Pan-Fried Beef Pastry (牛肉餡餅 - niu rou xian bing)

A coworker & I were talking about delicious Taiwanese food about a month ago.  We were looking at various pictures of Taiwanese food & came across one for 牛肉餡餅 & my mouth literally started to drool.  I was hooked & decided I had to make some to satisfy my craving so here's my take on it.  Yummers!

 

 

牛肉餡餅 - Pan-Fried Beef Pastry

1 lb ground beef

6 stalks green onion, finely chopped

1 egg

1/8 cup soy sauce

3 tb sesame oil

2 ts white pepper, ground

1 ts black pepper, ground

2 cups white flour + a little extra

1 cup hot water 

Makes 8 pastries.

- Mix all the ingredients (minus the flour & water) together in a bowl.  Cover & store in the fridge overnight.

- Mix the flour & hot water in a bowl until just combined.

- Sprinkle work surface with flour, pour the dough onto your work surface & knead a few times.

- Roll dough out into a snake & cut into 8 rounds.

- Take one round & roll it out into an 8" diameter circle such that the middle of the circle is slightly thicker than the edges. 

- Place 1/8 of the meat mixture in the middle of the rolled out dough.  

- Bring all the edges together & pinch shut.  Flip the pastry over such that the pinched side is down & lightly pat the pastry such that the top is flat.

- Place a pan over medium-low heat & liberally sprinkle oil into pan.

- When the oil is hot, place the pastry into the pan.  Fry each side for about 3-4 minutes.
- Eat immediately!  

Cream Cheese Almond Cookies

I have been on a fatty craze lately so this is my latest creation which definitely fulfilled my love for butter.  That being said, this is definitely not a
recipe for the faint of arteries.  Enjoy!

Cream Cheese Almond Cookies

2 sticks unsalted butter, soften

4 oz cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

1 tb vanilla extract

1 egg 

2 & 2 tb cups flour

1 ts baking powder

3/4 cup almond slices

 

Makes about 30 cookies. 

- Beat butter & cream cheese together until smooth & fluffy.

- Add sugar, vanilla extract & egg.  Mix until smooth.

- Carefully fold in flour & baking powder until just incorporated.

- Place dough in the refrigerator for about half an hour to allow the dough to set & firm up.

- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

- Take dough out & roll dough into 1 tb balls.

- Lightly flatten each ball & place the flattened dough into the almond slices so that it is completely covered on one side.

- Place the dough down onto the cookie sheet with the almond side up.

- Bake for 14-18 minutes.

 

Raspberry Brie Pastries

I know, I know.  I have a lot of posts that involve berries but I cannot help it.  Berries are my favorite fruits.  One of my coworkers opened up his awesome boat to us for a team-building trip.  It just happened to be the perfect weather day as well.  This is how perfect it was...isn't the sky just absolutely gorgeous? 

The summer sky's blush reminds me of raspberries so I took inspiration from that & made raspberry brie pastries for our boat trip.  Yuuuuum!

Raspberry Brie Pastries

8 slices of brie

1 tube of croissant dough (mine came from Trader Joe's)

2 tb sugar

40 fresh raspberries

- Preheat oven according to the dough's instructions.

- Divide the dough into 8 triangles.

- Place a slice of brie on the widest section of each piece of dough.

- Place 5 raspberries on top of the brie.

- Sprinkle 1/4 tb of sugar on top of raspberries.

- Roll dough like a croissant & bake according to the dough's instructions.

Blueberry Cheesecake Tart

One of my most popular requests is my blueberry cheesecake tart so I decided to share the goodness with everyone here.  The blueberries can easily be replaced with any other fruit.  I made red, white & blue versions this time around in honor of Independence Day. 

Here's an individual strawberry cheesecake tart.

Blueberry Cheesecake Tart

1 cup flour

1/3 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold & cubed

8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 & 1/2 ts vanilla extract

4 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen

1/3 cup sliced almonds

- Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

- Lightly coat a 9" tart pan with butter or oil.

- Combine the flour, powdered sugar & butter in a bowl.  Mash butter into the flour & sugar with your fingers until pea-sized chunks of butter, sugar & flour form.  Press the mixture onto the bottom & sides of the pan.

