Bacon, Brussels sprouts and Onion Quiche

I opened my fridge yesterday looking for something to eat, and I was assaulted by some of its contents that came flying out at poor unsuspecting me! Mind you, it was 3pm and I had not eaten breakfast or lunch so needless to say, I was totally unimpressed by the turn of events. Unimpressed and hungry as I was, I knew it was my own doing and a fridge clean-out was definitely the order of the day….well! What was left of the day anyway.

A quick glance and almost as brutal as the attack of my butter dish on my right elbow a few seconds ago, the idea of QUICHE lodged itself in my culinary head. I had everything right there glaring at me. If I had left-over roast chicken or any other vegetables that would have been a different story. But screaming out at me was some bacon wrapped in plastic wrap, some left over brussel sprouts that didn't make it into the last dish and a chunk of mozzarella from the previous time I made pizza.

So here goes! Get creative with those left-overs, all meat, no meat, more cheese, less cheese....the possibilities are endless...

Ingredients

4 strips of bacon diced

2 cups brussel sprouts sliced thinly

1 medium onion diced

6 eggs

1 cup milk

1 cup grated mozzarella cheese (or any other soft cheese you prefer)

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat your oven to 400F and grease your baking pan. For this I used a rectangular glass dish approximately 6 x11 inches.

Heat a skillet and cook the bacon till slightly crispy. You don’t need oil as the bacon will cook in its own fat. Drain off some of the bacon fat if there’s too much.  Add the onion and brussel sprouts to the bacon and cook for a few minutes till vegetables are just tender and sprouts and still bright green.

While that’s cooking and cooling off slightly, whisk the eggs, milk and cheese in a large bowl.  Season it with salt and pepper.

Now mix the bacon mixture into the custard and pour into the greased pan.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes. The top will brown and to make sure it’s done, insert a knife and it should come out almost clean.

Voila! While munching on some almonds trying to appease my hunger and waiting for my quiche to get done, I cleaned and reorganized my fridge. Now back to square one and ready to restock.....but not before I sit down, put my feet up and chow down. 

Brown Bag Apples

So I was at the grocery store browsing the produce section when the “I’m so loving my job bagging apples “ guy  asked me if I’d like a bag……of apples, that is. To be honest, I didn’t really want them but because he was so friendly, with his infectious pearly white smile, raving about how good they were I said OK. At the checkout, I realized that this so called bargain bag cost me about $10 for about 15 Gala apples. Ah well, I thought, I’m sure we can eat those before they go bad on me.

3 weeks later, 5 lonely apples are still staring at me from the bowl on the kitchen counter, just like they were from the day I brought them home. Not wanting to throw them out, after all they did keep me company for 3 whole weeks; I decided to make a quick dessert that even I might like. I’m not really into desserts, but this one blew me away and I’ll surely be making it a lot more when those 2 trees I have start dropping fruit like confetti at the close of a Las Vegas show!

Ingredients for Baked Apples

4 apples peeled, cored and sliced into wedges

Juice from 1 lemon

3 tsp brown sugar

½ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp pure vanilla extract

Walnuts or raisins 

½ stick butter

Extra sugar for sprinkling

Heat your oven to 400F.

Juice the lemon into a bowl and add the sugar, cinnamon and vanilla extract.

As you’re slicing the apples, toss into the bowl and coat with the mixture so they don’t turn brown. The lemon juice will prevent oxidation.

Grease a pie dish or small ramekins (I prefer to make individual ones) and arrange apple slices in some kind of pattern or no pattern at all. Pour any remaining juice into the ramekins.

Place a small pat of butter over the apples and cover with foil.

Bake for about 20 minutes, remove from oven and sprinkle some brown sugar over the top.

Bake uncovered for 15 minutes or until the sugar has caramelized.

What’s apple pie without ice cream right? Once they cool a bit, top with some vanilla ice cream and some apple chips.

The chips are so easy to make. Slice some rounds off a whole apple, as thin as you possibly can. Place on a a flat surface like the back of a baking sheet and sprinkle generously with some brown sugar. Bake in the same oven that you just baked the apples in. After 10 minutes, turn off the oven and let the chips sit in there for about 5 minutes.  Pry them away while they’re still warm to prevent them from sticking when the sugar hardens. Let them cool and trust me, they will crisp.

You can easily make this ahead, refrigerate and just heat it up as you feel that need for an “apple pie” fix…enjoy!

Pickle-Spiced Chicken with Butternut Squash Risotto

Having lived in California for almost 14 years, I am still amazed by the bounty of beautiful fruit, vegetables and herbs, which not only grace store shelves, farmers market stalls and little road side stands, but the trees that are so laden just in my street alone! Silicon Valley might be noted for being world leader in technology and innovations but I sure note it for the fact that I can walk my dog, pick some fruit off neighbors’ trees and come home with enough fruit for a fruit salad for 3 days!

So why waste this wealth…I started pickling, making jams, chutneys, sauces, and whatever else my culinary mind could come up with. Pickling spice has become a staple ingredient in my pantry and lo and behold, the idea for this recipe.

