Duck Bacon Spinach Quiche

Duck Bacon Spinach Quiche

Dear Friends, I initially wrote this post about 10 days ago. Before the world had spun on its axis and Putin had invaded – without any provocation – the free and independent country of Ukraine. It was scheduled to go live this Sunday morning Chicago time. However, I pulled it, thinking it was just too frivolous. Like most of you, I have been glued to the TV and internet, watching in disbelief as the Russian Military has brought in every horrible weapon but one in its arsenal in an attempt to drag Ukraine back under the Russian boot. I have watched as the incredibly brave and resourceful people of Ukraine have stood their ground and defended their homeland against incredible odds. And I have watched as they have held back the might of the Russian Military – not ceding territory and not giving Putin the easy win he had expected.

Just as we appear to be emerging from the pandemic of the past two years, we are again thrust into a very stressful time with a crazed Putin threatening the use of nuclear weapons. I am old enough to remember the Cuban Missile Crisis. We children were sent home from school to be with our families on the very real possibility of a Russian strike and possible death. Thankfully that disaster was averted and we were brought back from the brink of a nuclear war.

When I am stressed (as well as when I am happy, if I am honest) I turn to family and food for comfort and celebration. For me, if I have a big pot of soup on the stove and a bread and pie coming out of the oven, I feel just a little bit safer. It’s that warm hug that we all need at times. With that in mind, as well as hopefully providing a very brief distraction, I decided to have this post go live after all. Read this as my poke in the eye to Putin – that he will not destroy Ukraine or democracy. Let them eat quiche!

Custardy, comforting Duck Bacon Spinach Quiche is easy to make and even easier to eat. The flavor is a well-balanced blend of creamy custard with a gently savory duck bacon, gruyere and spinach filling with a hint of nutmeg all in a flaky crust. A crisp green salad is the only accompaniment needed to round out the perfect meal.

Foods and their popularity tend to go in and out of fashion. There was a time when quiche was EVERYWHERE. And then it was nowhere. When I was growing up, it was not uncommon for my parents to invite teachers to our home for a Sunday lunch or dinner. I couldn’t imagine doing that with my son’s teachers. Does anyone do that anymore?? Nevertheless, my mother’s go to teacher’s meal was a beautiful Quiche Lorraine. It was considered very avant garde at the time and the teachers were always delighted to experience it. My mother was a wonderful cook and hostess.

Quiche also went through a phase of being super-sized – the higher the filling, the better. I’m afraid that it became lost to the American tendency to make everything bigger, but rarely better. Real quiche, though, is a delightful dish that doesn’t over-power.

A word about duck bacon. Of course, you can make this with regular, thick-cut bacon. However, duck bacon is worth a try. It is meatier, with half the fat of traditional bacon. It cooks up easily and even when crisped, it retains a lovely chew for a great mouthfeel. As my readers know by now, we eat very little meat these days. So when I do eat some, I want something where a little bit goes a long way for flavor and satisfaction.

Recently I bought some duck bacon, but I didn’t actually have anything in mind to make with it at the time. My husband, however, was getting concerned that it would go to waste, so I started to think of how to use it in a way that would show it off. I almost always have cream, eggs, good cheese and either spinach or kale floating around my refrigerator, so quiche seemed like a natural solution. It had been off my rotation of foods for years and I honestly couldn’t think why.

After checking out a number of recipes, I came up with this one. My crust is from Cook’s Illustrated minus the sugar. You, however, can use any basic pie crust that you like, including one from the grocery. The only change I might make next time would be to blind bake my pie dough first. I did use a metal pie plate on top of a baking steel, so it was fine, but it could have been a bit crisper on the bottom. On the other hand, the ease of not blind baking my crust first kind of out-weighed doing it!

If you haven’t made a quiche in a long time – or ever – now is the time to do it.

Recipe

Duck Bacon Quiche

Yield: 4 to 6 generous portions

Ingredients

1 unbaked 9-inch pie dough

3 large eggs at room temperature

1 cup of heavy cream at room temperature

1/2 cup of 1% or 2% milk at room temperature

4 slices of cooked duck bacon, cut into dice

1 cup of loosely packed, grated gruyere, Comte, Emmenthaler or aged Swiss cheese

2.5 cups loosely packed fresh baby spinach

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions

Duck Bacon Spinach Quiche

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until smooth. Then add in the cream, milk salt and pepper.

Stir in half of the duck bacon and cheese. Pour this mixture into the pie crust. Place the spinach on top of the mixture and using a spatula or wooden spoon, gently submerge the spinach with some still peaking out.

