Wholesome quiche

I don't know about everybody else, but I always found quiches a bit decadent...Buttery pastry, lots of eggs and heavy cream and possibly bacon. Sounds like heaven on a plate for some, but I have sadly come to realise that no matter how much I exercise, such indulgences are more than a passing whim...they dig themselves somewhere on my body...mostly on my hips and stomach. And after three kids, believe me, that is the last spot where I need padding.

But I love quiches and they are the perfect summer picnic fare and now that we have more chickens what better way to use surplus eggs. Ahh, don't get me started on eggs...I could go on all day about the wonder of having freshly laid eggs every day. There is something deeply nourishing about having your own chucks...and I don't mean the protein in the egg.

Anyway, back to the quiche dilemma. Since discovering Liz's easy pastry, I have been getting into making quick pies and tarts. And now I feel I can include a quiche not as a mere indulgence but the pastry now belongs to a food group...along with the eggs and light cream....yes, light.
I guess the opinions are divided about the benefits of "light" products, but sometimes they have its place. When you consider that a traditional quiche contains butter, cream and eggs, along with some bacon and the token greens, you don't need to be a nutritionist to add up the calories. And since we are no athletes training for the Olympics I see no way of getting away with such indulgence....Anyway, that is my humble approach and here is my humble, less decadent quiche recipe.

Wholemeal pastry quiche

Pastry:
2 cups wholemeal flour
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
pinch of sea salt

Filling:
6 free range eggs
200 ml light cream

fat free bacon
olives
Greek feta
spinach
lots of herbs


Blind bake the pastry. Add the filling and bake until eggs are set.

The ingredients are what I had in the fridge that day. Today I made a quiche with sauteed leek, thyme and fetta. The options are endless.

Tarts

Well, life has been busy....And I thought our move to the country will bring a more relaxed and slow lifestyle....but far from it.

But I can hardly contain my happiness at living in this little town. I just about love everything about our life at the moment. Making new connections, meeting amazing and like-minded people, discovering the joys of family bike rides. Watching seasons change is such a dramatic way at our doorstep. And as I write this, I am observing two rainbow Lorikeets feast on the bird feeder outside my window...

And lets not forget the joy of seeing our children greedily absorb all they can from their busy days. Busy in a very relaxed kind of way....with playing, creating, imagining and just rolling in the grass watching the clouds float by. On our 'home-days', the three disappear into their own world and only emerge when their tummies grumble or when a bruised knee needs some mama attention. Well, do I need to say more...

Onto some food lately discovered:

I like tarts and pies but I never took to making them. To use bought pastry does not seem right and to make my own, well, who has got the time?

The other day however I was watching a friend make this dough with wholemeal spelt flour. She used olive oil and water and it just looked so simple. No chopping of cold butter, no chilling...easy.

The very next day another friend arrived at my door asking for a pie crust recipe for a filling she had already prepared. She was looking for something more wholesome that the Pampas frozen sort. So I passed along the above mentioned. So with her filling and the pie crust recipe I had to try it out....So here is my version:

Pumpkin, Split peas and Feta Pie

Filling:

1 small jap pumpkin, cut into cubes

1/2 cup green split peas

1/2 onion, finely chopped

1 block of Feta

2 tbs cottage cheese or ricotta

some spinach or rocket

herbs such as basil, rosemary or thyme

Pastry:

2 cups wholemeal flour or spelt

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

zest of 1 lemon

1/2 water

Blind bake the pie base at 200C for about 15min. As a variation, I sprinkled some sesame seed onto the base before blind baking it. When your Pie is done, start layering the filling as follows:

Start by roasting your pumpkin with some olive oil and sea salt and your chosen herb. Then saute the onion in some oil, add the peas and then water to cover. Boil the peas until they are tender, adding more water as needed.

Mix the flour with the salt and lemon rind. Drizzle over the olive oil and water and mix to form a soft dough, divide in half. On a floured table, roll one half into the size of your pie tin. Press base into tin and poke holes into base with a fork. Chill for 30 min.

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  First spread your peas onto base, dollop the cottage cheese evenly over, then the pumpkin, spinach and feta.
  
  
  

Finally, cover the pie with your remaining pastry.


Don't forget to make a small incision on the top of the pie lit to let out the steam while baking. You may want to glaze the top with some egg or milk and a sprinkle of sesame seeds.

Enjoy with a crisp salad.



Another variation I made today and is saucy and delicious!!

