Chilean Quiche

Didn’t I just sweep this floor last night?  Those were my exact thoughts as I was yet again, sweeping the floor after washing dishes and placing them in the dishwasher after dinner yesterday.  How did so much dust and dirt can accumulate in just ONE day?  I went to work in the morning and came back home in the evening.  I’m certain that all wasn’t me, was it?  How much dust can heels really attract to a 2nd story apartment?

This weekend was incredible!  I deep cleaned most of the house and it felt wonderful!  About a week ago, MigL wonderfully surprised me with a completely rearranged living room.  What a complete shock!  After having a long, frustratingly busy day week at work, his wonderful surprise was like a breath of fresh air.  Simply refreshing.  Anyway, an incredibly clean house inspired a give me a pan and some food to cook kind of moment.  Saturday night I made chocolate croissants, cinnamon oatmeal raisin cookies, a Chilean quiche (recipe below), lentils and Spanish rice.  I also cooked some Trader Joe’s Indian chicken (I can’t remember the name right now), and made a yogurt sauce alongside some grilled chicken.  Lots of good food – good thing the fridge was empty!  I also marinated some chicken for what was supposed to be chicken masala, except I forgot to throw it on the grill.  Marinades are still good for a few days, aren’t they?  Anyway,I was in cooking bliss! The following morning I made some oatmeal waffles (so divine) and mustered up the courage to make some granola.  I’ve wanted to make granola for the last few months; essential ingredients were never there when I wanted to make them.  Actually it seemed a bit intimidating.  Granola?  Yep, granola.  Have you been to the grocery store lately to buy granola?  Have you seen those ridiculous prices??  $5.00 and up.  Thanks, but no thanks.

Cutting back on costs have been my goal lately, so I figured, I love granola for breakfast – why not make my own?  I’ll post the recipe later this week, but it was OK for my first try.  I couldn’t get past the ginger taste.  Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy ginger in Indian cuisine.  But this, I just wasn’t 100% sold.  After I made granola, I ventured into concocting my own homemade granola by perusing through Food Network and Cooking Light websites and picking pieces here and there.  Unfortunately I wasn’t able to make them because I had run out of oats on my first and only batch of gingery granola.  Rats!  I suppose the next time the grocery shopping is done oats is definitely going to be the #1 item on the list.

Chilean Quiche

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes
Servings: 6
WW Points: 3

Ingredients

3 sheets of frozen phyllo dough, cut lengthwise in half
1/4 cup fat free cheddar cheese
4 large eggs
1 cup fat free milk
10 oz frozen spinach, defrosted, drained and chopped
1/4 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
2 tbsp sliced green olives

Directions

Preheat the oven at 350 degrees.  Spray a 9-inch cake pan with cooking spray.

Cover the phyllo dough in a plastic cover and a damp towel to prevent the dough to dry.  Place 1 phyllo dough in the cake pan to form a base. spray quickly with cooking spray.  Place the second sheet on top with the corners located in different angles than the first; spray with cooking spray.  Repeat this process with the rest of the phyllo dough but don’t spray with cooking spray.  Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the inferior part of the dough.

Beat the eggs and milk in a large bowl.  Add the spinach, black beans and olives.  Spread mixture into the cake pan.  Cook to about 45 minutes, until the knife comes out clean after you place it through the center of the dish.  Cut into 6 pieces and serve immediately.

Latin cook’s notes

This recipe was incredibly yummy and so filling!  I replaced black beans with garbanzo beans (chickpeas) and omitted the olives, only to find out after I’d already cooked the recipe I did indeed have sliced black olives.  Hpmh!  I used pastry dough instead of phyllo dough; however, in my head, I swear I was using phyllo!  It wasn’t until I was supposed to lay out these “layers” that I realized, uh oh, this isn’t exactly phyllo dough.  Oh well.  I was really wiped out from all of the fun cooking I’d accomplished in a mere three hours.  You know what they say, sometimes disasters can turn into amazing wonders!  This was definitely the case for the Chilean quiche.  It had a nice flaky golden crust, almost like those freshly baked biscuits, fresh out of the oven.  The texture was one of a kind and melded in perfectly with the quiche.  Tomorrow, I’m definitely planning on having leftovers for lunch and pairing it with a yummy salad.  Filling food, here I come!

