, until beans are tender, about 10 minutes. Add tomato, and season with salt and pepper. Add egg mixture and stir to combine. Sprinkle with Parmesan and cook, undisturbed, until edge is set, about 2 minutes.
2. Transfer skillet to upper rack in oven and bake until slightly puffed and almost set, about 8 minutes. Heat broiler and broil until cheese is browned and bubbling, about 1 minute. Run a rubber spatula around edge of frittata and transfer to a plate. Cut into wedges and serve with potatoes and garlic (which will be in another blog post, so just serve with whatever you would like).

Cost: $7.92                   Cost Per Serving (4) $1.98

Baked Eggs in Chunky Tomato Sauce (Vegetarian)

If you are a lover of veggies, you have come to the right place.

Onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, spinach, and garlic... cook them up, drop eggs in the mixture, bake, and top with goat cheese and cilantro.  Ta-da!  It is really that simple, and quite amazing actually.  This is a recipe I would have never thought of myself, which makes me appreciate all of those cooks in the food magazine kitchens all the more.

 Let me warn you, however -- your house will smell like onion and bell pepper long after the food is gone.  As I was driving to work I kept smelling this oniony-smell so I rolled down the window to see if it was coming from outside, and then I realized that it was I that smelled like onion.  Or rather, my clothes did.  Clothes that were tucked away in my closet while I was cooking.  Curse of a small apartment, I guess.  At least it wasn't the smell of fish, right?

This brilliant recipe comes from the January/February 2012 issue of Everyday Food by Martha Stewart.

• Prep Time 20 minutes
• Total Time 45 minutes
• Yield Serves 4

 

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 large bell peppers (red, yellow, or orange), stemmed, seeded, and diced small
• 1 large yellow onion, diced small
• 3 garlic cloves, minced  (I did six.  We love garlic.)
• 1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes
• 2 1/2 ounces baby spinach (2 1/2 cups)
• Red-pepper flakes (optional)
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 8 large eggs
• 4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled (1/2 cup)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium. Add bell peppers and onion and cook, stirring, until softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes and cook 3 minutes. Stir in spinach and pinch of red-pepper flakes, if using. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Transfer sauce to four 14-ounce gratin dishes or a 2-quart shallow baking dish. With the back of a large spoon, make 4 wells in sauce and crack 2 eggs into each. Bake until whites are set but yolks are still runny, about 25 minutes, rotating dishes halfway through. To serve, top with goat cheese and cilantro.

Cost: $8.67                    Cost Per Serving (4): $2.17

October Unprocessed: Eggs Benedict & Hollendaise

You are probably familiar with Eggs Benedict:  English muffin split open, topped with bacon or ham, a poached egg on both sides, with a healthy dose of Hollendaise sauce on the top.  It's good, to be sure, but I give you Eggs Benedict, Tiffany Style --

The same basic elements are there, just swapped out for something slightly (in my opinion) better. 
Instead of English muffins, you get Sourdough.
Pork bacon is swapped out for turkey or beef bacon.
Poached eggs are replaced with fried eggs.
Some fresh avocado and tomato slices are added.
And of course, you can't forget the hollendaise (made with lime, instead of lemon).

In our house this is not a breakfast food.  Nope, we eat it for dinner.  My husband did not grow up eating eggs for breakfast and whenever I would go through the hassle of making this or scrambled eggs or even cooked potatoes in the morning, he would look at me like I was crazy and then ask, "Where is the bread?  Can I have a bagel?"  As far as he is concerned, breakfast consists of bread and coffee juice. So for us, anything egg-related is automatically dinner food.

The whole lime-hollendaise was a total accident one day, mind you.  I wish I had the creative genius to think this up, but I do not.  Instead, it was a little misunderstanding that led to this gem.  I asked my husband to pick up two "lemons".  He, being a native Portuguese speaker, went and got two "limons" -- or limes.  I didn't realize the mistake (which, honestly, makes complete sense if you hear the similarities between the words) until we were at home and I had no lemons to make hollendaise sauce with.  Well, that was alright in the end because it turned out to be the best hollendaise sauce I had made!  Isn't it nice when "Oops!" turns into "Yes!!!" ? 

Speaking of Hollendaise...

