Crustless Quiche (can add zucchini/green chillies ...)

Mistress Karey,
somewhat contrary,
how does your garden grow?

I've been harvesting zucchini and beans primarily. Next week will be the broccoli. I planted more salady type seeds all over in gaps - next to the greenhouse too. It's a southern exposure and a warmer mini-climate than the rest of my gardens. I had a cold frame there that kept us in greens thru most of the winter. I'm making a pvc pipe protection for that space now. It's a raised bed lined with rocks and I think I'll put water bottles in it for further warmth.

Elk are bugling. We've had a bear visitor. It's cooling off. Supposed to go down to 36 degrees tonight. We've got guests again. Three men. One, Monte's long time partner in geology, Stan from AZ, gets the guest room. Two new acquaintances from California say they want to sleep in the bunk house! We'll see ... I'm waiting on going out to eat - they want to treat me. Tomorrow I cook.

I'm a MOPS (Mothers Of Preschoolers) Mentor Mom - been one for almost ten years now. The new year has begun. I brought an egg dish I somewhat created. I had to take a small bit to taste and see if it was good ... it's a keeper. What I added was a grated zucchini and chopped roasted green chilies.

I always get a bushel of green anahiem chilies roasted about this time of year. LOVE that smell in the vehicle! I bag up 3 chilies per sandwich bag and put about 8 of those sandwich bags in a gallon ziplock bag for the freezer. The 3 chilies are the equivalent of a 4oz can of chilies. I don't remove the blackened skins till I'm ready to use the chilies, and then chop or use them whole.

Crustless Quiche

1/2 C butter, melted (could probably use oil)
1/2 C flour (I've used whole wheat, spelt, or even masa)
1 C milk
6 lg eggs
1 pint ricotta cheese
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

Mix all this together and pour over 1# grated cheese (like jack - I typically have colby-jack) in greased 9x13 baking dish.
Bake 45-60 minutes at 350 degrees.

Like I said, I put a grated zucchini and 4 oz chopped green chilies in the greased dish, and then put in the grated cheese. I left out a cup of the cheese to sprinkle on top. Pour the egg mixture over the cheese, mix it around a bit. Top with the extra cheese and bake.

I'm betting all kinds of things could be added to this dish. Like you could use cottage cheese instead of ricotta. Cumin could be added, and maybe cilantro. Or go a more Italian route with basil and zucchini and tomato and some parmesan cheese on top. Alone as is it's a great brunch dish!

This Velveteen House is turning moreso into a retreat center for science, with me on call for cooking. I often get paid in some way. I like it. Young adults are less frequent now that Dawson's living by school.

Mexican Flan or Caramel Custard

Whenever we have a Mexican meal with guests I always make flan for dessert. We rarely have any left-overs - Dawson inhaling what's left. This time Aaron and Dawson divided what was left.

FLAN

6 eggs
3 C milk
1/2 C sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Mix this all together for pouring in the pan

Caramel sugar for coating the pan
1/2 C sugar melted in a skillet
Stir this frequently. I like using a wooden spatula. You want it a deep amber color, but not burnt. Immediately pour this into the greased pan.

I like using a bundt pan for flan (as you can see, I didn't this time. My recipe amount did not fit this pan. I have to get a new pan). Pregrease it. Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Find a pan the flan pan will fit in and put about 1/2" hot water in it. Pour in the caramelized sugar, it doesn't need to coat the pan, cooking will distribute it. Pour in the flan ingredients. Bake about 1 hour, till a knife inserted in center comes out clean. Remove the pan from the hot water and set on rack to cool. Then refrigerate until cold. I usually get this done in the morning, so I don't have to think about it with meal prep.

When ready to serve, loosen the edges with the tip of a knife. Cover the pan with a large serving plate and invert. It usually releases right away, or will in a bit.

I'd heard that if you make a good dessert, and have a good appetizer, your meal will be a success - like focus on those first.

STUFFED GRILLED POBLANOS!

We did Mexican for company Friday. We always crockpot some chuck and chicken for burritos, having shredded lettuce (we did chinese cabbage this time), chopped tomatoes, sour cream, and grated cheese. I always do a guacomole for chips, and salsa, while everyone's standing around helping get things together for supper, and visiting. I usually do a Flan for dessert, which I'm going to post too. But the specialty is stuffed grilled poblano chilies!

STUFFED GRILLED POBLANOS
6-7 Poblano chilies - these look like pointed bell peppers, though usually a darker green. Every store labels them different: like ancho (which is really dried poblanos) or pasillo ... So that's why I'm telling you what they look like.

Cut a slit down one side and remove the seeds, wash and drain. Spoon the filling in them. I stuff the filling, shoving it well in so it doesn't easily come out when cooking (it does, but it's worse if you don't pack the filling).

