Crustless Quiche

I got this sudden, urgent craving for quiche today. Who am I to deny what I haven't had for a while and is cheap and easy to make? I made crustless spinch and mushroom quiche. Warning - it's really cheesy.

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Ingredients:
8 oz. fresh mushrooms
1/2 tsp minced garlic
Butter
6 oz (small-ish bag) fresh spinach, chopped or torn into pieces
4 large eggs
1 cup milk
2 oz. feta cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
salt & pepper

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Quickly rinse the mushrooms and slice them thinly. Place the sliced mushrooms in a skillet a bit of butter, add the minced garlic, and sprinkle a little salt and pepper (I also added some Italian seasoning for good measure, but that's totally optional). Turn the heat on to medium-high and saute the mushrooms until they release all of their moisture and no more water remains on the bottom of the skillet (5-7 minutes). When they are almost done, add the spinach and saute until just wilted and darker green.

Spray a pie dish with non-stick spray. Add the mushroom/spinach mixture and the crumbled feta.

In a medium bowl whisk together the eggs until fairly smooth. Add the milk, parmesan, and another sprinkle of pepper. Whisk to combine. (This step can be completed while the mushrooms are cooking) Pour this mixture into the pie dish over the spinach, mushrooms, and feta. Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella cheese over top.

Place the pie dish on a baking sheet for easy transfer into the oven. Place the quiche into the preheated oven and bake until it is golden brown on top and the center is solid. Every oven is different but this should take between 45 minutes and an hour. Slice and serve!

Moscato Cupcakes

Never fear! The food porn has returned! This go around I have two versions of Moscato Cupcakes adapted from the Sutter Home Wine Blog. The first version is the original and the second is a gluten-free version. The change for the gf one (there really is only one change) is in parenthesis. I also used a classic buttercream in place of the moscato vanilla as one of my dear friends at work is pregnant.

I was given a $30 gift card to Joann's for Christmas; I assume it was meant to buy knitting supplies with. All my knitting supplies I buy from Tina though. In baking these cupcakes, I was struck by the need to make them pretty. I caught the bus and promptly spent the entire cad (and then some) on decorating supplies. Please bear with my decorating skills. I haven't done it in a while and that wasn't fancy either. Because of that, this is an image heavy post.

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Cupcakes:
2 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (for gluten-free use 2 1/2 cups gf ap flour and 1 1/4 teaspoons xanthan gum)
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1 and 1/4 cups white sugar
1 cup canola or vegetable oil
1/3 cup Moscato wine
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
1 tsp. white vinegar
Optional: fresh strawberries or sprinkles for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Put cupcake liners in two cupcake pans. This recipe should make 12-24 cupcakes depending on the size of your pan. (I was able to get 24 of each.)

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and sugar, and whisk together. In a separate bowl, combine the oil, Moscato, buttermilk, eggs, and vinegar. Slowly pour the wet ingredients into dry and mix until it is just blended.

Scoop the batter into the prepared cupcake pan, filling each about 3/4 full. Bake for 15-17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a cupcake comes out cleann (It took 24 minutes for both the regular and the gf versions). Cool completely on wire racks before frosting.

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Buttercream Frosting:
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks or 1/2 pound), softened (but not melted!) Ideal texture should be like ice cream.
3-4 cups confectioners (powdered) sugar, SIFTED
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
up to 4 tablespoons milk or heavy cream

Beat butter for a few minutes with a mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed. Gradually add 3 cups of powdered sugar and using the lowest speed on your mixer so the sugar doesn’t blow everywhere. Work it in until the sugar has been incorporated with the butter. Increase mixer speed to medium and add vanilla extract, salt, and 2 tablespoons of milk/cream and beat for 3 minutes. If your frosting needs a more stiff consistency, add remaining sugar. If your frosting needs to be thinned out, add remaining milk 1 tablespoons at a time.

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In my opinion the gf ones turned out prettier than the regular ones. Before frosting them, I tried one of each and found I preferred the gluten-free ones, strangely enough.

Baked but undecorated! Gluten-free (L) and Regular (R)

Since my cupcakes were in gold and silver, I was going to frost them in red and green respectively to appease my Harry Potter nerd. Unfortunately neither the red nor green wouldn't go dark enough, so I have leafy green and bright pink.

The second batch of frosting I did in pastel colors - blue, purple, and orange. The orange reminds me of sherbert. Yummmmm. I liked the starburst flower thing so I did it a few times. And yes, those are two poor, unfrosted cupcakes that I didn't have enough for. They will be delicious anyway.

That's all my food porn for today. Now that I've found something to satisfy Tracie's gluten-free sweet tooth, I'm on to Elsa, my dear vegan friend.

So it's been a while...

I know it's been a while since I posted. Things have been happening. I'm behind (Really super duper behind) on the 30 days of knitting. I haven't posted any food porn in a while - this will be fixed. I'm making moscato cupcakes tomorrow. So things happening with me since December.

Not much actually. I'm getting a new computer which should arrive on Monday the 25th. I'm super excited about that. I've worked every holiday since I started working (Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, MLK, and President's Day). Oh! In mid-December-ish I transitioned from a temporary LAT-1 to a full-time LAT-1. The biggest change from temp to full is that I now get benefits! That makes me super happy.

You know what else makes me super happy? LeakyCon 2013. It is in Portland this year. I requested all 4 days off and was granted them. I will be attending LeakyCon with a LitTrack pass. Four days of uninterrupted Harry Potter nerdiness followed by two days of recovery before I have to return to work. I am so fricking excited.

I think I should stop before I get myself too worked up.

Day 20: Do you knit in public? Was anyone offended/incrediblyhappy/curious that you were doing so?

I love knitting on the bus/train when I'm going to the post office, the grocery store, or where ever. Mostly I get looks of disbelief. Yes, I'm a 20-something young woman knitting in public.

Knitting on the MAX Blue Line

Also I knit Tuesdays, Thursdays, and one Friday a month at Black Sheep at Orenco with Tina and all the other lovely people that come.

Day 19: Do you watch movies and/or listen to podcasts while knitting? What are your favorite things to knit to?

It depends on the project. Something easy or repetitive almost requires me to listen to or watch something. When I was finishing Tracie's Hemlock blanket, I watched all three Lord of the Rings movies - the extended editions, mind you. I also like to read when I'm knitting. Working on the bus/train is also fun; the looks some people get because there is a 20-something young woman knitting in public are hilarious.

Three-Bean Chili

I know, I know. I'm WAY behind on my knitting posts, but I really wanted to share this. I made it tonight and will definitely be made again.

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Three-Bean Chili

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
2 teaspoons minced garlic
3/4 cup water
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 (15 1/2-ounce) can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15 1/2-ounce) can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15 1/2-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14 1/2-ounce) (roughly 1 3/4 cups) can vegetable broth
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 tablespoon yellow cornmeal
Toppings of your choice

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic to pan; saute 3 minutes. Stir in 3/4 cup water and next 9 ingredients (through diced tomatoes); bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 8 minutes. Stir in cornmeal; cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat and serve with your favorite toppings.

Onion, pepper, and garlic sauteing away.

Everyone into the pot!

It was delicious.

Day 18: Do you knit English or Continental?

I'm an English style knitter though I've taught myself to knit Continental when doing colorwork. I knit all the color work of Lusekofte-sque Mitts two handed. Maybe one day I'll do an entire project Continental style.