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Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Wilde in the World - Oxford

After a week on conferencing in Geneva, we made a quick stopover in the UK for a meeting. Specifically, we went to Oxford. I've been to London before and there is no comparing the two cities. While London is loud and speckled with skyscrapers, Oxford is quiet, quaint and mostly historic.  Case in point - I stayed in a prison.


Tuesday, April 22, 2014

CTB 2014 - Pillsbury Best Cookies Cookbook

Last week a few people at work asked me what I was going to bake for Easter. I replied - "Nothing." I don't really cook for holidays and you all know that a blogger bakes holiday foods way before the actual holiday. I was making Thanksgiving sides by Halloween. Christmas candy in late November. Valentine's day treat for Presidents day. But seriously, I'm not really a holiday blogger.


I may get lucky and make something green around St. Patrick's Day, like a salad, or whip up something patriotic around the Fourth of July. A good bet though, if you are in need of a holiday treat, you may want to hit up another blog! Holidays seem to sneak up on me and it's all of a sudden the week after Easter and I'm buying Cadbury mini eggs on sale at CVS.


This year I think I have an excuse. Of the past four weeks, I've been out of town for three of them. Maybe I'll start celebrating foreign holidays? Heading to London, Berlin & Sydney next month - time to research what English, German and Australian people celebrate in May!

Thursday, April 17, 2014

CTB 2014 - La Tartine Gourmande

With all of this traveling, I definitely miss a home cooked meal. So does one other person - the boyfriend! After I returned home from my most recent trip, he complained that he was tired of trying to figure out what to have for dinner. I'm thinking of leaving him with a bunch of casseroles and freezer meals when I leave for my next trip.


Something that makes for a perfect make-ahead meal is a quiche. I'm a fan of fresh quiche, cold quiche the next day for breakfast and microwaved quiche for dinner later in the week. It's such a versatile meal too! Go meatless and add all of the vegetables from your crisper drawer. Make it manly and add sausage and hunks of cheese. The quiche is one of my favorite - Empty out the fridge - meals.


This quiche comes from La Tartine Gourmande cookbook, with a few minor changes. The recipe called for Jerusalem artichokes and I just couldn't find them at the grocery store. I'm pretty sure it was also supposed to be a frittata, but I don't have a large non-stick pan. I did however have a pie crust and no one is going to complain about a buttery pie crust.

One Year Ago: Granola Cookie Wedges
Two Years Ago: Cookie Dough Fudge
Three Years Ago: Cookie Dough Egg Rolls

Potato, spinach & asparagus Quiche with Cumin
Adapted from La Tartine Gourmande

1 pre-packaged pie crust
10 stalks of asparagus, cut into 2-inch pieces
Olive oil
1 cup packed spinach leaves
1/2 red onion, sliced thin
7 ounces Yukon gold potatoes, sliced thin
5 large eggs
1 teaspoon cumin

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Roll out pie crust into a deep-dish pie pan.  Line pie shell with aluminum foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans.  Bake pie crust for 10 minutes.  Begin preparing vegetables while the pie crust bakes.  Let it rest on a wire rack while you finish prepping the veggies.

Blanch asparagus in boiling water for 2 minutes, until they are bright green.  Drain water and rinse with cold water.  Place in a large bowl while you prepare the remaining vegetables.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add spinach and cook until wilted.  Remove and add to the bowl with the asparagus.  Add 1 tablespoon more oil to the pan and add red onion.  Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 5 minutes or until the onions are softened.  Add the potatoes and spread evenly over the pan.  Add 1/2 cup of water and cover with a lid.  Cook for 15 minutes, remove lid.  Cook until potatoes are tender.  Add contents of the pan to the asparagus and spinach.

Add eggs and cumin to the vegetables and stir to combine.  Pour vegetables and eggs into the pre-baked pie crust.  Place in the oven and bake for 35-45 minutes or until the center of the quiche is set and no longer eggy.  Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

Wrap the quiche tightly.  Quiche re-heats really well and will be a great meal for the rest of the week.
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