Thursday, February 11, 2010

A Double delight pie crust

Apparently I am too much of a perfectionist, I think I've mentioned this before. :) I have so many things to write about, now if I could just quit worrying about it being perfect or worthwhile. It will take awhile to get into the ebb and flow of writing I think. However, I did want to share this delicious pie crust recipe along with 2 different fillings.

Crust
(I ground up some spelt and wheat together so it's about half and half.)
2 cups of the wheat/spelt combination
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup melted coconut oil
1/3 cup hard butter
1/3 cup cold milk
Blend flour and salt, stir in oil and then use pastry blender, knives or fingers to crumble the butter in. Work in the milk and roll into 2 balls.

Blueberry Galette
I rolled out 1 crust on a floured surface and then layed it out flat in a tart dish, you could really use a cookie sheet or any pan that is big enough to lay the pastry out flat in.
The filling:
3 cups of frozen blueberries
2 tablespoons organic cornstarch or arrowroot powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup of sucanat
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground cinnamon
1/2 tablespoon freshly grated lemon peel
1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon of butter, chopped into pieces
An egg or cream to glaze

Mix everything but the butter and glaze together and then place in the middle of the pastry, fold the pastry to just cover the edge of the filling, making pleats or overlapping a little bit to contain the filling. Scatter the pieces of butter on top and brush a beaten egg or a little cream on top. Bake at 475 for 30 minutes. I think I had to do mine a little longer actually, but I'm not sure exactly how much. :) Delicious served with vanilla ice cream!

Now for the other filling-
I realized this morning that I had nothing to send to work with my hubby for lunch so I decided since I had an extra crust I would find something to use with it. Quiche! Definitely a favorite for him, so I set out to the market and got my ingredients. The outing was nice this morning because the kiddos were definitely needing to get out of the house!

Quiche filling:
4 eggs
1/3-1/2 cup of whole milk
1 tablespoon butter
2 green onions, sliced
1/4 onion, diced
2-3 tablespoons pine nuts
1 head of broccoli
1 handful of kale
3 pieces of bacon
1/4 cup cheddar cheese, grated
Garlic salt
Pepper

Whisk eggs and milk together. Saute the veggies and pine nuts in the butter and then add to the egg mixture. Cook bacon and crumble, set aside. Salt and pepper the egg mixture as desired. Start off with a small amount as the bacon will add saltiness!
This can be made into one small quiche or into 2 miniature pot pie sized quiches, which is what I did. Roll out 1 or two crusts and place in the desired pan(s). Pre-bake shell(s) for about 8 minutes or so. Remove from oven and place egg and vegetable mixture in them, add the crumbled bacon and sprinkle cheese on top. Bake at 375 for about 30 minutes or until set in the middle. Delicious! We wiped these out so fast! Even the kids loved the quiche.
P.S. I did have a little of the egg.veggie mixture left over so I just cooked it up like scrambled eggs and Lily ate it.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Sunshine and a fresh outlook

Hello friends.

I must admit that I've been a little discouraged that this week has not gone as planned, however God is teaching me a lot of truth in this season that I'm in and I'm learning to accept it with joy. (Trying anyway) Today the sun is shining and that does a whole lot for this Wyoming girl's spirit! I love Washington but there are times that I ache for sunshine and the open spaces of my childhood home!

Well, my big accomplishment today has been cleaning out the cupboards and pantry. I did take pictures but at the moment I'm unable to download them. I might just have to wait and try to do that at another point in this season of cleaning, organizing and beautifying. I feel much better to have that part done and I'm hoping to get the freezer and fridge done either this evening or tomorrow morning. Then I'll be ready to start stocking up!

I'm working on a comprehensive list of goals to post so that I can have some accountability or so that you can follow along as well. I think it will be a productive time and I'm looking forward to clearing the clutter, both physically and mentally!

Here's to clean pantries and the promise of nourishing foods to fill them!