I’ll post pictures later on this week – I’m so tired!

Now Open: Berkeley’s Cinnaholic attracts big lines, vegans, tattoos - Paolo Lucchesi

I totally want to try a vegan cinnamon bun!

Now Open: Berkeley’s Cinnaholic attracts big lines, vegans, tattoos - Paolo Lucchesi

Chocolate Caramel Tart UPdate

It worked, it worked!!  After my last post, I checked up on the tart after I’d stuck it in the fridge for three hours and it finally set!  I briefly touched the chocolate shell last night to make sure it set, and I was uberly pleased!  I came home tonight and found that a little mouse had delved into my chocolate tart!

So before the little mouse took more of it, I served myself up a piece to try out the new recipe.

Oh man, I must say it was deliciously worth the wait!  MigL (I mean, the little mouse) didn’t care for the caramel.  I, on the other hand, loved the caramel!  It definitely reminded me of a Twix bar, just with a much harder shell/crust.  I used Ghirardelli chocolate for the top layer.  We both agreed that the chocolate was a bit too strong by itself, but paired with the crust, they actually surprisingly balanced each other out.  MigL is such a chocoholic.  He would be more than happy to have just the crust and chocolate.  I’ll have to try that method out soon.  I’m sure he’ll eat much more of it than I will when I make it that way.  However this was definitely the best dessert I’ve ever had; I’ll have to keep this in my repertoire!

Did I mention that I caught the stove on fire while I was baking the crust?  I saw smoke coming out from one of the back burners of the stove, so I peered over it, opened the oven and voila!  Two pieces of crust that had fallen onto the very bottom of the oven were on fire!  I swiftly moved the burning bread out of the way with a knife.  Fire averted!  Phew!

Chiles Rellenos, Chocolate Caramel Tart with Sea Salt and Rice Pudding

Yesterday was an unbelievably great morning for breakfast!  I can’t believe I’ve never made poached eggs!  The moment felt like when Julie Powell tasted eggs for the first time in Julie & Julia.   Sometimes cooking works out great the first time, and in this case, I’m glad it turned out divine!  I paired my poached egg with toast and some green salsa.  Yum!

I’m also happy to report that I made the Chocolate Caramel Tart with Sea Salt yesterday like I promised.  However, the chocolate still looks like soup. Meh.  I placed it in the refrigerator about 3 hours ago and I hope it hardens soon!  I’m so eager to take a bite out of it! 

I was super ecstatic when I realized I had made caramel – I LOVE caramel!

A lovely glazed layer of chocolate on top of the caramel.

I also found a recipe for stuffed peppers, or in my case, a new and improved way of making Chiles Rellenos.  It’s super easy!

Refried Bean Poblanos with Cheese

Prep: 2 minutes
Cooking time: 6 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Serving size: 2 stuffed chile halves

Ingredients
4  medium poblano chiles, halved and seeded
1  (16-ounce) can fat-free refried beans
1  (8.8-ounce) pouch microwaveable cooked long-grain rice (such as Uncle Ben's Original Ready Rice)
1/2  cup  picante sauce
1  cup  (4 ounces) preshredded reduced-fat 4-cheese Mexican blend cheese
Chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

Directions
Place chile halves, cut sides up, on a round microwave-safe plate. Cover with wax paper; microwave at HIGH 3 minutes.

While chiles cook, combine beans, rice, and picante sauce in a medium bowl, stirring well. Spoon bean mixture evenly into chile halves. Cover with wax paper; microwave at HIGH 2 minutes. Uncover chiles, sprinkle each half with 2 tablespoons cheese, and microwave at HIGH 1 to 2 minutes or until cheese melts. Sprinkle evenly with cilantro, if desired.

