Left Coast Leener

I don't know what I did to the quiche today, but it was extra-delicious. It was very similar to this one, but not quite. The brown rice crust got a shake of curry powder, the spinach and mushroom filling was pre-wilted with some fresh shallots and tons of garlic along with nutmeg, and Andy sprinkled feta and cheddar liberally. The pouring components were eggs, egg whites and a bit of kefir, with a topping of Parmesan. But it was very subtle. I suspect the shallots - my latest ingredient of choice for almost everything.

I've been hearing a lot about Russians loving their multicookers, and most of them come to the U.S. and wonder why the hell they are not in better regard here. Well, it's because many Americans agree with me that a device designed to do everything doesn't do anything well. And we, Americans, tend to have the cupboard and counter space to have more specialized appliances. However, I am still a big stickler to Alton Brown's philosophy of multitasking and I refuse to buy bulky or expensive single-use items. Here I was going to write a post about my favorite appliances, but I discovered not much changed since this one.

However, this does give me the opportunity to brag about my delicious dinner, prepared with no appliances at all: rough-chopped tomatoes (not as smelly as I'd like, my local fruit-n-veg stand didn't quite come through for us today), basil from my windowsill (I just about killed it), little balls of mozzarella and a bit of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Of course, I forgot to salt it. But the liquid was awesome for bread-dipping.

I had occasion to be in the East Bay recently, and serendipitously had a bit of time to visit Berkeley Bowl. I love that place, but it's usually quite an effort for me to get out there and this is the first time I attempted it alone - I usually wait until naka_sf, marusja or royal_penguin can accompany me. So one of the things I love about BB is the bargain bin. This time, I initially spotted broccoli but put it back - I recently had a bad experience where I didn't make it fast enough and it went weird, and besides, I have it frozen. Then I got a giant bag of really tiny thin green asparagus and thick white ones - these became delicious soup today, with shallots, garlic, bay leaf and a bit of turkey broth and milk. Then I saw a bag of tiny artichokes. Oh, how I love artichokes. But I've never had experience with anything other than canned and disassembled (at least when I've prepared them). I also recently watched a PBS show called Gourmet's Diary of a Foodie where they showed these Italians deep-frying them, to the point where the leaves are like chips and the soft parts are creamy. Immediately, I fantasized about how I'd take them home and make such deliciousness, but I put them back soon thereafter. For you see, I lack the courage to deep-fry such objects. They held them with their bare hands! Sure I could look up which parts I should take out (there are inedible parts, I hear) and how to fry them in which oil, but I would probably also cover my entire kitchen with splatter, burn myself all over and the results might not be as awesome as those Italians achieve after generations of experience. And so, fried artichokes return to the realm of television and fantasy.

Combined with a lot of crusty frozen sourdough, cracked eggs are a good thing. Savory french toast for breakfast tomorrow:

Carve up crusty bread and soak it in a combination of 4 eggs, about a cup of milk, about a half cup of buttermilk (ran out of regular milk here), garlic powder, lemon pepper, salt and if you like, a little curry powder.

We'll see tomorrow, but really, I'm not expecting anything but custardy goodness.

There is a specific name for a dish you make out of ingredients that are about to go bad but haven't quite yet?

I combined chicken broth, hulled millet, dried mushrooms, crimini mushrooms, canned spinach, fresh spinach, garlic, oregano and thyme. It was toward the end that it occurred to me that it would have been better had I blended the spinach before adding the millet and the mushrooms. So I had to choice but to puree the whole done thing. Still superior with sour cream!

I've made various savory pies before, and I've even helped make quiche while visiting my friend Ruth's aunt in a commune in Davis, but never have I actually made it on my own before.

A bit over one cup of leftover brown rice, mixed with 1 egg and some egg whites, bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese, pressed into an ovenproof frying pan - who needs cake pans when you have these awesome babies? Bake at 425 for about 5-7 minutes or until it looks dry.

Fill with a mixture of whatever veg you've got on hand. I used zucchini, spinach, broccoli and mushrooms with a bit of garlic and scallions. Mix in grated cheese, feta, a bit of yogurt cheese and season with salt, pepper and a bit of nutmeg. Carefully transfer into the crust and cover with a mixture of beaten eggs (I think I had 2) and a bit of milk. I also put some cheese on top of that, but that's just me. Bake at 425 for 10 minutes, then at 350 until the center is firm, about 30 minutes.

ETA: Not only does Andy like it, he likes it more than the average!

Born out of laziness:

1 cup of brown rice in a rice cooker, with 2 cups of water, curry powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 3 cloves of sliced garlic, a bit of cilantro, lemongrass paste, about a third of a brick of tofu - cubed, and a few frozen slabs of marinated and precooked zucchini/eggplant combo from TJ's - sliced. Now, to decide if I want to eat this with coconut milk or toasted onions on top...

Update: Eating with coconut milk, interrupted by the desire to photograph spilled spices.

Second Update: I loved it, Andy hated it.

Andy saw a loaf of Boudin Sourdough in his office that was getting stale and asked the owner for it. Why would we want stale bread? For the best casserole in the world, of course!

Cube stale bread to about 1", spray with butter or equitable substitute and toast. Layer in a loaf pan (or comparable) with tomato sauce* and shredded cheese. Before the last layer of cheese, pour a bit of milk (anywhere from a half-cup to 3/4) into the bread in a thin stream to make it all nice and custard-y. Bake at 375 for about 20-25 minutes until GBD**.

There will not be pictures. It is gone, gone, gone.

* The latest iteration was achieved by pulse-blending a can of tomatoes, 3 large cloves of garlic, a little pre-packaged sauce and a bunch of basil from my windowsill. A big handful of spinach leaves was inserted for health/guilt considerations.
** Golden, brown and delicious, per Alton Brown.

My parents are visiting, so among the perpetual difficulties is figuring out what to feed them. My father is diabetic and very picky about herbs. Cilantro and parsley type stuff. My (atheist) mother keeps kosher, and now she's keeping kosher for passover. Not sure if she's going Sephardic or Ashkenazi (she's half and half), but she didn't even know if starter was allowed, so we think she's pretty liberal with that. She also doesn't like soy milk and a host of other things, and I also ran out of some things like baking soda. Also, I intend to make a roast tomorrow (if Andy manages to fix the remote thermometer that Churka divided into two), and this means no dairy. I have well-documented food issues and Andy deserves some consideration, too.

So I found use of my opened half-can of corn - a modified vegan corn muffin recipe:

1 egg
1/2 can cornmeal (subtract the amount of liquid from the 1 cup below)
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
a bit of vegetable oil
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup ground flax seed meal

Preheat oven to 450F/230C, grease six muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners. Combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder, flax and salt. Add water, eviscerated corn, egg and oil. Spoon into cups, bake for 10-15 minutes until the usual things happen.

Pictures when Andy fixes my bluetooth and I figure out how to use my nifty new FTP server!

We're starting the большой ремонт! Packing up the kitchen and the dining room, filling our garage with building materials, and thinking about stuffing the freezer with easy leftovers. rostovtseva posted an awesome recipe I bastertized. I'll probably also make bread casserole and some kind of lasagna... What else freezes and nukes or toasts well?