Cheddar and Kale Quiche

This past Tuesday was the first anniversary of my blog.  It seems impossible that I’ve been blogging for an entire year.  To be quite honest, when I started greenhorn gourmande, I kind of assumed that it would fall by the wayside like so many other hobbies. Example: I just finished crocheting a scarf I started FIVE years ago...yeah...

Anyway, I’m really glad that I stuck with it.  This blog has served me well: as a creative outlet, a handy recipe guide for all of my favorites, and a way to share my passion for cooking.  As of today I can say that we are:

OVER 9,000! (page views)

 I apologize for nerding out... I think I’d better move on to today’s recipe:

Cheddar and Kale Quiche

This was my third attempt at a quiche.  The first time was over two years ago when I was just starting to tentatively dip my toes into the shallow end of cooking.  Looking back I realize that it was an incredibly ambitious recipe, although the end result was tasty (if somewhat liquidy), the overall experience was incredibly frustrating.

The second attempt was only a few months ago, but I ran into the same problem- the damn thing would not set!  Liquidy quiche once again reared it’s watery head.  This time around I fully knew what I was up against, and I managed to taste the sweet taste of success vis à vis a fully set quiche.

The cheddar kale combo is definitely a winner, and the crust is so easy to make.  The kale really shines in this dish, particularly the crisp bits on top which are essentially kale chips. This cheesy pie comes together in a little less than an hour, making this quiche a feasible weeknight treat.

Cheddar and Kale Quiche

Adapted from Eat.Drink.Love.

Ingredients

3/4 cup old fashioned oats

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp garlic powder

3 tbsp butter

1.25 cups 2% milk

4 large eggs

1 tbsp olive oil

3.25 ounces cheddar cheese, grated

2 cups kale, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

3/4 tsp kosher salt

more salt and pepper to taste

pinch of curry powder

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 400F.  To make the crust, put the oats, flour, salt, and garlic powder in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Add in the butter and pulse until you get a pebbly-like texture. Add a quarter cup of the milk and pulse a few more times to combine. Form the mixture into a ball and place it between 2 large pieces of waxed paper. Roll out into a circle about 10 inches in diameter.  Butter a nine inch pie pan press crust into the dish. Bake for about 7-9 minutes and set aside.

2.To make the filling, heat the olive oil in a non-stick pan. Add the garlic and saut until fragrant. Add the kale and cook until wilted seasoning to taste with salt and pepper.

3.Reduce the oven heat to 350F. In a large bowl or measuring cup beat the eggs and add the, milk, cheese, and salt and pepper to taste.  Spread the kale evenly along the bottom of the crust and top with the egg mixture. Bake for about 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.

Breakfast Egg Rolls

As much as I love hunting down and executing new recipes, I must admit that my absolute favorite thing to do in the kitchen is to forge my own creative path to make a meal with whatever I have on hand.  Inspiration usually strikes in the way of leftover ingredients, and this past weekend I happened to have some leftover egg roll wrappers.

Pre-oven

I had used half of the package the night before for some delicious, albeit ugly, jalapeno popper things.  The next morning feeling half defeated by the damned egg roll wrappers, but determined not to let
them best me, I decided to give them another go.

Post-oven

Since these were not intended for late night snackage, I approached the wrappers this time with a morning classic in mind- the breakfast burrito.

Breakfast Egg Rolls

These cute little bundles of yum are fun, delicious, and vaguely nutritious.  I mean they have egg and something green in them, right? The crunchy wrapper is the perfect foil for the creamy egg and potato filling.

Ingredients

3 eggs

1 small potato, small diced

1.5 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded

4 cups raw radish greens, washed and chopped

4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

2 tsp bacon grease (or other oil)

1 large yellow onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

salt and pepper to taste

1 pinch curry powder

9 egg roll wrappers

1 tbsp canola oil

Directions

1.  In a non-stick frying pan heat up the bacon grease.  Add the onions and saute until soft and slightly browned around the edges.  Add the garlic and cook for another minute or so, until fragrant.