- Beat cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, egg & vanilla extract until smooth.  Pour cheese mixture over the crust & spread evenly.

- Toss blueberries & remaining sugar (1/4 cup) in a bowl until blueberries are coated with the sugar.  Pour the blueberries over the cheese mixture.

- Sprinkle sliced almonds over blueberries.

- Bake for 30 minutes or until the filling is almost set.

Here's an individual raspberry cheesecake tart.

Taiwanese Stewed Pork Over Rice/Noodles (滷肉飯/麵 - Lu Rou Fan/Mien)

My blog has not been very omnivore-like lately so I have decided to remedy that with this D-E-LI-CIOUS post about one of the best dishes known to mankind.  Yes, it is that good!  This is a traditional Taiwanese meal with pork belly as the big star so readers beware - this is really fatty & not for the faint of arteries.  

滷肉飯/麵 - Taiwanese Stewed Pork Over Rice/Noodles

1/3 ground pork

1/3 pork belly, cubed

1 tb garlic, minced

3 stalks green onion, diced

4 eggs, boiled & shelled (optional)

1 cup small fried tofu, halved (optional)

4 tb soy sauce

1 tb rock sugar (can be substituted with regular sugar if rock sugar is not available)

1/2 tb ground pepper (I prefer white pepper)

1 tb rice wine

1/2 tb sesame oil

1/2 ts five-spice powder

1 cup broth of your choice

rice or noodles of your choice

Makes about four servings.

- Stir fry ground pork & pork belly until just barely done.

- Add fried tofu if you are including it.  Traditionally there is no tofu but I love it & tossed it in.

- Add garlic & green onion until fragrant.

- Add soy sauce, rock sugar, ground pepper, rice wine, sesame oil, & five-spice powder.  Mix until everything is evenly coated with the powder.

- Place mixture to a crockpot along with the broth & eggs & cook on low heat for a few hours.  You can also let it simmer on low heat on the stove for an hour or so if you do not have a crockpot.

- Drizzle mixture over rice or noodles & enjoy!

Look at those amazing bits of fatty pork belly!

I added some zucchini & napa cabbage as my attempt to even out the unhealthy factor of the fatty pork.

Vegan Raspberry or Blueberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are super simple to make & turned out delicious!  I made a small batch with blueberries & another small batch with raspberries.  Both turned out equally yummy.  I hope you try them out!

Raspberry or Blueberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/4 cup Earth Balance butter or any other vegan butter

1/2 cup crushed berries

1/3 cup white sugar

3/4 cup + 2 tb white flour

1 ts baking powder

1/3 cup white chocolate chips

Makes about two dozen cookies.

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

- Melt butter in a large bowl.

- Mix berries & sugar into the melted butter until thoroughly combined.

- Mix remaining ingredients (minus the chocolate) until thoroughly combined.

- Fold chocolate chips into the dough.

- Scoop about 2 tb of dough per cookie onto cookie sheets & bake for 14 minutes.

Swiss Chard Frittata

The swiss chard at the farmers' market looked so bold & beautiful with its bright yellow, orange, pink, & red stems that I immediately snapped up a bunch with grand plans to make a frittata that same day.  Unfortunately (or shall I say fortunately?), the nice weather was beckoning me so I spent my day outdoors instead.  I live in the Pacific Northwest & the definition of nice weather is a day that is not sprinkling or more.  That means that if it is gloomy out but there are not droplets of water falling from the sky, you appreciate the day & spend your day outdoors.  And that was the kind of day it was & that is what I did.  

Back to the swiss chard.  I had forgotten about the chards until today when my stomach started rumbling during a conference call & frittatas require little guidance so I decided to make that for lunch & it definitely hit the spot!  Just in case my manager or coworkers read my blog, I'd like to clarify that yes I made this during the conference call but it requires so little effort because it is mostly an oven recipe...so do not worry!  I was still listening to the call & participating while the frittata was being made.  :)

Swiss Chard Frittata

1/2 large onion, sliced 

1 bundle of swiss chard, chopped into 1/2" slices

6 large eggs

2 tb milk

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

extra virgin olive oil

salt, to taste

black pepper, to taste

- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

- Using an oven-safe pan, saute onion in olive oil on medium low heat until the onions barely begin to caramelize.

