Snowpocalypse Quiche!

Quiche is probably one of my top three favorite breakfast foods. It's a perfect blend of creamy, eggy goodness and the possibilities are endless (or only limited by what you have in your fridge). 

And the best part? Quiche is ridiculously easy to make.

So, when the latest chapter in the Snowpocalypse of 2014 meant that I got to spend the morning home with the dog, a pot of coffee, and Olympic hockey, I knew a bowl of cereal wasn't going to cut it. 

I was lucky enough to have a good mix of ingredients laying around just begging to be made into a quiche and that was all the incentive I needed. 

I had 5 or 6 slices of bacon in the fridge, so I started by cutting it into 1/2 inch pieces and fried them over medium-high heat until almost crispy. Then I removed the bacon from the pan, and drained all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat from the pan, being sure to leave the little crispy bits behind, too. 

While the bacon was cooking, I had minced 3 cloves of garlic that I then sautéed in the bacon fat. After it started to get soft and fragrant (about 1 minute), I added an 8 oz. container of sliced, fresh mushrooms to the pan with 1/2 tablespoon of butter. I sautéed them over medium heat, stirring occasionally, and covered them after they started to look cooked on both sides, to let the steam help them soften completely and to marry the flavors. 

Meanwhile, I set the oven to 350 and made the egg mixture. Usually three eggs and 1 1/2 cups of half and half is the perfect amount if you have a regular pie dish, but I only had a really shallow pre-made pie crust in a pan in the freezer (note to self: be more specific when sending the hubby to get pre-made pie crust... I'm a big fan of the Pillsbury pie crusts). And if you're like me, and love your quiche packed with yummy ingredients, you'll want to cut the liquid down by 1/4 or so. 

A note about the half and half: you can get away with using whole milk if that's all you have, it just won't be as creamy. Some recipes call for straight up heavy cream, but I like to at least pretend that I'm being health conscious sometimes. ;-)

I beat the eggs and cream together until well-blended, with some freshly ground pepper and sea salt added as well. We have some smoked sea salt in our salt cellar at the moment so I added a pinch of that, too.

Assembly is easy: put the bacon and mushrooms in the bottom of the crust, grate some cheese on top (I used a blend of Cabot's Seriously Sharp cheddar and asiago). About 1/4- 1/2 cup of grated cheese is good... I usually eyeball it. Then pour the egg mixture on top.

The final, secret ingredient to an amazing quiche is a sprinkling of nutmeg on the top. The sweet, nuttiness is the perfect flavor to offset the richness of the egg and dairy. 

Pop that baby in the oven for 20-25 minutes (35-40 for deep dish) until the quiche is set, and you're done!

Remember that you can sautée some chopped broccoli, red peppers, onion, etc. Whatever you have laying around. Mix up the cheeses too: smoked Gouda, American, Parmesan, feta. If you like it in an omelette, it'll be awesome in a quiche!

Asiago-Cheddar Bacon Mushroom Quiche

1 pre-made pie crust

5-6 slices of bacon, cut into 1/2 pieces

2-3 cloves of garlic, minced

8 oz. of sliced, fresh mushrooms

1/2 tablespoon of butter

3 eggs

1 1/2 cup of half-and-half

1/4-1/3 cup of sharp cheddar/ asiago cheese blend, grated 

1/2 teaspoon of salt

Pepper to taste

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Cook bacon over medium-high heat until almost crispy. Remove bacon from pan and set aside. Drain oil from the pan, leaving behind about 1 tablespoon. 

2. Sautée garlic in bacon fat until soft and fragrant (2-3 minutes). Add butter and mushrooms. Sautée over medium heat, stirring occasionally. When mushrooms look cooked on both sides, cover and sautée until softened and cooked through. 

3. Mix eggs, half-and-half, salt and pepper in a bowl until well-blended. 

4. Place pie crust in pie pan. Place bacon and mushrooms in the bottom, followed by the grated cheese. Pour the egg mixture on top and sprinkle with nutmeg. 

5. Bake for 20-25 minutes (35-40 for deep dish) until eggs are set and starting to brown on top. Let it cool for 5-10 minutes before serving. 

Slow cooker Thai Curry Soup

It's that time of year again... Soup weather!!

When my honey woke up yesterday morning with a nasty head cold, I knew it was time to break out the crock pot and make some curry based soup to help clear up his sinuses. 

Even if you're not sick, this flavorful, Thai curry inspired recipe is sure to warm you up on a chilly day! 

Enjoy!

Slow-cooker Thai Curry Soup

The beauty of this recipe is that it's completely customizable and almost 100% fool-proof! If you already have a favorite curry recipe, you can adapt that, too, which is what I did!

Ingredients

2 tablespoons of red curry paste

2 cans of coconut milk (usually between 12-14 oz. per can)

2 cups of stock (I like to use either garden vegetable or low-sodium chicken)

2 tablespoons of fish sauce

2 tablespoons of brown sugar

2 tablespoons of peanut butter (or if you have it, Thai peanut sauce)

1 1/2- 2 lbs of chicken breasts or seitan, cut into bite size pieces

1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1/2 large onion, diced

1 tablespoon of freshly minced ginger

2 6-inch stalks of lemongrass

1/2 lb. of white mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

1-2 teaspoons of siracha or red chili sauce, to taste (optional)

1 cup of frozen peas

1 tablespoon of lime juice

White or jasmine rice (optional)

Instructions

1. Mix the curry paste, coconut milk, stock, fish sauce, brown sugar and peanut butter in a 4-6 quart slow cooker. Use a whisk to blend the ingredients thoroughly. Add the chicken, pepper, onion, ginger, mushrooms and siracha. Lastly, bruise the lemongrass stalks by bending them in 3 or 4 places to release the aroma and flavor, and add to the pot. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours.