2.  Add the potato and mix with the onions and garlic.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add a little water or chicken stock to the pan (enough to coat the bottom of the pan) and cover with a lid.  Let simmer for 5-6 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

3.  Remove the lid and let the remaining liquid cook off.  Add the radish greens and cook until wilted, about 2 minutes.  Meanwhile, beat the eggs in a cup and season with salt, pepper, and the pinch of curry powder.  Pour the egg mixture into the pan and stir to combine.  Cook the eggs until done to your liking, turn off the heat, and stir in the crumbled bacon and cheese.

4.  Preheat the oven to 425F (or whatever your egg roll package recommends for baking).  Fill and wrap the egg rolls and place on a greased baking sheet.  Brush the tops of the rolls with canola oil and bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown.

Enjoy!

So many kinds of greens!

Hi everyone out in WIAW land, I hope you've been having a great summer!  I've had a bit of a break from blogging, but I'm jumping back in the game.

 

This summer has been a really awesome one for me.  It marks the end of my first year since graduating from college *tear*, and I've got to say, it's so much better than last year's post-graduation summer of self-loathing.  (Recent grads my heart goes out to you, it will get better.)  This summer has been filled with free concerts, a relaxing vacation, and loads of gorgeous produce from the farmers market.  This last Sunday is a particularly good highlight of my farmers market finds, and also happens to be full of my summer staples!

Breakfast:

Bacon, Potato, Cherry Tomato, and Radish Greens Frittata

I absolutely adore frittatas, and this one was particularly delicious.  You can find the recipe here.    

In case you didn't know, radish greens (yes the things on top of the radishes!) are edible, and very delicious.  I've been buying a bunch on the weekly, and I always make sure to use the greens. 

Snack:

Honey and Sage Cornbread Muffins

I made these babies shortly after breakfast, and I couldn't resist trying one!  They are absolutely delicious, with a slight sweetness and notable but not overpowering hint of sage.  Recipe coming soon!  You can find the recipe here.

Lunch:

Beet Greens with Sweet Potatoes and Black Beans

Lunch was a more thrown together affair, using some leftover black beans I had cooked the day before and a lonely little sweet potato.  Beet greens are another delicious topper that many people don't realize you can eat.  They actually are related to swiss chard, and have a very similar taste.  Of course I couldn't resist another Honey and Sage corn muffin.  So good!

Dinner:

Crimini and Kale Casserole

This dish is pretty much all of my favorite things baked in one delicious dish: whole wheat shell pasta, caramelised onion sauce, sauteed crimini mushrooms and kale, and a smattering of bacon topped off with a sprinkling of sharp white cheddar.  It's a decadent and delicious meal that is still (relatively) healthy.  Recipe coming soon!

All in all, Sunday was a beautiful day jammed pack of wonderful eats.  I topped it all off with a pink otter pop, because everyone knows that's the best flavor.  

Don't take your tops off! (Or at least wait until you get home.)

I have the privilege and pleasure of frequenting the Union Square Farmer's Market every Saturday morning.  It really has been spectacular the past couple of weeks, with each stand absolutely bursting with fresh summer produce.

My favorite stand always seems to have the most beautiful radishes- bright fuchsia in color, firm and unblemished with verdant tops.  At $1 a bunch I make sure to buy some every week.  So do many of the other shoppers, but it amazes me at the number of people that ask to have the radish greens removed.

In all fairness, I wasn't aware myself that you could eat these delicious leaves until earlier this summer.  

A little research via google turned up a simple radish green soup, and we've been inseparable ever since.  I've found that radish greens remind me of a cross between arugula and mustard greens: peppery, with a slight tang, and they become tender when cooked (as opposed to sturdier greens ala kale and collards).

I typically eat them sauteed with a little olive oil and garlic.  This morning they found their way into this delicious frittata:

Farm Fresh Frittata 

I realized this morning while tucking in that almost all of the ingredients for this meal came from the farmers market (everything but the bacon and spices).  Not terribly relevant, but I'd like to think that very fresh ingredients do bring something to the table.

Ingredients

3 large eggs

1 medium yellow potato, small diced

1 large yellow onion, small diced

1 clove garlic, minced

2 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled

1 bunch of radish greens, washed and chopped small

small handful of cherry tomatoes, halved

1 tbsp bacon grease (or other cooking fat)

pinch of curry powder

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1.  In a medium oven safe skillet, heat the bacon grease and cook the onions with salt and pepper over medium heat until softened and slightly browned.  Add the garlic and cook another minute until fragrant.  Add the potatoes and enough liquid (water, chicken stock, etc.) to almost submerge them.  Salt and pepper, cover, and let simmer until potatoes are tender, about ten minutes.

