Artichoke and Spinach Quiche

I know I've neglected this blog for a few weeks but vacation time came first before a hobby! :)  I had a family vacation for 2 weeks and my aunt is still staying with my parents so I'm very preoccupied with family.  But before I go (again), I want to share this easy quiche recipe.

I was browsing at Fred Meyer a while ago and saw this spinach and artichoke Parmesan dip from Stonemill Kitchens brand.  I decided to buy and gave it a try because I've always loved the spinach and artichoke combination.  I made this twice already for dinner, paired with salad, and everybody devoured it everytime.

Artichoke and Spinach Quiche

Yields one 9-inch pie


1 (9-inch) unbaked pie crust
5 eggs
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
2/3 cup Stonemill Kitchens' Spinach and Artichoke Parmesan Dip


Preheat the oven to 375F.

Beat eggs with heavy cream in a bowl.  Spoon in the dip into the egg mixture and whisk until combined.  Add cherry tomatoes to it and pour into the pie shell.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes or until eggs are set and golden on top.  If the crust gets brown too quickly, cover the top with aluminum foil.

Let the quiche cool on a rack before cutting it.


Source: Stonemill Kitchen

My kinda chopped salad

I used to garden, a long while  back when there were only two of us in the house.  I had much time in my hand, and I didn't know that cooking, baking, and taking food photography would take up my time back then.  So, I channeled my energy and focus on gardening.  Though I didn't have a fancy landscaping, my husband and I would go to garden centers at times and picked some flowers or ornamental plants to be added in the yard.  I didn't garden extensively, only during spring and summer time I would be busy in the yard; but I would grow something and get harvest from it and my husband and I got to enjoy eating them too.

Now that much of my time is writing and making food--plus I also worked part-time during the day--my garden was neglected.  Pretty much left were some herb plants and strawberry plants in the garden boxes.  No more going out to garden centers and buying plants.  It's a little sad, but as long as my yard is clean and doesn't grow too wild, I'm already happy about the situation.  But, never despair, somebody would give us his/her share of his/her crops to us and we still get to enjoy fresh harvested produce.

Take these beautiful beets for example.  A friend of ours has a big yard in his property and he gardens extensively, so he asked me one day if I like beets.  I said, sure I love them but I'm the only one who's eating them in the household.  He promised to share a couple of his fresh plucked-from-the-earth beets with me.  He came a while back and brought two good-size beets.  I decided to make a simple chopped salad using roasted beets because beets this fresh really don't need a fussy preparation.

The ingredients can be changed as you like, play with other food's texture and flavor, or what's available in your fridge and pantry.  That's what I did anyway, these were what I happened to have at home and I sure made use of them effectively.  The vinaigrette used roasted walnut oil, if this is too strong of a taste for you, substitute with other mild oil.

Chopped Beet Salad

Serves 4



1 medium-size fresh beet, leaves trimmed

2 hard boiled eggs, diced

10 oz. spinach, stems trimmed, leaves sliced thinly

1 medium Gala apple, diced

1/3 cup blue cheese, crumbled

For the walnut oil vinaigrette:

1 1/2 tablespoons sherry vinegar

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

6 tablespoons walnut oil



Preheat oven to 400 degree F.  Wrap beet tightly with double layers of foil, place in baking sheet and roast in hot oven for about 1 hour, or until it's tender when pierced with a fork.  Cool until warm in foil until ready to use.

Make walnut oil vinaigrette:  Blend together vinegar, mustard, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.  Whisk in the oil in slow stream until it's well blended.

Peel beet skin and diced beets.  Divide and assemble diced beets with other salad ingredients in plates and drizzle dressing over salad and serve.

Spinach Böreks

For a long time I'm curious of how böreks taste like because I have never eaten one before.  I imagine it to be crispy on the outside and creamy and tangy from feta cheese.  Layer upon layer of crispy phyllo enveloping lightly sauteed spinach and feta cheese.  This doesn't mean I know how to make correct böreks shape, but this one that I made was delicious.  I've always loved Mediterranean flavor and I thought this goes well with an improvised and quick chickpea salad.  A while ago I tasted chickpea salad from Food Front in Hillsdale that I thought was fantastic.  They put all the things that I love in salad in one unity.  I could eat salad like that forever :)

The dressing for the chickpea salad is nothing other than balsamic vinegar/red wine vinegar, lemon juice, a bit of minced garlic, extra-virgin olive oil,  and salt and pepper.  Add chickpeas, feta cheese, chopped red onion, spinach, chopped tomatoes, chopped parsley, and chopped artichoke hearts.  Blend everything together and that's it.  There's countless recipes to make salad like this and you can add or omit ingredients as you like.

This particular böreks recipe is taken from Anissa Helou's book, Savory Baking from the Mediterranean.  A book that's filled with various recipes from countries in the region, from pizza, flatbreads, breads, pies, tarts, and pastries.  Though it lacks color photos, I trust Anissa Helou as she's the experts on the Mediterranean and Middle East cuisines.

Lastly, this meal is fit to be in Meatless Monday movement that's going on right now. I've done countless "meatless" days throughout the week for a long time already, so it's not something that's hard to participate.

Spinach Böreks (Ispanakli Tepsi Böregi)

Serves 4



For the filling:

1 pound fresh spinach

1 tablespoon exra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 medium onions, finely chopped (about 1 cup)

2 medium eggs

1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Fine kosher salt or sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Other ingredients:

1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for greasing the pie plate

1 1/2 tablespoons whole milk

1 medium egg

12 sheets phyllo pastry, thawed if frozen



Make the filling: Wash and drain the spinach and put it in a large stockpot over medium-high heat.  Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until just wilted.  Drain and cool.  Then squeeze the spinach by hand until it is very dry.  Separate the leaves and set aside.

Put the olive oil, butter, and onions in a large saute pan over medium-high heat.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly golden.  Add the spinach and cook for another minute or two.  Remove the heat and stir  in the 2 eggs and the feta.  Season with salt and pepper to taste, return to the heat, and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until the eggs are very softly scrambled.  Set the filling aside.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Mix the melted butter with the milk and 1 egg in a small bowl.  Grease a 9-inch round and 1-inch deep pie plate with a little melted butter.

Place 1 sheet of phyllo across the pie plate, leaving half the sheet hanging over the edge.  Keep the remaining sheets of phyllo covered with plastic wrap or kitchen towel.  Brush the portion of the first sheet that is in the pie plate with milk mixture and fold the overhanging half over it; if any part of the sheet still hangs over the edge, either leave it there or trim it.  Brush again with the milk mixture.  Repeat the process with 4 more sheets of phyllo.

Spread the filling over the pastry.  Cover with the remaining phyllo sheets, brushing each layer with milk mixture and folding the overhangs over.  Pour any remaining milk mixture over the top and cut the pie, all the way to the bottom, into 4 squares.

Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until golden all over.  Serve hot or warm.



Source: Savory Baking from the Mediterranean by Anissa Helou