There is a huge wind storm howling outside my window as I am writing this.
It seems like a winter of stormy winds and cold, cold nights. Not normal for here, not this cold anyway.
The mornings are icy and the cold bites through your bones. Not my kind of weather. If you know me, you'll know that I am not fond of winter. Not at all.
These last few weeks called for a fire in the hearth and lots of hot chocolates and soups.
The days are wonderful though. And on weekends we like to spend a lot of our time outside in the garden. Lunches call for picnic food.
The peas are just perfect in the garden now. We strolled down to the garden just before sunset and spend the last hour of the daylight eating peas straight out of their pods. We eat until we can no more.
Our daily pea excursion has become routine now. And we do manage to save some for cooking, well sometimes.
I used this recipe and used about half a cup of peas for the filling.
It became autumn quite suddenly here. Actually more winter. Freezing weather down south and really chilly in our neck of the woods for this time of the year. We've had to pull the fluffy blankets and winter pajamas from the cupboards. Summer just disappeared too early I think. But then I love summer and always think that it was too short I suppose.
We started eating hearty meals too. Meals that are warmer and a little richer. Stews and roasts and curries. Warm meals in general are not a staple during summer in our family. It is just simply too hot and we often eat salads and fruit platters. All that changes when the weather starts to turn chilly. Suddenly we crave a bit of warmth and some substance. Hence roasted butternut.
Roast a few at once. Just rub their skins with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle with some salt and a teaspoon or two of cumin or coriander and into the oven at 170°C for about an hour. The possibilities of things to do with these roasted gems are endless. They are perfect with just a sprinkle of sugar. Even better as a soup and absolutely delicious in this tart.
On a different note: We took over a lettuce business a couple of months ago. Our greenhouse is now operational and we are so proud. My dad takes care of the day to day running of it all and delivers to the local restaurants. You may just see more salad recipes here in future.
Also, I just like to mention that the red teatowel in the background is from Skinny laMinx. I bought it for myself as a little gift and felt so spoiled when it arrived in the post. Heather Moore wrapped it and attached a little papercut tag with a bird. The whole package just had 'made with love and care' written all over it. I was simply smitten with the contents too.
We've had a few chickens now for a month or two and my son just loves to go fetch the eggs each day. But for the last week or so, the nests were empty each day. We blamed the monkeys and the weather. However, today E came into the office with this huge smile, holding a bucket with sixteen eggs. It turns out, the hens did not like us pinching their eggs and decided to go and hide them amongst some plants in the garden.
So, if life hands you eggs, you have to bake a quiche.
The brocolli and peas are also abundant in the vegetable garden at the moment. I do not even bother to cook the veg before adding it to the custard when they are freshly picked. Just a quick rinse and a trim. And for the pastry, I always use Nigella's 'basic' recipe from her How to Eat recipe book. It is simple, very easy to roll and handle but very flaky and light. Perfection.... I can never wait for it to cool and have to taste a steaming slice straight out of the oven.
Brocolli quiche
For the short crust pastry:
Adapted from Nigella's How to Eat (http://www.nigella.com/product/default.aspx)
60g butter, cold and cut into small squares
120g plain flour
yolk of one egg
about two table spoons of ice water
teaspoon of lemon juice
Combine the butter and flour and place in the freezer for about 10 minutes.
In a food processor pulse the butter and flour until you have a bread crumb texture. Mix the egg with some of the water and the lemon juice and pour through the funnel. You may need to add a a few drops of water, but do so carefully. Mix until the dough just starts to come together. Place on a floured surface and gently press to form a flat disc. Wrap in cling film and let rest in the fridge for another 20 minutes.
Once rested, gently roll out on a lightly floured surface and blind bake for 10 minutes at 180°C. Remove the beans and bake for another 5 minutes.
For the custard:
6 eggs
125ml buttermilk
1 tablespoon thick cream
brie or feta cheese, cubed
sprig or two thyme or marjoram
2 florets brocolli
½ cup peas (fresh or frozen)
Combine the eggs, buttermilk and cream and whisk until just combined (I prefer to use a fork). Add the cheese, herbs, and vegetables. Season to taste and then pour into the tart shell. Bake at 180°C for 20 minutes until just set. Remove and cool slightly.