- Whisk eggs, milk, cheese, salt, & pepper in a bowl while onions are cooking.

- Add the swiss chard & saute until the chards are wilted.

- Pour the egg mixture into the pan & make sure the wet mixture is spread throughout the pan evenly.

- Cook until the edges of the frittata begin to set.

- Place the pan in the oven for 10 minutes or until the middle of the frittata is set.

 

Uh oh, someone *cough* Kitsune *cough* is eyeing my lunch!

Baked Beet Chips

Crunchy chips are one of my great loves so why not make it healthier & feed my obsession with beet chips instead?  As mentioned in an earlier post, I like to convince myself that certain foods are healthier because of such & such.  Well, these chips are healthier because they are baked; full of vitamins A, C, & various Bs; a vegetable; abundantly filled with antioxidants so who wouldn't want some of these puppies?

Yum!

 

Baked Beet Chips

Beets, peeled

Olive oil

Salt, to taste

- Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

- Slice beets to no more than 2mm in thickness.

- Lightly toss beets in olive oil & salt.  (I was a little too generous with the olive oil.)

- Place on a baking sheet & bake for about 30 minutes until crispy.

Leftover Easter Candy Equals Cookies

What to do with leftover Easter candy?  What to do?  Oh, I know!  Cookies!  Yum, right?  I was perusing the aisles at Target around Easter time when I came across white chocolate M&Ms.  I do not particularly care for white chocolate (I mean it's not even real chocolate!) but I never knew they existed in M&M form so I bought a bag to try out.  As suspected, they were too sweet for my liking so I used decided to turn them into cookies - white chocolate raspberry cookies, to be exact, & what an excellent decision that was.

White Chocolate Raspberry Cookies

2 & 1/4 cups white flour
2 ts baking powder
1/2 ts salt
5/8 cup unsalted butter, cold
5/8 cup light brown sugar
5/8 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 ts vanilla extract

1/2 cup dried raspberries

1 cup white chocolate M&Ms 

- Combine flour, baking soda & powder, & salt into a bowl.
- In a separate bowl, beat butter & sugars until creamy and fluffy. 
- Add egg & incorporate well.
- Add vanilla extract & mix.
- On low speed, add flour mixture & mix until just combined.
- Carefully add dried raspberries & white chocolate without breaking them.
- Chill dough for 24 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Grab a spoonful of dough, roll into a golf-sized ball & place on baking sheet.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes.

Super Thin Crust

This recipe inspired me this past March so I set out to make it the same week I found the recipe but with my own take on it & it turned out absolutely delicious!  

Cherry Tomato, Coppa & Arugula Super Thin Crust Pizza

1 package Trader Joe's herb focaccia dough

1/2 cup tomato sauce

1/2 cup halved bocconcini (small mozzarella balls)

8 slices coppa

3 cups arugula

1 cup cherry tomatoes

10 fresh basil leaves

- Preheat oven to 500 degrees Fahrenheit.

- Divide dough into four equal portions.  Take each portion & roll it out on a flat surface as thin as you can without breaking the dough when you lift it up.  I was able to get mine to about 1-2mm.

- Place rolled out dough onto a baking sheet or pizza stone.

- Spread tomato sauce on all four pizzas.

- Spread the remaining ingredients equally amongst the pizzas.

- Bake for 10-12 minutes, depending on how crispy you like your crust.

NOTE: The secret to making crispy thin crust pizza is to bake them at extremely high temperatures.

Vegan Butternut Squash Bread

Going grocery shopping when you have a hungry tummy is NEVER a good idea - especially when you go to Costco where everything portioned for giants or for a family of ten.  What happens when I go to Costco on an empty stomach?  I end up purchasing almost everything that looks delicious within sight.  This time around my Costco loot included a really large container of pre-cut butternut squash.  It was never on my grocery list but I saw it & my stomach told me I had to have it despite the quantity of squash per container. What do I do with all that squash?  How about bread?  