Lasagne Tart

this is inspired by one of my favorite food bloggers Heidi from 101 Cookbooks. Check out her recipe for this tart. She is amazingly creative and an inspiration when I feel like something very healthy and wholesome for the family.

Instead of ricotta I again chose low-fat cottage cheese and topped the tart with sliced zucchini, tomato sugo, mushrooms,grat ed mozzarella and some leftover Feta, to appeal to the little ones and Mr. P who loves his gooey lasagna...

Delicious on a rainy and dark Saturday

Lots of Cakes

I do like baking cakes. Not the pretty, delicate type of cake but the more robust, wholesome and nourishing type. The kind of cake you are happy your children to eat when they ask for a snack or a treat.

In fact, I don't mind my children eating cakes and muffins at all, as long as I made them myself. Sounds awfully 1950's but I like to know what is in them and in moderation, something sweet to brighten their day makes me happy too. So I often bake muffins or a cake for a special teddy bear picnic. And, we do all know how to hide vegetables in muffins by now, don't we ????

So here are some special cakes I have made that tick all my boxes

Anna del Conte Apple Cake

The thing that irritates me most about baking is the butter. Waiting for butter to soften drives me nuts in winter. I also do like to reduce the calorie content of my treats if I can get away with it. This moist, delicious cake uses olive oil not as substitute, but in preference to butter. I mean, how clever is that?

120g (4 oz) of sultanas

Freshly brewed tea

500g (1 lb) of apples – about 5 small ones

150ml (scant 2/3 cup) of olive oil

200g (7oz) sugar

2 organic eggs

175g (6 oz) of wholemeal (wholewheat) flour

175g (6 oz) of ‘strong’, Italian ‘00’ flour

2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon

1 ½ teaspoons of bi-carb soda

½ teaspoon of baking powder

½ teaspoon of sea salt

"Soak the sultanas in enough tea to cover. I used Orange Pekoe. Set aside to plump for 20 minutes. Peel and core the apples and cut each into small dice.

Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F). Grease and line a 20cm (8 in) springform cake tin.
Beat the oil and sugar together until well amalgamated. Break the eggs into a teacup and add them, bit by bit, beating all the time. You’ll end up with a creamy mixture. Set a sieve over the bowl and sift in the flour, cinnamon, bi-carb soda, baking powder and salt.

Mix to a stiff batter with a metal spoon – I cannot claim to understand the reasoning behind this, but do so as it is often suggested. You don’t want to go upsetting the baking gods. Drain the sultanas well. Fold through the mixture with the diced apple. This is a very stiff mixture and will be visibly studded with fruit.

Scrape into the prepared cake tin, smooth down the top and bake for at least 1 hour – mine took 1 hour and 20 minutes and needed to be topped with foil halfway through to prevent it from burning. Watch it closely and check for doneness with a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake. If it comes away cleanly, your cake is done. "

This recipe was posted on this clever food blog http://www.nourishme.blogspot.com/








Next we have a new favorite which was brought to my attention by little my petite gourmande Miss E herself. A mum at school made it for her daughters birthday. If it got the tick of approval of the teacher, it must be good....unfortunately I forgot to take a photo of it, and by the time I had the camera out, the cake was gone. That good. Click on the link for the recipe, I'll post a picture next time I make it. (soon no doubt).

Lumberjack Cake





Another beauty in Autmn is this upside down Pear cake. I also make it in Summer
with ripe peaches and nectarines. The base is the same, you can experiment with a variety of seasonal fruit I guess.




Upside down pear cake










2 Tbs Golden Syrup
3 ripe pears (or enough fruit to cover the base of your baking tin)
1 punnet of blackberries or blueberries (I used frozen)
120g reduced fat margarine
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/3 cup self-raising flour
finely grated rind of 1 small orange
2 tbsp low fat milk or as needed for a smooth batter
Heat syrup in a pan till runny, then pour over the base of a 23 inch springform tin. I lined the tin with baking paper to seal the rim. Peel and cut the pears in half and arrange cut side up on the tin. Arrange the berries over the pears.
Beat the margarine, sugar and eggs til light and fluffy. Add flour, orange rind and milk to the sugar mix and spoon over fruit.
Bake for 60min or until golden and risen.
The recipe is from a lovely Heart smart cookbook (can't remember the name), hence the low fat marg and milk. I think it works really well here. The result is a fruity, moist and very pretty cake that never fails to impress....