Some days life gets tough and you keep on going. Some days stretch into weeks, and then months, and all of a sudden a year has passed and it still feels that life is tossing you around as it will. Or that’s how it seems to me, at least. When I take time to reflect on all that is challenging, and then take into consideration the good experiences too (because there truly has been an abundance of those in the past year), I realize how important it for to me to have that special someone who will listen to my woes and worries, who will make me laugh when I am sad–who is understanding and insightful day after day.
As this Valentine’s day approaches–a day I genuinely used to hate and now attempt to mostly ignore–I realize that the commercialization of a feeling is not important. It’s celebrating the feeling that matters. W and I have a philosophy that each and every day should be treated like a special Valentine’s day. Each day we should show each other we care. Like taking special moments to walk together in the woods, to take photos of waterfalls, watch the sunlight on the trees, and to cuddle when shivering cold.
To make dinner together in the evenings, go picnicking at the beach, or share a cup of tea and conversation.
Or to go foraging for wild berries and then proceed to make berry pies, tarts, and crumbles, breakfast parfaits and this, banana berry sorbet, for months, and then still have berries left for later use. If we’re lucky, we may stretch them until it’s picking season again. That I think, is really celebrating Valentine’s day. Or at least, celebrating love the way one should.
Banana Berry Sorbet, serves 2
3 bananas, frozen
1 cup frozen blackberries
Break bananas into small pieces and puree with berries in a food processor until smooth and combined. Serve immediately or set in freezer to become just a touch thicker in consistency. Share with someone you love!
Sometimes, you stumble across a good thing. And you keep making it randomly here and there as convenience allows. Over and again and each time tweaking a bit here and a bit there. And each time it tastes delicious and just a twinge different.
That’s what this quiche has done. It’s one of those decadent gone-wholesome things that somehow tastes better than either merely decadent or wholesome can on their respective own. I first tried this with chard, mushrooms, wheat germ, cheddar, and milk. Now it’s beet greens, flax seed, smoked gouda, and buttermilk. This is incredibly forgiving.
Just add enough greens, (whatever you have on hand that needs used up is fine), to make you think you might turn into popeye, and I guarantee, it’ll turn out alright.
The trick, I think, is the crust. It’s incredibly unconventional, not at all like any other quiche I’ve ever found. And oh, so delicious. Half the greens go in the crust, you see. And it’s like magic happens in the oven. I think if I were really starving I could live on the crust alone and be happy.
Quiche with Beet Greens, Serves 2-3
1/4 cup + 2 Tbs. all-purpose flour or all-purpose gluten free flour mix
1/4 cup + 2 Tbs. ground flax seed
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1-2 Tbs. olive oil
1/2 lb. beet greens (can easily substitute chard, spinach, etc.), finely chopped stems and leaves
1/4 medium red onion
1 oz. smoked gouda cheese, grated
2 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
pinch of dry mustard powder
pinch of nutmeg
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, flax seed, and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Set aside. In a medium skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium. Add half the beet greens to skillet, season with salt and pepper, and cook until greens wilt and release liquid.
Add cooked greens to the flour mixture and mix with a fork to incorporate. Transfer to a 6-inch cake pan and firmly press mixture into bottom and about half-way up the side of the pan. If using gluten-free flour, you may need to add a bit extra moisture to this mixture, such as oil and water. Bake until golden and firm, about 25 minutes. Cool.
In reserved skillet, heat about 1/2 tablespoon oil over medium. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add remaining greens to the skillet, season with salt and pepper, and cook until wilted, 2 to 3 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in the grated cheese. Top the prepared crust with the greens and cheese mixture.
In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, buttermilk, nutmeg, mustard powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pinch of black pepper. Pour this custard over the greens mixture. Bake until the custard is set, 40 to 45 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.
It’s time again to share another successful Daring Bakers challenge! This time around Audax Artifex was our January 2012 Daring Bakers’ host. Aud worked tirelessly to master light and fluffy scones (a/k/a biscuits) to help us create delicious and perfect batches in our own kitchens!
That’s right. Scones in the rest of the world (as in not the U.S.) are the same thing as our biscuits. Who would have known? (unless you’ve traveled to England, Ireland, or Australia of course.) Well, let’s just say that during my time over in Europe, scones made a showing for quick breakfasts to-go while we were catching the morning bus to far-off places. Usually I’d take the wholemeal versions and W would opt for the creamy white fluffs, like these.
Back in America, I’d mastered the perfect biscuit recipe yielding light and fluffy (and somewhat healthy) results. But then gluten happened. Or, shall I say, a reaction to gluten happened, and here I am with a challenge on hand that was more than enough challenge for the first month of the year and baking gluten-free!
I tried several recipes for scones–none of which began as gluten-free because I believe that everyone should have access to this recipe, not just those with special diets. I did end up deciding that all of Audax’s wonderful work proved correct and she had developed (or discovered) the best basic recipe for the English scone or American biscuit that could be easily adaptable for me. So I only tweaked my flours a bit, but left the remaining recipe the same for you to try.
Yep, I had a snack mid-shoot!
In the future, I will be creating a wholegrain version of these to satisfy my desire for texture and heft, but for now these do perfectly with a bit of rhubarb jam and a good strong cuppa. And they will become my go-to for all those friends and fam that don’t share my desire for wholegrain!
2. Triple sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl. (If your room temperature is very hot refrigerate the sifted ingredients until cold.)
3. Rub the frozen grated butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles very coarse bread crumbs with some pea-sized pieces if you want flaky scones or until it resembles coarse beach sand if you want tender scones.
4. Add nearly all of the liquid at once into the rubbed-in flour/fat mixture and mix until it just forms a sticky dough (add the remaining liquid if needed). The wetter the dough the lighter the scones (biscuits) will be!
5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board, lightly flour the top of the dough. To achieve an even homogeneous crumb to your scones knead very gently about 4 or 5 times (do not press too firmly) the dough until it is smooth. To achieve a layered effect in your scones knead very gently once (do not press too firmly) then fold and turn the kneaded dough about 3 or 4 times until the dough has formed a smooth texture. (Use a floured plastic scraper to help you knead and/or fold and turn the dough if you wish.)
6. Pat or roll out the dough into a 6 inch by 4 inch rectangle by about ¾ inch thick. Separate into four equal portions and gently form into rounds.
7. Place the rounds just touching on a baking dish if you wish to have soft-sided scones or place the rounds spaced widely apart on the baking dish if you wish to have crisp-sided scones. Lightly flour the tops.
8. Bake in the preheated very hot oven for about 10 minutes (check at 8 minutes since home ovens at these high temperatures are very unreliable) until the scones are well risen and are lightly coloured on the tops. The scones are ready when the sides are set.
9. Immediately place onto cooling rack to stop the cooking process, serve while still warm.
GUTSy Performance Nutrition 