I love my sweets but I tend to like my level of sweetness to be on the low to mid-range so if that is your level as well then you will absolutely love this bread.  Baked goods are not exactly healthy but I like to rationalize & convince myself that certain baked goods are fine.  Should one eat a chocolate chip cookie?  Well, it has chocolate which has antioxidants & that is good for our bodies.  Should one eat a scone?  Sure, the raspberries in it provide antioxidants, manganese, iron, fiber, & vitamin C! Well, how about butternut squash bread?  Um, yeah!  It has plenty of fiber, magnesium, potassium, as well as vitamins A, C, & E!  Who wouldn't want all that awesome nutrition for your body? 

So let us all make some butternut squash bread to get our nutrition!  

Vegan Butternut Squash Bread

2 & 1/2 cups cooked & pureed butternut squash
1/2 cup canola oil (or butter for vegan-less)
3 tb ground flax seed & 9 tb water (or 3 large eggs for vegan-less)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin spice

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

- Lightly grease & flour two loaf pans.

- Beat sugars, oil, flax seed, & water on high for a few minutes until thoroughly combined.

- Add squash & mix on medium-low speed until thoroughly combined.

- Add the remaining ingredients & mix on low speed until thoroughly combined.

- Pour into both loaf pans & bake for about 50 minutes or a toothpick comes out clean.

Spicy Bamboo & Tofu Chow Ho Fun (筍子豆干炒河粉)

I present to you tonight's dinner - 筍子豆干炒河粉!  I have been craving spicy bamboo & tofu so I was originally just going to make a side dish with that but I saw 炒河粉 (rice noodle) at the market & immediately bought it to make a main dish out of the spicy bamboo & tofu.  For those of you who are not familiar with 炒河粉, it is a wide & flat rice noodle.  This noodle is quite versatile & popular in both Cantonese & Mandarin cuisine.  I grew up eating it both ways which are both equally scrumptious.  

筍子豆干炒河粉 - Spicy Bamboo & Tofu Chow Ho Fun

2 cups fresh bamboo shoot, sliced

2 cups Chinese five-spice tofu, sliced

1/2 package chow ho fun (炒河粉)

2 stalks green onion, chopped into 1" in length

1 & 1/2 tb sesame oil

2 tb chili oil

3 tb light soy sauce

- Heat oils & soy sauce on medium low heat in a saute pan.

- Add tofu & bamboo shoot.  Stir until sesame & chili oils are fragrant.

- Add chow ho fun & green onion.  Mix until the noodles are cooked.  You can cook it longer if you'd like some of the noodles slightly crispy.

I love Chinese food!  I grew up eating this cuisine & most dishes are simple to make.   

Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ooops!  Looks like I never finished posted this recipe from over a year ago!

The bacon-in-sweets craze has come upon society!  Why not join in on the festivities & make some bacon chocolate chip cookies.  I adapted this from Jacques Torres' chocolate chip cookies recipe which I had posted about here.  WARNING - This may contribute to high-cholesterol levels since I even used all the grease from the bacon in the batter.  :D

Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies

5 strips bacon, the fattiest you can find

2 cups minus 2 tb cake flour
1 & 2/3 cups bread flour
1 & 1/4 ts baking soda
1 & 1/2 ts baking powder
1 & 1/2 ts coarse salt (I used sea salt)
1 & 1/8 cups unsalted butter, cold
1 & 1/4 cups light brown sugar
1 cup & 2 tb granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 ts vanilla extract
1 & 1/4 lb chocolate disks (at least 60% cacao)
Sea salt

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

- Mince bacon & fry until extra crispy.

- Separate the bacon from the grease/oil.  Important!  Keep the leftover bacon grease! 

- Combine and sift flours, baking soda & powder, and salt into a bowl.
- In a separate bowl, beat butter, bacon grease, and sugars until creamy and fluffy.  About 4-5 minutes.
- Add one egg at a time and incorporate well after each addition.
- Add vanilla extract and mix.
- On low speed, add 1/2 flour mixture & 1/2 fried bacon.  Mix until just combined.  