Sprinkle the remaining duck bacon and cheese over the top,

Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees F. Then turn the oven temperature down to 325 degrees F. and continue baking for about another 55 minutes. There should be a slight wobble to the filling. The filling will puff up during the baking process and then settles down as it cools. Do not over bake! I then turned off my oven, left the door open with the quiche inside for another 10 minutes.

Remove to a wire rack and allow to cool for at least one hour before serving. This can be eaten warm or at room temperature. Serve a crisp salad alongside.

Pomegranate Molasses Chicken

Pomegranate Molasses Chicken

Sticky, tart, sweet, fiery Pomegranate Molasses Chicken! That’s what’s for dinner tonight. I came across a recipe for chicken wings that was meant as a snack to be munched during the Super Bowl. However, neither my husband nor I is a sport’s fan and we rarely eat such a filling appetizer. We are far more likely to have salads or a cup of soup – maybe a dip – if we have anything at all. But I thought that if I serve these with dilled basmati rice and some side salads, it could be our dinner. And wow! was I right.

I made a few changes both in ingredients and method from the original recipe and realized that this marvelous glaze would work with any cut of chicken. Wings are shown here, and we thought they made a satisfying, relatively inexpensive dinner for us. But we also no longer eat a great deal of meat. If you have teenagers, you definitely will need to choose another cut of chicken!

More meat bang would come from chicken drumsticks or thighs. Breast meat could be used but it tends to dry out and isn’t as flavorful as the darker meat. When choosing your chicken pieces, you definitely want meat on the bone and with the skin.

Depending on the cut of chicken that you use and your individual oven, the cooking time may vary. But you’ll know when it’s done. The original recipe called for 2 pounds of wings, which is what I used. My wings were on the bigger size so it turned out to be 8 wings. My husband and I were satisfied with three wings each for dinner and I ate leftovers for lunch the following day. However, the glaze easily could have worked with 3 pounds of chicken, in my opinion. Since the chicken is cooked before applying the glaze, any excess can be saved in the fridge for up to a week if you go with the lesser amount.

Pomegranate Molasses is not really a molasses at all. It is pomegranate juice that has been reduced down to a syrup. These days, it can often be found in regular supermarkets, but it is also readily available online and in Middle Eastern Grocery stores. I can’t get enough of its fruity, tartness and use it drizzled over salads and roasted veggies. Try it the next time you roast carrots or sweet potatoes! It’s also great over pound cake with berries. I’m just sayin’.

The chicken in Pomegranate Molasses Chicken first gets a dry rub and rests in the fridge. This can be quickly thrown together in the morning or the night before. Just pull your chicken out of the fridge an hour before cooking. Serve it with dilled basmati rice as I did or with any grain of your choice. Couscous, freekeh, farro, bulghur or millet would also be great choices. However, you decide to serve this yummy chicken, get ready to get sticky!

And please use fresh spices for this. If you are going with 3 pounds of chicken, use rounded or generous measurements for the dry rub. The sauce should be fine as is.

Pomegranate Molasses Chicken

Recipe

Yield: 4 as part of a dinner or 8 as a nosh

Ingredients

For the dry rub:

2 to 3 pounds of chicken wings, drumsticks or thighs – bone-in, skin on

1 Tablespoon kosher salt

1 Tablespoon ground coriander

1 Tablespoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

3/4 teaspoon ground allspice

For the glaze:

a generous 1/3 cup of pomegranate molasses

1 large clove of garlic, peeled and crushed

4 tablespoons agave or maple syrup

2 rounded Tablespoons of red harissa

1 Tablespoon of canola, safflower or coconut oil

kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper, to taste

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter or good quality vegan “butter”

Pomegranate Molasses Chicken

Directions

Mix your dry rub ingredients in a small bowl. It will look like a lot of spice, but trust me, it’s the right amount.

Place the chicken (pat it dry if it seems to have a lot of moisture) in a glass or stainless bowl or freezer bag. (I chose to cut off the the tip of the wing. There is no meat there and it didn’t seem necessary to me. That was a personal choice.) Pour the dry rub mix over the chicken pieces and move the chicken around to coat them well. Cover and refrigerate for a minimum of one hour or up to overnight.

Remove the chicken from the fridge one hour before cooking. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

You can prepare the glaze while you wait for the chicken to come to room temperature. The glaze can also be made ahead and warmed up when you are ready to use it.

To make the glaze, place all of the ingredients, except for the butter, in a small pot. Heat on medium until the sauce begins to simmer. Allow it to cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once it has thickened, add the butter and turn off the heat. Stir through and taste the glaze. Add salt and pepper to your taste (I did not use more than 1/2 teaspoon of salt in total in the glaze since the dry rub is salty enough for me). You can also adjust the heat or sweetness by adding more harissa or agave. The amounts given were perfect for us. Set the glaze aside.