Filling:
8 oz grated cheese
1 15oz drained canned beans - I usually use black soy beans since they are higher fiber and protein. My next choice would be black beans; then pinto (which I've not used).
1/3 cup raisins
1/4 cup salsa
2 tsp chili powder

Sarah and her artistic looking plate

I soak mesquite wood chips for at least an hour and have a chip pan I insert under the grill grate on one side. I leave this side on high for the entire cooking time. Before I had a nice grill, I used to put the drained, soaked chips sealed in heavy-duty foil with holes poked in it for smoke escape.

On a preheated grill place the stuffed peppers away from the wood chip side on high. Turn the burners under the chilies to mdium - near the end I often turn these burners off, still leaving the chip side on high, for good smoke flavoring. Cook with the lid closed. I grill them about a half-hour. Turn them over half way through, but be conscious of the slit opening so you don't dump all the filling out. They should get some dark blistering on both sides. Remove to a serving tray and cover with foil till you're ready to eat.

Annie and Dawson taking bites

Cream Sauce
I don't think the recipe called for a sauce, but from my Rick Bayless Mexican cookbooks, I often make a sauce to serve the chilies with. He has you chopping onion, tomato, jalepeno and what-not and add to cooking cream. My simple version is to heat cream and simmer down a bit, to thicken, adding some salsa.

Authentic Mexican cooking for stuffing all sorts of chiles, burritos and enchiladas often adds some chopped dried fruits. Not a lot, but to have an occasional bite of a bit of sweet is good.

Travis took the pictures. Sarah's sister Annie and her husband Aaron were visiting from Oregon. Aaron and Monte in the pic below are looking at the kitchen garden. Travis and Sarah's dog Bea is on the grass.

Corn Masa/Hominy, etc

You can buy fresh corn masa at a Mexican grocer for making corn tortillas, tamales ... Way better than the corn masa flour from the grocery store (which I usually use for tortillas and thickening a chili or mexican soup). I found a recipe for making my own. I then freeze it in 1lb quantity in freezer bags.

When seeing the recipe you might ask "dried field corn?", "and where would I get that?", "and why do you have that?" I've not looked in a store for it, so don't know if it's in a bin like other grains. I get it in 25 or 50# bags. I have an electric grain grinder - a NutriMill - and have been grinding my own flours for about thirty years. When my kids were little and bread was one thing they'd definitely eat, I wanted it to be the best possible. Most store-bought flours are devoid of nutrients, primarily starch, and if whole grained, rancid. Take wheat. Twenty-six some known nutrients, stripped, and 5 or 6 put back! So in my garage I've got whole wheat, oats, rye, corn, blue corn, barley, quinoa, amaranth ... I can grind beans too if I want. A sweeter corn for cornbreads is actually ground popcorn - a smaller kernel than field corn.

CORN MASA

Wash 10C dried field corn
10C water
2Tb lime powder (in canning section for making crisp pickles)(CaO)

Bring to a full boil and simmer for several hours. Add additional water if needed. You want them tender, but not too soft. You want the water cooked in as much as possible. Drain.

This mixture is put through a meat grinder, as fine as can get it, for making tortillas and tamales. It's got a wholeness to it that differs from using the dried masa flour, so prepare yourself. It's good. My Zucchini Boat post mentioned me making Pozole with it and adding it to Chili.

For tortillas, use 5 cups, 1 1/2 tsp salt, and approximately 1 cup warm water. You don't want the dough too soft. With fresh masa, you might not need much water at all. Chill dough several hours. Form into balls about 1 1/2-2" diameter and press in a tortilla press between plastic wrap or waxed paper for a 6" tortilla. Grill on a hot cast-iron griddle or skillet.

If you get some fresh roasted anaheim or poblano chilies, cut them in strips and cook up with some cream. This is the ultimate on home-made tortillas. I crave fish tacos. Or fry these crisp and make bean tostadas. For about 16-18 tamales you'd use 1lb coarse ground fresh masa, 1 tsp salt, (some use 1tsp baking powder), 1/2C rich-tasting lard, and enough water to make mushy. All tamales use a fat source. Traditionally, the best, is roasted lard, not the white lard sold in stores. Don't freak out, but I use bacon fat. I pour it off my microwave bacon cooking tray into a can and store it for Mexican cooking. You can use butter. I've not tried oil.

What's being used today - and before getting tamales at farmer's markets, I ask - I don't want them made with shortening!!!!! I read labels! I avoid (along with high fructose corn syrup) PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED anything! It's just a step away from plastic! It's poison. Our body does not know what to do with it, or high fructose corn syrup, so it runs about the body looking for something to latch on to and ends up creating weird cells. That's what can bring on heart disease, or cancer, or ...