- Add & mix the remaining flour mixture & bacon to the dough until just combined.
- Carefully add chocolate disks without breaking them.
- Now here comes the most difficult part (especially for those with no patience like yours truly) - Chill dough for 24 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Grab a spoonful of dough, roll into a golf-sized ball and place on baking sheet.
- Sprinkle a little sea salt on top of cookie.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes.

Vegan Chocolate Mocha Banana Bread

This is my vegan version of banana bread but ingredients can easily be substituted if you prefer dairy & eggs in your baked goods.  

Vegan Chocolate Mocha Banana Bread

4 very ripe medium bananas, peeled & mashed

1/2 cup agave syrup

1/4 cup canola oil

1/4 cup almond milk

1 tb ground flax seed + 3 tb water (or 1 egg)

1 & 1/2 cup flour

1 ts instant espresso powder

1 & 1/2 ts baking soda

1 ts sea salt

1 cup chocolate chips

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit & lightly grease & flour a loaf pan.

- Mix all wet ingredients together until thoroughly combined.

- Add remaining ingredients except for the chocolate chips & stir until just combined.

- Fold in chocolate chips.

- Pour into the loaf pan & bake for an hour or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean or in my case - almost clean as I like mine slightly mushy.

The espresso powder adds depth to the bread & gives me that caffeine kick to start my mornings.

 

Spicy Vegan White Chili

I have been adhering to a vegetarian diet when cooking at home so I have been coming up with different ways of making sure my body has the protein it needs.  My main source of protein has been dairy & tofu.  I absolutely love both but it's about time I venture out to other proteins so here come the beans!  This turned out wonderful & I'd make it again & again because it is easy, delicious & requires few seasonings as most of the flavor comes from the spicy Field Roast sausages.

Spicy Vegetarian White Chili

1/2 cup white beans
1/2 cup pinto beans
4 Field Roast Mexican Chipotle sausages, sliced
1/2 cup frozen carrots, cubed
2 cups baby kale
1/2 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tb dried parsley
1 ts celery seed
7 cups water
2 & 1/2 cups vegetable broth

- Toss everything into a slow cooker 7-8 hours on low.

See, I told you it's easy!  I love my slow cooker.  Whoever invented it, you're genius!!!

Modified 韭菜盒子- Jiucai Hezi - Chinese Chive Pastries (Without the Pastry)

One of my favorite foods is 韭菜盒子, also known as Chinese chive pastries.  The smell & taste of Chinese chive pastries always bring back such sweet memories of my grandmother in the kitchen.  I consider her to be my muse whenever I cook mainland Chinese & Taiwanese food.  I always try to make my food as good as hers but I have never managed to succeed in doing so - it must be because I'm missing that secret & awesome grandma ingredient. 

I decided to recreate a healthier version 韭菜盒子 by omitting the meat & pastry as well as replacing bean thread / Chinese vermicelli with quinoa (the leftover quinoa from my vegan sweet potato & quinoa muffin foray).  Turned out so delicious!  I will post my actual 韭菜盒子 recipe sometime in the near future.

As you all know, I am making an effort to eat healthier (of which I have failed to do on several occasions) so that I can beat my friends in this weight throwdown, gloat in their faces, & donate the winnings to Not For Sale - a non-profit organization that aims to bring awareness to modern-day slavery.  I highly recommend everyone to take a moment to educate themselves on modern-day slavery.  So many of us lead extremely blessed lives because we have the freedom to be happy but not everyone has such freedom.  We, humans, are compassionate creatures & should care for one another - not take advantage of one another for our own benefits. 

Modified 韭菜盒子- Jiucai Hezi -  Chinese Chive Filling

1 & 1/4 cups quinoa, cooked

1/2 lb Chinese chives(韭菜 - jiucai), chopped

4 squares Chinese five-spice tofu (豆干 - dougan), chopped

4 eggs, scrambled

3 ts salt

1 tb sesame oil

1/4 ts white pepper

- Saute everything together on medium-low heat until Chinese chives are fragrant.

So easy!

Vegan Sweet Potato & Quinoa Muffins

I'm sure it is quite obvious that I love carbohydrates so I made another attempt to at least put a little bit of "health" into my carbs.  I had a lonely sweet potato that had been left out of my quiche with sweet potato crust so I decided to make vegan sweet potato & quinoa muffins.  *Nomnomnom*  Of course I ended up with left over quinoa so a savory quinoa recipe will follow this one.  