2.  In a small bowl beat the eggs with salt, pepper, and a pinch of curry powder (trust me on this one).  Once the potatoes have finished cooking add in the radish greens, cooking until tender and wilted.  Add the bacon and cherry tomatoes, and stir to combine everything evenly.  Flatten the ingredients in the pan and pour the egg mixture in, shifting the pan to distribute the eggs.

3.  Turn on the broiler to high.  Continue cooking the fritata on the stove until the bottom 2/3 or so of the egg has set.  Remove from the stove and place under the broiler until egg is fully cooked and slightly browned.

Be sure to check out I heart Nap Time for a lot of other great recipes!

Baked eggs for breakfast? Yes please!

Like most people, I'd say my life is pretty full of routines.

Monday through Friday is the whole work thing : wake- work- sleep- repeat.  Sure, sometimes it's a drag, but I usually consider myself lucky because:

a.  I have a job, and

     b.  It's pretty awesome.

Photo of me on the job.  Not really.  Maybe?

My routines even bear their regulated head during my weekends, most notably on Saturday, a.k.a. grocery shopping day.

I never really thought grocery shopping was all that big of a deal growing up.  In the suburbs all you have to do is jump in your car, go to the store, and carry the bags into the house- no big.

Now that I live in the city, I've found things to be a bit more complicated...

Grocery shopping now involves elaborate planning (to stick to a budget), annoying transportation (about a 90 minute round trip), and the logistics of carrying/ carting back a weeks worth of groceries.

But really, the most daunting question I face before my taxing Saturday morning trek is:

What am I going to eat to fuel this shopping excursion?

Sometimes (if I roll out of bed pretty late, or kind of hung over) it's clothes on, out the door, and pick up a bagel on the way to the train.

Other mornings when I wake up early and I'm feeling a little more ambitious I take the time to make my own breakfast. And yes, it's better than a bagel.

Lately, I've been really into this quick fix:

Baked Egg with Tomato Sauce (a.k.a. Pizza Eggs)

I use up the remaining bit of pizza sauce (bear with me here) from Friday night's homemade pizza.  I imagine you could make this with any kind of tomato based sauce (leftover marinara and the like), but this particular pizza sauce is SOFUCKINGOOD!  I generally have to restrain myself from eating it straight from the pot.

Seriously though, the creamy baked eggs when combined with this sauce and a little bit of mozzarella = heaven in a ramekin.  Scoop it up with toast fingers, or eat it with a spoon- this breakfast is incredibly delicious, easy, and far more satisfying than a bodega bagel.

Baked Eggs with Tomato Sauce

serves 2

Ingredients

2 eggs (preferably from the farmers market)

1/2 cup Best Ever Pizza Sauce (or whatever you happen to have)

1/4 cup shredded mozzarella

kosher salt, black pepper, and garlic powder to taste

Directions

1.  Preheat your oven (or toaster oven) to 425F.

2.  In two small ramekins or oven safe bowls, divide half of the sauce.  Sprinkle with about a tablespoon of mozzarella each.  Crack an egg into each bowl, keeping the yolk intact.  Sprinkle with kosher salt, cracked black pepper, and garlic powder.  Cover the eggs with the remaining pizza sauce, and sprinkle on the remaining cheese.

3.  Bake for 13-15 minutes until the eggs are set.  Allow to cool a few minutes before eating, and serve with toasted bread.

Check out the Tasty Tuesday party!

Baked Eggs in Baguette- Brunch on a Lazy Saturday

Don't you just love weekends?  I've had a rather slow start to mine.  I woke up this morning at around ten (whoops!) to a winter wonderland.  It snowed!  For the first time since October!  As beautiful as it made the view from my balcony, it also made the prospect of grocery shopping completely undesirable.  (Really though it is quite a harrowing experience on the best of days.  Grocery shopping via subway is really a pain.)

So I made the smart decision to procrastinate, and instead of shopping I whipped up this:

Baked Eggs in Baguette- featuring bacon, green onions, roasted garlic, tomatoes, and jalapenos.