This is one of those projects that’s been on my To Do list forever! Our door was so dirty and boring, it really needed a makeover. So this week, I gave it one.
Archive: August 2013
I have to say that I’m now a convert to quiche.
It’s not that I didn’t like quiche in the first place, it’s just that I really feel like eggs should be eaten for breakfast. This is my own personal desire for order in a chaotic world, so historically when Adam has suggested quiche for a weekend lunch I look at him like he just rearranged my closet or something. It’s. Just. Not. Done.
I’ve been on this whole growing-as-a-person kick in 2013, so when I saw this Bobby Flay quiche recipe in an issue of Food Network Magazine a while back I thought I’d give it a try. It has jalapeno pesto, which instantly elevated the concept from breakfast for me. And I got to prance around the kitchen telling Adam about all the cotija I used. I somehow felt like more of a gourmet with that addition.
Incidentally, I put cotija in everything that week just so I could say it was there…fajitas, pancakes. Such a great word.
Bobby Flay’s Chorizo and Goat Cheese Quiche (from Food Network Magazine)
For the crust:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cubed
3 tablespoons cold lard, cubed (I did not have lard, so I just did the whole amount in butter)
For the jalapeno pesto:
6 jalapeno peppers
1 1/2 cups packed fresh cilantro
1 clove garlic, chopped
3 tablespoons pine nuts
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
For the filling:
4 ounces soft goat cheese
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/2 pound Mexican chorizo, casings removed
1 1/2 cups grated fontina cheese
1/4 cup finely grated cotija cheese
2 to 3 scallions, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
4 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
So I’ve been on a total Laurie R. King kick lately, working through audio books of the 7th and 8th Mary Russell novels. I love these books enough that when I get to the end of the series I may very well start over. They are perfectly English in all the best ways, witty mysteries with eccentrics, glorious details, tons of wit (my mentor Dee recommended them when I was in grad school). They are absolutely perfect during the chilly months of the year, but when we had our little cold snap here the past week or two (it dropped into the 60s!) I kind of had a hankering for them.
However, since most of my listening happens in the car with a certain toddler present, she has been voicing her own opinion about what we listen to. Loudly. And her opinion is that it’s too hot for intellectual genre fiction. She wants beach tunes, with the occasional song thrown in just to up her street cred.
These are the songs that keep her from yelling at me in the car, from her Spotify playlist.
I’ve kind of been on this kick to get rid of our standard household cleaners in favor of some greener, more natural options. This is really because H is so mobile, and touching, tasting, smelling, and seeing everything in sight. I started to become very aware of the number of chemicals she’s coming into direct contact with these days. Not that she’s drinking bleach from under the sink, but I wonder about the lingering residue and fumes in the air.
The problem with green cleaners is they don’t always actually get things clean. This is a fundamental requirement of cleaners, especially with a toddler everywhere. And I know people swear by homemade vinegar solutions, but when I tried that I could not deal with the smelly aftermath. I’ve tried green products in the past and been pretty underwhelmed. But they’ve come a long way in recent years.
I decided that my diabolically filthy oven would be a good test of the power of the green clean. If a natural cleaner could conquer that, it could probably do anything. Let’s just say that in the 5+ years we have lived in this house with this oven, I’ve cleaned it exactly zero times. I mean, I’ve wiped up pie drippings and cheesy toppings from the oven floor, but I haven’t stuck my head in there to really scrub it into submission. Another reason for the green cleaners; I knew the job would take hours (4 solid scrubbing hours, in the end), and I did not want to inhale toxic fumes all day.
This is what it looked like when I started, don’t you judge me:
Read more on In Which I Clean My Oven and Try Out Natural Cleaners…
Other posts on this topic: Sunny Happy Skies Quilt Pt. 1, Sunny Happy Skies Quilt Pt. 2.
I’ve finished this quilt top!
I haven’t touched this project in a couple of weeks, I don’t entirely know why. I haven’t sewn much at all, other than H’s crown (which I’m obsessed with). I have to admit that the days have been sailing by midsummer in too much of a blur. I have seriously got to take stock this week and get myself organized. I will blink and it will be September, H will be starting Montessori, and our days of hanging out together will be over for another summer. Boo!