Yes, it's a quiche.

Servus,

Another great way to get rid of all those vegetable that have been milling around in the crisper (not getting crisp...) is to make quiche. The effort is rather low and the result is usually something that is both healthy and tasty and the leftovers keep for a while. Nothing like a hot cup of joe and a slice of quiche for breakfast!

From Wikipedia: "Quiche is a savory, open-faced pastry crust dish with a filling of savory custard with cheese, meat or vegetables."

Now, some of you might be saying "ewww, quiche!" or even worse "real men don't eat quiche", which makes my heart burn hatefully with the heat of a thousand suns. Quiche has been a much-maligned foodstuff ever since Bruce Feirstein wrote his book "Real Men Don't Eat Quiche" in 1982. Despite it's rather tongue-in-cheek definitions of masculinity, most people didn't read the book at all and simply restated the title.

Fools! They don't know what they are missing! Not only is it delicious, you can fill it with damned near anything.



We made our quiche from ham, celery, carrots, green beans, chard, and green onions. Topped with tomatoes and Gruyere cheese, it was a meal fit for a king. At no time did my masculinity come into question.

Eating like a boss,
Jake

In Memoriam

On Saturday, 25 August, Neil Armstrong passed into the Great Beyond.

A statement from his family regarding his passing:

"For those who may ask what they can do to honor Neil, we have a simple request. Honor his example of service, accomplishment and modesty, and the next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink."

Godspeed, Neil...

;-)

OK, I guess it IS a food blog...

Servus!

Since most of the things that I seem to be reporting on are food-related, I think that it would be appropriate to call this a "food blog".

A couple of weekends ago, Anna and I had some friends over for burgers. Now, you may be thinking "what the hell is so special about burgers?", but I can assure you that this is no ordinary burger...

Did I mention that it was hot? This with almost 70% humidity?



Anyway, I positioned myself over the grill with no thoughts of the heat and tried my damnedest to make something delicious.

Starting with 100% beef - something that not everyone here in DE does - I formed patties in my wonderful press and grilled them to medium, using only fresh-ground salt and pepper as seasoning.

Anna and I found a sumptuous blue cheese at our grocer - not too strong and not too "moldy" in taste. Very creamy. Anna sliced this and placed it on the still warm patties:



Once you added the necessary components such as lettuce, tomato, bacon, onions, my homemade Roasted Garlic Chipotle mayo, you've got yourself quite a handful!





The potatoes you see in one of the pictures were an unmitigated disaster. My intent was to fan-cut the taters and bake them until done and shortly before grilling, spike them with bacon bits and cover with slices of cheddar and let them warm on the grill. Sadly, the timing was all screwed up and we ended up using "grated cheese" and butter while leaving them in the oven and they ended up tasting like a whole lot of nothing. They were even shitty with ketchup...

Live and learn.

The cool thing about this whole evening was not necessarily the food but the whole social aspect of the meal. All condiments, sides, etc. are laid out on the table and no one really has complete access to everything, so there was a lot of asking for this and that and getting up and milling about. This made it fun for everyone - it also cause us to interact with each other - something that formal dining tends to leave out in my opinion.



The best part of the meal wasn't the food, but the company in which it was shared.


Guten Appetit!

Jake

You know, this is NOT a food blog!

I just seem to post a lot of delicious creations ;-) Cooking with Anna is one of the highlights of my week and we usually have a bucket of fun cooking dinner. There is an element of surprise, spontaneity, creative process, trial and error, comedy, drama, despair, etc. when cooking together in our submarine-sized kitchen.

Yesterday, we needed to make room in the fridge and get some of our older vegetables out of the way. The answer: vegetable soup.



Chock full of goodness. As usual, we made enough to feed a platoon of starving soldiers so the leftovers will be frozen for another time.

The soup was hearty and very filling. As a soup should be.

Next up: Involtini!



Roulades of pork, rolled with Parma ham, pecorino, and basil pesto. Grilled over charcoal to perfection, smothered in a tomato sauce. Served with a noodle salad and a Rucola salad with tomatoes, Parmesan shavings and a reduced balsamic vinegar dressing.

Our friends did a wonderful job and created a memorable meal! Chapeau...

Moving on: Yufka

Most of my readers outside of Germany will have NO IDEA what this is -



A Yufka is a kind of döner kebap that uses a flat wheat lavash (Turkish = dürüm) instead of the traditional fladenbrot. This is something that I seem to only get in southern Germany - when my girl and I go to the Ruhrpott and I ask for a yufka, the dönerbude guy looks at me like I'm speaking French.

Best eaten with really salty fries and a Coke while standing up. Try not to eat the aluminum foil wrapper...

Guten!
Jake