Place a wire cooling rack on top of a half sheet pan with rimmed sides. Spray the rack with a vegetable spray like PAM or lightly coat with canola or safflower oil. Place the chicken wings on top of the rack leaving about an inch or two in between pieces. It doesn’t really matter which side is facing down at this point because you will be turning the chicken a couple of times.

Place the chicken in the oven on a middle/upper rack. Cook for 15 minutes and then turn the chicken pieces over. Cook for another 10 minutes.

Now brush some of the glaze to coat over one side of the chicken. Place it back in the oven for 5 to 8 minutes. Turn the chicken over and glaze this side. Return it to the oven. Repeat the coating steps one more time. When your chicken looks gorgeously glazed and smells amazing, it’s done.

Pomegranate Molasses Chicken

Now enjoy!

Wonderful One-Pot Pasta

Wonderful One-Pot Pasta

Yes, nutritious and vegan tastes this great! Wonderful One-Pot Pasta with lentils is packed with vegan power and gives you a satisfying dinner in under an hour. And this one-pot method of cooking pasta right in the sauce makes clean-up a snap. Who could ask for anything more?

For the past year, I have been watching a vlog called Pick Up Limes out of the Netherlands. It’s all about the vegan life-style. The vlogger is a registered dietician and a walking advertisement for the vegan life. She is completely non-preachy and makes everything approachable. While she now spends less time on her life, which I kind of miss, she is a wonderful resource for vegan recipes and nutrition. This pasta recipe originated with her. Per usual, I made a few tweaks to portions and method. Frankly, even I was a bit surprised how much I loved this dish.

Wonderful One-Pot Pasta layers in the flavors to make a savory, thick – and very healthy – sauce. Every element plays a part. The capers and olives lend a brininess and the lentils add smooth mouthfeel and meatiness to the dish. And after eating the generous portions you feel full without any heaviness. It’s a great introduction to vegan eating.

I served this with broccolini that I lightly sautéed in a pan with just salt, pepper, grated garlic and lemon zest. The crunch of the broccolini was a perfect accompaniment to the unctuous pasta. A small salad instead wouldn’t go amiss and some good bread to lap up every bit of the delicious sauce.

There are a few shortcuts that you can take even though I chose not to. With a pantry full of dried lentils and beans, I cooked mine up in the morning. Unlike some legumes, most lentils do not require pre-soaking and a long, slow cooking. These only take a good rinsing and 15 minutes of cooking to be ready. However, prepared lentils are often available in the produce department in vacuum-sealed bags if you choose to go that route.

And normally, if I had thought ahead, I would have bought pitted olives for the dish. Since I had some lovely picholine olives from Morocco with pits I used those. It took a few minutes longer to cut the flesh off of the pits, but not much more. Kalamata olives, which are black, are readily available pitted and would be just as good here.

I did use the recommended spinach. While it added to the nutrition of the dish, it didn’t contribute much in the way of flavor in my opinion. So as a consequence, I have made it optional. Don’t forego making this pasta if you are out of fresh spinach! The original recipe called for 1/2 teaspoon of red chili flakes. My husband and I do not like every meal to be spicy, so I only used a sprinkling and might even leave it out altogether the next time. All of the other ingredients are essential to the overall mix of nutrition and flavor.

When I saw the original amount of pasta called for, I thought there is no way that the portions would be generous. Boy, was I wrong. Somehow, 300 g or 10.5 ounces of pasta resulted in a very generous four portions. If you wish to increase the portions to make this for a bigger crowd, the Pick Up Limes website has a conversion table on the recipe.

We ended up using some grated Parmesan on top, but afterwards my husband and I both agreed that it was not needed. So if you are not going full-blown vegan, you can use it or not. And while I have not tasted them myself, there are also vegan “cheese” options out there. It’s up to you.

Wonderful One-Pot Pasta

For a non-vegan one-pot pasta dish that is quite good:

One-Pot Pasta Puttanesca

Recipe

Yield: 4 very generous portions

Ingredients

Wonderful One-Pot Pasta

1.5 Tablespoons Olive Oil (Canola or sunflower could also be used)

4 large garlic cloves, peeled and minced

2 cups (about 1 medium) onion, peeled and chopped

1 vegetable bouillon cube

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 teaspoon ground dried fennel

Up to 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes (Optional)

10.5 oz. (300 g) dry spaghetti noodles

3 cups (720 ml) tomato sauce

2 cups (480 ml) water

2 cups (360 g) cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

2 to 3 cups (225 g) cooked lentils (brown, green or whole red lentils) (I was fine with 2 cups; my husband wanted more, so I added the additional cup. The original recipe called for 1.5 cups.)