Vegan Sweet Potato & Quinoa Muffins

1 & 1/4 cups wheat flour

2/3 cups brown sugar

1 ts pumpkin spice
1 ts baking powder

1 ts salt
3/4 cup cooked quinoa
1 cup almond milk
1 sweet potato, cooked & mashed (skin discarded)

4 tb Earth Balance spread, melted
2 ts vanilla extract
1 tb canola oil

Topping

1/3 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tb wheat flour
1/2 ts pumpkin spice
2 tb Earth Balance spread, melted 

Makes 12 muffins.

- Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

- Combine wheat flour, brown sugar, pumpkin spice, baking powder, & salt in a bowl.

- Thoroughly mix sweet potato, almond milk, Earth Balance spread, vanilla extract, & canola oil in a separate bowl.  

- Slowly mid the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.  Stir until just combined.

- Fold in cooked quinoa.

- In a separate bowl, combine all the topping ingredients.

- Either grease & flour a muffin pan or use cupcake liners.

- Fill 3/4 of each compartment with the batter & top with the almond topping.

- Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.

Yuuuummmmmm!!!

Black Sesame Yogurt Pound Cake

I have been on an Asian kick lately so here's a modified black sesame version of the matcha yogurt pound cake. 

 

Black Sesame Yogurt Pound Cake

1 & 1/2 cups yogurt

2 & 1/4 cups sifted wheat flour, plus more for flouring the pan

1 cup ground black sesame
1⁄2 ts salt
1⁄2 ts baking soda
1 & 1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs

 2 ts vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk (you can also make buttermilk by mixing 1 cup milk & 2 tb vinegar & letting it rest 5 minutes)

- Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.

- Grease & flour a bundt pan.

- Combine flour, black sesame, salt, & baking soda in a bowl.

- Beat yogurt & sugar together until well combined in a separate bowl. 

- Add eggs in & beat until well combined.

- Mix in vanilla.

- Add a third of the flour mixture into the yogurt mixture & beat on low speed until well combined.

- Add a third of the buttermilk in & beat on low speed until well combined.

- Repeat the above two steps until all the flour mixture & buttermilk are well incorporated into the batter.

- Bake in the oven for 60 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

 

Quiche With Sweet Potato Crust

Here is my healthier take on quiche - sweet potato crust instead of a flour & butter crust.  Yum!!!  I love quiches because it's so versatile.  You can basically put whatever you want in it so this is what I decided to put into mine today.

Quiche with Sweet Potato Crust

3 sweet potatoes, sliced like potato chips

1 cup leeks, chopped

1 cup crimini mushrooms, diced

1 eggplant, diced

2 vegetarian Italian sausages, cut into 1/2" thick half circles (I recommend Field Roast) 

1 cup bell peppers, chopped

4 cups spinach

4 tb pesto (recipe below)

3 roma tomatoes, sliced

generous handful of haricot vert

10 eggs

2 & 1/2 cups milk

1/4 cup mozzarella, sliced

- Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

- Lightly grease a 12" spring form pan.

- Saute pesto, sausage, mushroom, leek, eggplant, & bell pepper until eggplant is done.

- Add spinach & saute until the spinach is just wilted.

- Line the bottom & sides of the spring form pan with the sliced sweet potatoes.

- Place sauteed vegetables over the sweet potato crust.

- Top with haricot vert, tomatoes & mozzarella.

- Beat eggs & milk until thoroughly combined & pour over the quiche.

- Bake for 40 minutes or until set.

Pesto

3 tb pine nuts
2 cups fresh basil leaves
1 clove garlic, peeled

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup freshly grated parmigiano reggiano cheese
Salt to taste

Makes about 1 cup of pesto & can be refrigerated for 3 weeks or so.

- Blend the pine nuts, basil & garlic using a blender, processor, or mortar & pestle.

- Add olive oil & continue blending.

- Add cheese & continue blending until the mixture is paste-like.

- Add salt & blend to taste.