We have settled back into Indianapolis – well I have anyway. Cate has
gone to Brussels. Because of the weather on the east coast the flights were
delayed and she has a really crappy hotel in Brussels - so is not happy.
I used my new snow shovel on the weekend and it works just fine. I have
decided against buying a snow thrower just yet and will wait and see what
happens.
I have however today ordered from Amazon a couple of battery powered
lamps because I am sure at some stage this winter we will have power outages.
We do have a gas stove an gas fireplaces so should be able to survive
most situations.
Gwenyth is arriving next week and is bringing all the ingredients to
make Lamingtons and Pavlova. Essential things are Copha and tinned Passionfruit
and I simply cannot find these here. I hope someone will tell me if they are available.
We are planning on having the neighbors over and will be able to a
assail them with these gastronomic necessities.
Tonight I am making my first Quiche. This is a continuation of my plan
to expand my culinary repertoire. I do not expect to encounter any problems –
but am doing this while Cate is away just in case. Strange things have happened
in my kitchen.
For a couple of easy-to-make quiche ideas, click here and here. The meat in a traditional Lorraine quiche is best described in English as tender chunks (rind free) of breast of pork, which can be cooked in a bit of olive oil just as simply and rapidly as ordinary Anglo-Saxon bacon (which is an unfamiliar foodstuff here in France, not to be confused with what the French refer to as “bacon”). The basic quiche recipe can be transformed into many variations, depending upon the cook’s imagination. An interesting transformation consists of replacing the pork by chunks of salmon. For a successful quiche, what you need above all is a nice clean oven door enabling you to peer into the stove to observe the browning of the egg-and-cream crust, to determine whether your quiche is ideally cooked. And a quiche cries out, of course, for chilled Sauvignon (be it from Australia, Austria or France).
ReplyDeleteI am a quiche-less person, I wiLL have to go eXploring now. I wiLL start neXt door at the coffee shop.
ReplyDeleteYou are brave to throw the dice on the snow thrower. When you need one you can't get one, and if you have one you don't need it. I should get more battery operator things but am depending on the Duracell to get me through right now. I can fill tires and jumpstart cars and run my coffee maker and radio from it, I am overjoyed.
ReplyDeleteWilliam: I like the look of both your quiches. I made mine with asparagus, ham and onion and it was fine but lacked panache. I think that bacon is by far the better option and will use this next time. I Will also certainly give the salmon quiche a try - I can just imagine how good it will taste.
ReplyDeleteesb: I would be nice to have a coffee shop next door. My closest is about 5 blocks away - although there is a nice tea shop in the next block.
fmcgmccllc: Well I am only worried about the back lane behind our garage - and a number of cars use that before we do each day - so I am counting on them to make a path.
Sounds like you're all set for any power outage. We had our first power cut for years last week and I'd just bought a string of LED lights that are battery operated. They were fantastic and helped me find the BBQ to cook dinner. And of course, a bit of pav will make any dilemma bearable. I do not envy you the cold. Have fun.
ReplyDeleteBadger: If you want to impress the Yanks with Down Under tucker, forget about lamingtons and pavlovas. They’re for sheilas, mate. You should try to master our celebrated meat pie [blog], the chicken variant [blog], our steak and kidney pie [blog],
ReplyDeleteand maybe our famous rissoles of the kind I used to eat at The Greeks in downtown Sydney [blog]. To be honest, these Aussie specialities are not as easy to cook up as you might think.
Sandy: Fortunately we love the cold weather - which is why we go to places like Lapland each Christmas. It looks like power outages are a regular occurrence here so I must get ready.
ReplyDeleteWilliam: Your pies look terrific. You have convinced me that I need to add these Aussies delicacies to my repertoire. I may have a go at a meat pie next week. I used to have rissoles -like the ones you describe- at a Greek cafe in Redfern in the 1960s. I think you are right that they were probably lamb - but were indeed very tasty.