Latin Cook’s notes
I didn’t have Poblano peppers, so I used Pasilla peppers; I also figured I’d use up the Jasmine Rice I’d previously made instead of buying some microwave long-grain rice.  I used green salsa instead of Picante – there seems to be much less salt in the green sauce.  Plus we’ve found that it’s tastier than the red salsas.  However, the dish was incredibly tasty and super easy to make.  Just be careful – this dish will be hot (temperature wise) when you take it out of the microwave.  The next time I make it, I think I’ll take the seeds out of the Pasilla pepper.  It was a bit too spicy for MigL; I, on the other hand, loved the spicy kick.

I also made some Caribbean Coconut Rice Pudding.  See recipe below.

Ingredients
1/2 cup Jasmine Rice
2 cups whole milk
2 cups coconut milk
1/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp raisins
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions
Wash the rice thoroughly in several changes of water, put in a deep pot.  Add milk, coconut milk and rice, bring to a boil.  Lower the heat and cook milk gently boiling for 1 hour or until the rice is thoroughly cooked and the milk has thickened to a pudding consistency.  Add sugar and vanilla extract, cook about another 5 minutes.  Distribute the pudding into 4 serving dishes and garnish with raisins and coconut flakes.  Chill for 1 hour before serving.

Latin Cook’s notes
I used Golden Star Jasmine Rice for the rice pudding.  I didn’t have whole milk on hand, so I used 1% and used light coconut milk.  I forgot to add raisins at the very end for garnish!  Oh well. I was incredibly excited that I’d made rice pudding for the first time :)

For tonight’s dinner I made my mother-in-law’s famous Stuffed Zucchini.  They turned out perfect!  I was a bit worried I’d forgotten an ingredient and I’d meant to write down the recipe while she was here visiting us for the 4th of July weekend.

Need to get to bed – it’s going to be a long day tomorrow!

African Curried Coconut Soup with Chickpeas

I was having a hankering for curry today and initially went to look through my Modern Spice cookbook that I won through a blog.  I was a bit disappointed there weren’t any curry recipes.  So after browsing online I looked through some recipes at Epicurious.com and came across an African Curried Coconut Soup with Chickpeas and decided this would be the recipe that would be for tonight’s dinner.  During my browsing quest, I also found a Curried Smoke Chicken and Wild Rice Salad and a Zucchini Curry that I definitely want to try soon!

 

African Curried Coconut Soup with Chickpeas

Ingredients

2 tbsp canola oil
1 medium onion (about 6 ounces), chopped
1 medium red bell pepper (about 6 ounces), chopped
1 jalapeño chili, seeded and finely chopped
2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1 (15-oz) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 cup chopped tomatoes, seeded and peeled, fresh or canned
1 tsp mild curry powder
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 (14-oz) can light coconut milk
3/4 cup cooked white or brown rice
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro or parsley (optional)

Directions

In a medium stockpot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, and chili; cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Add the broth, chickpeas, tomatoes, curry powder, salt, and black pepper; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer gently, uncovered, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 5 minutes. Serve warm.

Latin cook’s notes

When you think of curry, the first term you might think of is “spicy”.  This dish didn’t have the usual spice you would have thought. I was completely amazed at how the coconut added such a subtle flavor, yet it enveloped the entire dish and deterred any hotness from the jalapeno; and I appreciated that the spices weren’t overpowering.  Once I added the soup on top of the Basmati rice, oh my!  It was the perfect dish.  I actually didn’t add the rice to the soup as suggested in the directions.  Once I served myself some rice, I added the “soup” on top of the rice.  There was a party definitely going on in my mouth!  I was very pleased to hear from the hubby that this dish is another he would eat again if I made it in the future.   I also popped some Trader Joe’s Garlic Naan into the oven.  Now that makes a complete meal.