It is really quite simple, and tastes way better than the store bought stuff.  This is one "unprocessed" thing I have been able to do for quite some time.  I get really intense and focused when I am making it because it can easily curdle, but it really isn't that hard as long as you have all your ingredients ready to go. 

DIRECTIONS:
First, take 2 egg yolks, 1/2 stick of butter cut into thirds, and 1 T of lime (or lemon) juice.  Set in a place where they are ready to go.  Using a double boiler (or in my case, make one out of a pot and similar size pan -- see below), put 1 T of water plus the eggs and the lime juice on the top and whisk.  Add one piece of butter at a time until all are melted.  Add a pinch of salt and ta-da!  Really, that's it.  Just keep whisking away while you are doing it so that the eggs don't curdle.  (This covers 3 Eggs Benedicts.)

Since I am not all fancy enough to have a double boiler, this is what I use.  It works just fine.

COST: $5.80             PER SERVING (3): $1.93

A Week of New Recipes -- Day 4: Roasted Caulifower Quiche with Garlicky Green Beans

White and green, with a hint of yellow/tan thrown in.  That was the color scheme of dinner for night four. 

I have never made a quiche before, but I have eaten plenty of them, and I knew that I was excited to try to make one.  My husband was also excited to have some "quich-ee" (as it is pronounced in Portuguese).  I just wasn't so sure about the cauliflower.  I am really not a cauliflower girl unless it is raw and dipped in Ranch... then all I taste is the Ranch, and that tastes good ;)  But, alas, it was on the menu for the night and I decided to give it a try.

The recipe was meatless, but I had no worries about getting our protein in: we had eggs, and plenty of them! (Eight to be exact.)  According to weightlossforall.com, "Egg protein contains all the essential amino acids in the exact proportions required by the body for optimum growth and maintenance of lean, metabolically active muscle tissue."  Yeah, a little tough to break down, I get it, but in essence: Eggs are healthy for you.  Eat your eggs.  (We definitely did!)

When we combined those eggs with cottage cheese, the roasted cauliflower, some garlic, and a little bit of cheese, we got this:

Oh, it smelled so good.  So good!  And doesn't it look beautiful?  The first thing I said was, "It's so easy!  Next time we have a potluck get-together somewhere I am bringing quiche!"

Well, maybe I will.  But I won't be bringing roasted cauliflower quiche.  It was good, don't get me wrong, but it was not great.  The smell was great, it looked great, but it tasted... OK.  Paulo gave it a 6.5 (he says it didn't have a lot of taste) and I gave it a 7.5 (the egg part was a good enough, but that darn cauliflower taste!  and yes, it was a little bland...).  So, not necessarily a repeater for us, but if you like cauliflower, GO for it.  You just might want to add a little more cheese to intensify the flavor.

But the green beans were pretty good.  I will make them like this again, for sure.  Time to go find a quiche recipe with five stars to put them next to!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 small head cauliflower, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices (about 2 cups)
• 4 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 5 cloves garlic, 3 thinly sliced and 2 finely chopped
• 1 cup (about 2 ounces) fresh coarse whole wheat breadcrumbs
• 8 eggs
• 3/4 cup cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
• 3 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1 pound green beans

DIRECTIONS:

1. 1. Preheat the oven to 425°. Grease a 9-inch pie plate. On a foil-lined baking sheet, toss the cauliflower with 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil; season with salt and pepper and arrange in an even layer. Roast until tender and lightly browned, 12 to 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the sliced garlic and cook until lightly golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the breadcrumbs, season with salt and pepper, and toast until golden, 5 to 7 minutes; transfer to a plate. Wipe out the skillet and reserve.
3. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs. Stir in the cottage cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan, the parsley and chopped garlic; season with salt and pepper. Spread half of the garlic breadcrumbs in the pie plate and top with the cauliflower. Pour on the egg mixture, gently shaking the plate to settle the mixture; sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon Parmesan. Bake, rotating halfway through, until set and browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before slicing.
4. In the reserved skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the beans and 1/4 cup water; season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook until crisp-tender, 2 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining garlic breadcrumbs.

(Recipe from rachaelray.com)

COST = $7.75        PER SERVING (4) = $2.00