2. Add the peas and cook for another 15-30 minutes. Cook rice while waiting. 

3. Finally, stir in the lime juice and then serve with or without rice. 

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

I know I'm two days late, but I had a busy weekend, and so I'm posting my Cinco de Mayo post today for your enjoyment. It's not really Mexican either, but Fernando Obradors is probably one of the best Spanish song composers (IMHO). This little number is romantic and more than a little flirtatious. The translation is below the video, and take note of the piano accompaniment and how it mimics the sound of a classical guitar. Enjoy!

Translation: Of the softest hair, that you wear in braids, I will make a rope in order to draw you to my side./ A jug in your house, beloved, I wish to be, so that I may kiss your lips whenever you take a drink.

I'm Back!

Wow!!

It has been forever since I've posted here... eep...

My life has kind of turned upside down since my last post here. I've moved away to a bigger metropolitan area where I can get more professional singing gigs.

When I first moved, however, there was not much singing going on besides what I did in the shower. The full-time job I had taken had a full schedule that just didn't permit me to do any serious performing. I did find an amazing vocal coach and so I spent a lot of time studying and fixing technique.

Now the busy season is over and I've been picking up some singing gigs, which is making me very happy. I just finished up a run of La Boheme with an opera company and I auditioned for another company last night. I also have a concert and a competition coming up at the end of the month, so that's taking up most of my free time.

The big piece I'm singing for the concert is the Gavotte from Massanet's "Manon." It's a spectacular aria and it has been preformed by a great many wonderful sopranos. I think my favorite is Natalie Dessay's rendition, by far... probably because she's a native French speaker and can really  do wonderful contextual things with the piece.

Anyway, I'll stop rambling and share it with you!

Happy Feast of the Assumption!!

May Our Blessed Mother watch over and protect us all!!

Mary: The Milk and Cookies of Catholicism

Many Kudos to Fr. Z for linking through to this from his blog.

It resonated particularly with me, as I've been calling upon Our Lady through her various titles a lot recently, and I'm also working through the preparation to renew my Consecration to Mary for the Feast of the Assumption. It really was well timed, and sums up quite well how I feel about my devotion to Our Blessed Mother.

USCCB Media Blog: Devotion to Mary: The Milk and Cookies of Catholicism

Eric Whitacre and Opening Your Ears

Eric Whitacre is one of the world's greatest living choral composers, in my humble opinion. I was first exposed to his work in my freshman year of University, when our Chamber Choir studied his piece entitled "Water Night." It was also my first exposure to singing modern choral works, as prior to that my experience had been limited to Renaissance/ Sacred Polyphony.

Technically, this is one of the more challenging pieces I've worked on as a chorister. Whitacre's changing metre, long and demanding legato phrasing, and dense harmonic washes are difficult enough to master, but in this piece what was more challenging were the moments of perfect unison between the voice parts. When achieved, it takes the listener's breath away.

Whitacre's music also taught me something besides the technical challenges. This piece taught me to open my ears and to realise that there is so much beautiful music that works well outside of the traditional harmonic structures I'd been used to singing and listening to. "Water Night" isn't a difficult piece to open your ears and mind to, simply because of its transcendent beauty, but it still challenges the listener and served as a good stepping stone to the rest of the realm of modern music.

In addition, "Water Night" also introduced me to the wonderful poetry of Octavio Paz.

Praise God, that there is so much that is beautiful in this world!

Enjoy!

Debussy: Ballade slave

Some more gorgeous and soothing music that I've come across: Debussy's Ballade slave (1890) for piano solo. It's the only 'ballade' that Debussy wrote, and it is evident even in this early composition that he had mastered  the art of composing rich, lyrical single movement pieces.

Debussy hated to have his compositions described as "Impressionist," but I don't think the term can really be avoided, as his music almost instinctively evokes in the listener's mind images of Impressionist paintings. Even the harmonic structures are "impressionist" with their parallel chords and the seeming lack of tonality in the moving passages... Indeed, they are the aural equivalent of the out-of-focus painting technique of the period. Both the music and the visual art strove to obscure details/strict harmonics, allowing the audience to appreciate the art's poise and colour and to more directly affect their emotions.

But I digress... technical prose aside, this is, quite simply, beautiful music.

Handel's Messiah: How Beautiful Are the Feet

The past week has been a little more than hectic here, but I wanted to share one of the pieces of music that came up on my shuffle and was very calming. Handel's Messiah seems appropriate to listen to at any time of the year, especially when sung by the impeccable Lorraine Hunt-Lieberson, whose voice was silenced far too soon. God grant that she's among the Choir of Angels...

 

EDIT- I almost forgot that I also wanted to acknowledge some of my readers. In the last week I've had readers from the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Australia, Ireland and the Netherlands. Thanks all for visiting!

More Bel Canto!

And now for the same aria, sung by Spanish Mezzo-Soprano, Teresa Berganza. She's absolutely the best Rosina, in my opinion. She successfully blends impeccable acting with her effortless coloratura, and the results are breathtaking. She truly captures the effervescent joy of Rosina after she learns that Lindoro loves her. I can't help but to smile whenever I watch this!