Ingredients for Pickling Spice

(This is sort of what is used in making Achar. I usually get a blend from South Africa, but with the vast amounts I’ve been using recently I had to conjure up my own version.)

1cup crushed red chili

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp black mustard seeds

1 tsp fenugreek seeds

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp granulated garlic

Mix together and store in airtight jar. To actually use this as a pickle mix, I add a few more ingredients but for this recipe we will use the above.

Marinate Chicken

4 chicken breasts

3 Tbs of the above mix

¼ cup plain yogurt

½ tsp salt

Mix everything together and marinate for about an hour in the fridge. Bake in 400F oven for 35 minutes. Make sure you slather the marinade over and cover it with foil for the for the first 20 minutes. Bake uncovered for another 10 to 15 minutes till this nice crust is formed over the chicken.

  In the meantime you can make the risotto which is nice and creamy, slightly sweet and a wonderful accompaniment to the spicy chicken. Also you don’t need a sauce or gravy because this rice dish is so moist.

Ingredients for Butternut Squash Risotto

Half stick butter

Half butternut squash cubed

Half medium onion diced

1 clove garlic crushed

1 cup brown rice

2 cups chicken stock or water

Salt and pepper to taste

On medium heat, melt the butter in a non-stick pan. Sauté the onion and garlic till translucent. Add rice and squash and toast lightly. Add small amounts of the stock and stir till it’s almost absorbed. Keep adding small amounts of stock, stirring often for a nice smooth consistency. Brown rice takes longer to cook and you might need to add more stock or water. If you choose any other rice it will be a lot faster. Cook till rice is  done and the starch renders into the stock to make a creamy base.

Be not afraid for this entire ensemble takes less than an hour to put together (if you marinated the chicken already) and you will even have time to grill some zucchini or  asparagus on the side without it taking too much of that precious time we all hold on to so endearingly.

Spinach & Potato Curry

A very vivid memory of my childhood is that of my grandmother in her garden, barefoot with cracked heels, an old doek (scarf) wrapping her head as she’s bent over lovingly tending the fruits of her labor. She nurtured her plants like she did us boisterous, naughty, snotty-nosed kids….all seven of us!  Just like her vegetable garden where she found peace and solace, her weather beaten face relaxing into an almost trance-like state, she acquired that same look when she fed us her freshly cooked garden pickings, cooked on the old coal stove.  Every time I eat any kind of cooked greens, I think of her and the loving memories she made for us. This dish especially transports me like a time machine right to that very garden in Sea Cow Lake.

Ingredients for Spinach & Potato Curry

1 medium onion diced

1 tsp cumin

Half tsp mustard seeds

4 to 5 dried red chilies

2 medium potatoes large cubes

1 tsp masala

Half tsp turmeric

2 cloves garlic chopped

1 large bag or 2 small bags of fresh spinach

1 tomato diced

Salt

Coat a pan with oil and heat onion, cumin, mustard seeds and chilies. When onion is translucent, add the potatoes, garlic, turmeric and masala lightly browning them. Add spinach and tomato. Cook till potatoes are done and water has evaporated. Adjust salt as you go. Remember the spinach wilts down to nothing so it’s better to add salt at the end.

Enjoy it as a meal like I do, or as a side dish to your other favorite memorable dishes.

Durban Style Mince Kebabs in Tomato Chutney

If you’re a chili head like most Durbanites, you know there’s no going back to bland tasteless meals that lacks a punch and that ability to set your mouth ablaze in a very satisfying way. You know you want something that will satisfy that curry craving and won’t take several hours to prepare. Here is my recipe for a quick satisfying meal that can be eaten with rice, “shop” bread or rolled in a roti. Almost as famous as the Bunny Chow, a Kebab and Roti Wrap can be found in most take-away or dine in cafes in Durban. 

Ingredients for Kebabs

2 pounds ground lamb which is traditional but beef or pork is just as tasty

Half medium onion finely diced

3 green chilli finely chopped

Handful of chopped cilantro

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp mixed masala

1 tsp ginger and garlic paste

1 tsp salt

Mix everything together well and form into 1 and half inch size meatballs.

Heat a non-stick pan with enough oil to coat the surface and brown meatballs on all sides….they don’t have to cook all the way through. Do them in batches if you have to. It’s a quick process. You don’t want to scorch the oil cos we’re making the chutney in the same pan and same oil. You can always add more oil if you need. I usually have a big enough pan to brown all of them at the same time.

Chutney

Half medium onion diced

2 cloves garlic chopped

1 tsp cumin seeds

Quarter tsp turmeric

1 tsp Masala

Salt, pinch of sugar and splash of vinegar to taste.

5 chopped tomatoes

Add everything to the meatballs in the pan except tomatoes and fry lightly. Add tomatoes and cook till it breaks down. Adjust seasoning and garnish with cilantro. 

If this doesn't doesn't hit that chili head nerve, then you have to take that trip down to the southern hemisphere to that city called Durbs by the sea!