Skyrim as an inspiration for food

So I was playing skyrim and decided to look up “cooking with leeks” because everyone eats leeks there. And that’s what I found:

Retrieved from: http://www.yumandmore.com/2012/05/in-may-lemony-green-asparagus-quiche-with-leeks-and-sheep-cheese-and-an-asparagus-puff-pastry-appetizer/

Lemony Green Asparagus Quiche with Leeks and Sheep Cheese

Ingredients: Crust:

• 125 grams / 1 stick of cold butter
• 250 grams / 2 cups of flour
• 1 pinch salt
• 3 TSP cold water
• 1 tsp herbes de Provence (optional)

Filling:

• 500 grams green asparagus ends cut off and lightly peeled if necessary, washed and cut into 1 inch pieces, leaves heads in one piece
• 1-2 small leeks, many whites, well washed and cut into thin rings
• 3 eggs and 1 egg yolk
• 200 grams / 1 cup of vegetable-based or other whipping cream
• salt & pepper to taste
• zest of 1 organic lemon
• juice of 1 organic lemon
• 1 pinch of chili flakes
• 1 TBSP butter
• 100 grams / 3.5 ounces of sheep cheese, crumbled
• 3 sprigs fresh dill, finely chopped
• 3 sprigs fresh estragon, finely chopped
• 2 TBSP of fresh grated Parmesan or Pecorino

Putting it all together: Crust:

Cut the butter into small pieces.

Mix and kneed the butter, flour and salt adding the water as needed and then the herbes if using to make a smooth, elastic dough that doesn’t stick to your finger.

Roll it out with a little flour to fit your quiche form. Cut off excess dough on top with a knife and use your fingers to form the dough into the scalloped wdges of the form. Cover with a  clean kitchen towel and place in the fridge or any other cool place until ready to fill.

Preheat the oven to 200° C / 350° F Filling:

Drain the asparagus and leeks, by removing them from their washing water and not pouring them out or the sand that has gathered at the bottom of the bowl will “return” to the chopped vegetables.

In a large non-stick frying pan melt half the butter on medium heat. Add the leeks and stir-fry 3 minutes being careful not to brown or burn them, if need be lower the heat. Add the remaining butter and then the asparagus pieces. Continue to stir-fry for a further 4 minutes. Add the lemon juice, chopped dill and estragon, salt and fresh ground pepper as well as the pinch of chili flakes. Turn up the heat and bring the liquid to a boil stirring constantly about 2-3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let sit as is.

In a large bowl combine the eggs and the cream beating well with a wire whisk. Add the lemon zest and another pinch of salt and a grind of pepper. Mix well again.

Retrieve your pie crust, carefully and quickly distribute the vegetable filling and all the liquid onto the crust taking care not to tear any holes.

Cover the filling evenly with the crumbled sheep cheese. Now pour in the egg mixtures evenly over the filling so that it is more or less covered.

Sprinkle the grated Parmesan or Pecorino over the quiche and bake in a 180° oven for 40 minutes. Check if the center is set if not bake 5-10 minutes more. Cover with tin foil for the last baking if the surface is too dark to protect from burning. Remove from oven and cool 5-10 minutes before serving.

Yum!

Welcoming the fall weather: sleep and kindle.

I woke up before the alarm. I WOKE UP BEFORE THE ALARM!!! That means, I got enough sleep – for the first time in a very long time. That makes for a happy morning. While I am still lazy to make breakfast, I made some delicious black tea with honey and half-and-half. It feels like a start of one of those beautiful fall days, and even the sunlight does not bother me.

Yesterday was a day that I barely remember – I know I was worried about homework, and making it to classes. There was too much rain and no power – which was cold, and fun. However, I think i spent most of the last 36 hours sleeping. Or at least it feels like it. Somehow, in that time, I made it to the grocery store and got food, so I don’t have to worry about my survival due to lack of food any more – now it’s just me being scared to clean and cook presents a potential threat. And I also don’t remember if and when I took or did not take my allergy medicine, which means I’m gonna have to opt out for benadryl – an effective thing that hopefully will not make me sleepy because I got more sleep than I needed.

Also, I preordered my Kindle – the new Kindle paperwhite that comes out on September 30th. It was one of the spontaneous decisions I’ve made lately – and the one I’m sure I won’t regret. I’ve been following e-ink technology since high school. I saw e-readers with buttons, and with the first touchscreen that made the text almost unreadable. The background was gray, and the light – if it was built-in – presented difficulties in reading the text and made it huge and heavy. I never thought an e-reader should have buttons, let alone a keyboard, so I always hung around and looked at their development and never saw something worthy of buying. And now I did. And asked myself why I still don’t have one. So I decided to order one. It is also my first time preordering anything – so I’m pretty excited about that. Now I can officially welcome fall, because in a little bit under a couple weeks, on those cool fall days, I’ll be able to curl up with my kindle, some apple cider, blankets – and an exciting adventure to follow. I do like to read. I barely ever do though – because my phone dies too fast, my computer is too big, and… I hate paper books. I am a technology person, who is really excited to embrace the fall and read an interesting stories on a cool piece of technology. My dream from 8 years ago is finally coming true.