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Real Men Make Quiche

~ michaelhvs ~ Leave a comment

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For dinner last night I made a quiche.  Real men do more than just eat quiche you know… we also know how to make them.  But this was no ordinary quiche. It was a spinach and feta cheese quiche with a sweet potato crust… And just to make sure I didn’t lose my man card in the process, I added bacon to the recipe. Because as everyone knows… everything is more manly when you add bacon. (I do have to say that it was an organically produced bacon with no nitrates or artificial additives…but nonetheless manly.)

The recipe, which I will copy below, was born of a decision my wife and I made a few years ago. I will share it with you now but if you’re happy with the way you are currently eating and don’t want to change, I suggest you read no further. Sometimes, to be completely honest, I wish I had been given that option.

Years ago, we were encouraged to read the book Wheat Belly by William Davis. That inspired us towards further investigation and we were once again led to Grain Brain  by David Purlmutter with Kristin Loberg.

But I can spare you these reads if you like. The bottom line is… wheat, as we know it, is bad. I mean, really bad in a GMO sense. So my wife and I avoid it. We don’t have gluten allergies but we try to stay gluten free. And we really do feel better as a result. We stay away from breads, wheats, and grains of all kinds. We eat protein (mostly fish and chicken) and fresh vegetables – mainly green. And on those rare occasions when we are tempted to cheat, the repercussions come swift and are digestively unpleasant.

My wife and I have found that it is possible to eat and eat well while avoiding gluten. It just takes a little effort. And that is why I am able to make make quiche out of sweet potatoes. Here’s the recipe:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Thinly slice a sweet potato to make rounds.
Coat sweet potato slices with olive oil, salt and pepper.
Layer sweet potato slices in overlapping manner in quiche pan.
Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.
While baking, saute in pan: oil, 1/2 diced onion, a minced garlic clove, 5 oz of fresh spinach, and diced bacon (3 slices).
In bowl, add 1/2 cup of almond milk, salt, pepper, red pepper, 4 large eggs and 2 egg whites.
Mix.
Layer spinach mixture to sweet potato crust.
Pour egg mixture over spinach.
Increase oven temperature to 375 degrees.
Bake for 35 minutes or until egg mixture is set.
Let stand for an additional 5 minutes before serving.

Michael Ondrasik and Home Video Studio specialize in the preservation of family memories through the digitalization of film, videotapes, audio recordings, photos, negatives, and slides. For more information, call 352-735-8550 or visit our website.

I Talk To The Trees

~ michaelhvs ~ Leave a comment

 

Sometimes, I feel a bit like Rodney Dangerfield… I get no respect.  After I shopped for, prepared and cooked a scrumptious dinner – (Indian Curry with Chicken and Peas – here’s the recipe), we sat around the dinner table to enjoy good food and pleasant conversation.

We talked about our day which, for all of us, seemed to be very busy.  My wife had a full day planned and didn’t get to any of it as chore after chore  prevented her from carrying out her schedule.

I brought my laptop home to catch up on some video editing in between handling some finances and repairing a curtain rod that needed fixing. I worked all day long.

I then turned to my 90 year old mother-in-law who had thus far been silent and said, “What about you Laura? What do you have to complain about?”

“I don’t complain,” she replied, “Nobody listens to me anyway.”

I jokingly broke into song. #I talk to the trees but they don’t listen to me. I talk to the stars but they never hear me. The breeze hasn’t time…#  I stopped as I saw both my wife and mother-in-law staring at me with confused expressions.

“What?” I said, “That’s from Paint Your Wagon. It’s a famous song. Clint Eastwood sang it in the movie.”

Without missing a beat, my mother-in-law turned to my wife and deadpanned, “I hope he sang it better than that.”

No respect.

Michael Ondrasik and Home Video Studio of Mount Dora specialize in the preservation of family memories through the digitalization of films, videotapes, audio recordings, photos, negatives and slides. For more information, call 352-735-8550 or visit our website.

Fit For A King

~ michaelhvs ~ Leave a comment

Messy boy, after eating sandwich

So I’ve mentioned before that I’m a pretty good cook. But I certainly didn’t start out that way. Quite frankly, it would be kind of hard to make that claim since I’m on record somewhere as saying Spaghetti-Os is my favorite Italian dish.

However, as a young boy, I did have a go-to lunch selection that, in my mind, was perfection. In fact, the combination of ingredients needed to be so precise I was the only one who could make it correctly. And I would love to share this secret recipe with you at this time:

You’ll need bread. White of course; Wonder is preferable.

Pickles. Dill, whole, kosher.

Mayonnaise. Kraft. Is there any other kind?

Braunschweiger (aka Liverwurst): comes in a yellow wrapper.

Make sure all your ingredients are on the counter. For a proper sandwich, assembly must be done quickly. This is key.

Step one: Place bread slices in toaster.

Step two: While bread toasts, thinly slice the Braunschweiger and slice one pickle lengthwise.

Step three: Open the jar of mayonnaise then hover over the toaster.

This is the important part. Next steps should come in this order and in quick succession.

As soon as the bread pops us (bread should be warm but not fully toasted), slather one slice of bread with the mayonnaise, put down a layer of the Braunschweiger slices followed by a layer of pickle slices. Braunschweiger may slightly overlap the sides of bread but not excessively. Pickles should be oriented so they lie vertically (their ends should be at the top and bottom of the bread slices.) Cut the sandwich in half widthwise. Never diagonally.

Eat immediately while bread is still warm. There’s a small window of opportunity. Be advised that eating a cold Braunschweiger sandwich is a different culinary experience. Chase with a glass of cold white milk.

It takes practice to get everything exactly right. But I promise you, if done correctly, it will be 60s kitchen counter dining at its finest. If memory serves.

Michael Ondrasik and Home Video Studio specialize in the preservation of family memories through the digitalization of films, videotapes, audio cassettes, photos and slides. For more information, call 352-735-8550 or visit our website.