1/2 cup (68 g) green or black olives (about 20 regular olives), sliced or chopped

1/3 cup (50 g) sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil, drained and chopped

1 Tablespoon (9 g) capers, rinsed if stored in salt

2 cups (60 g) fresh baby spinach (Optional)

Fresh Basil (Optional Garnish)

Directions

Dissolve the bouillon cube in the 2 cups of water. Add the oil to a large pot on medium-high heat.

When hot, sauté the onion, garlic, herbs and chili flakes, if using for 3 minutes.

Now add the pasta, pasta sauce, water, cherry or grape tomatoes, olives, sun-dried tomatoes and capers to the pot. Bring everything to a simmer. Using tongs or a wooden spoon, push the pasta into the sauce as it begins to soften. The pasta will need to be fully submerged in the sauce to cook properly. [I got a bit impatient here. To speed things up, you can break the pasta in half – a heresy, I know. Otherwise, just be patient. It will take a few minutes.]

Once simmering, cover the pot with a lid and cook for 10-15 minutes, depending on the brand of pasta. Keep checking after 10 minutes. You want the pasta cooked but al dente. 10 minutes into the cooking time, add in the cooked lentils. Stir through.

At the very end, stir through the spinach if using. Serve it generously and garnish with fresh basil, if using. Now enjoy!

Lentil and Chard Soup(Adas bi Hamoud)

Lentil and Chard Soup

Lentil and Chard Soup is one of those traditional soups which each family makes its own. I looked at several recipes for this delicious and nutritious vegan soup before making it. As always, I took what I liked from each to make it my own. Initially I read that it was a Syrian soup, but most of the recipes that I found online said that it was Lebanese. Whatever its origins, Lentil and Chard Soup is tangy from the lemons and chard with enough heft from the lentils and potatoes to make this a meal with some good bread and perhaps a salad or some hummus on the side.

If you are unfamiliar with chard (Swiss chard, Rainbow chard, Silverbeet, Perpetual Spinach) you should make friends quickly. This green, leafy vegetable is loaded with vitamins and as part of a healthy diet, it can help lower blood pressure and combat certain cancers. While in the beet family, chard can substitute in most recipes calling for spinach or kale. You should note that chard takes longer to cook than spinach – around the same time it takes to cook kale.

Winter has finally well and truly arrived in Chicago and we have been having frigid temperatures and snow. My husband and I still take our long, almost daily walks and are undeterred.

Snowy January 2022 Chicago

However, I do love to return home to a pot of soup to warm my insides. It’s like getting a big hug – nothing cozier. Lentil and Chard Soup comes together quickly and easily can be doubled to feed a crowd.

For another delicious way to prepare chard, try:

Swiss Chard Sauté

Lentil and Chard Soup

Recipe

Yield: About 8 servings

Ingredients

Lentil and Chard Soup

1.5 cups of brown or green lentils, rinsed well and drained (I like Pardina lentils because they hold their shape when cooked.)

4 cups vegetable stock

4 to 6 cups water (or more stock)

2 bunches of chard (any variety), cleaned and coarsely chopped

5 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed (I like Golden potatoes)

7 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped

1 large onion, chopped

2 – 3 Tablespoons EVOO

Up to 1 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice (Start adding slowly and taste before adding more. The soup should be tangy from the lemon.)

Heaping 1/2 Tablespoon (1.5 teaspoons) dried mint

3 teaspoons ground cumin

A good dash of ground cinnamon

A handful of fresh cilantro (coriander leaves), chopped

kosher salt and pepper to taste

Directions

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil on medium heat. Add the onions and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Sauté, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, until the onions begin to be golden. Add the garlic and continue cooking for 3 more minutes – just to mellow out the garlic.

Lentil and Chard Soup

In a large pot, add the lentils, potatoes, stock and water if used. At this point, just add about 8 cups of liquid. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Skim off any scum that rises to the top. Then add 1 teaspoon of salt. Stir through. Add the chard, onions, garlic and cumin. Give a good stir. There should be enough liquid to cover the potatoes and lentils by 2 inches. Add more water as needed. Partially cover the pot and lower the heat to a simmer. Cook until the potatoes and lentils are tender. This will take anywhere between 20 to 30 minutes.

Lentil and Chard Soup

Add the lemon juice, cinnamon and mint and taste to see if you require more salt. I didn’t. Add the cilantro just before serving.