Random Thoughts and a Late Summer Dinner

I’ve been off the computer lately.  Trying to be anyway.  I see what a huge timesuck it can be for me, so sometimes I try to take a step back from it when I see I am turning it on too many times a day.  It feels good.  So there’s been a lot of time spent knitting and watching Flight of the Conchords.  And sewing (for work, not fun unfortunately).

The Boy started first grade on Monday and it’s been a big adjustment for him, as well as for our family.  We are still struggling to find our rhythm, but I am certain it will come.  He did great at drop-off the first day.  I didn’t know what to expect, and there’s been some grumbling, but after a hard first day, he’s taking it better than I expected.

The Girl and I are enjoying time alone, and I am enjoying getting my house really clean for the first time in three months.

It’s been raining practically non-stop for the the last three days, which is pretty unusual, but it’s been nice hunkering down at home, pretending it’s Fall.  Which is still at least five weeks away.  Sigh.

What better way to pretend it’s Fall than to make soup? Nevermind the fact that it’s 77 degrees outside (which is actually pretty low).  So crustless quiche and tomato alphabet soup it was.  The Farm is finally open again, which means glorious, bright-orange-yoked eggs, which don’t even compare to the organic supermarket ones.

In an effort to eat less meat, more locally, and to save money on the ever-growing food budget, I’ve been trying to cook at least one or two vegetarian meals a week.  I’ve also been trying to buy what looks good, what’s affordable, and what’s local, rather than going to the store with a dead-set menu plan.  I went shopping today, but I didn’t know what I was going to make for dinner tonight.

The gray and drizzly day made me want soup.   Bear in mind these are more formula than recipe, but for those of you who need it:

ROSE’S CRUSTLESS QUICHE FOR TWO (WITH LEFTOVERS)

1 small head broccoli

1/2 small onion, chopped

olive oil

1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese

1 1/2 teaspoons all purpose flour

2 eggs

3/4 cups half and half (or light cream)

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

pinch nutmeg

pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400. Butter an eight-inch skillet or pan. Cut broccoli into florets and blanch.  Drain and chop.  Saute onion in olive oil until soft. Toss the cheese with the flour and set aside.  Meanwhile, whisk eggs with half and half, salt, nutmeg and pepper, until well mixed. Add broccoli, onion, and cheese to the egg mixture. Pour into pan and bake 25 to 30 minutes, until slightly browned, and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool 15 minutes in the pan, cut into wedges, and serve.  Also good as leftovers, hot, cold, or room temp.

ROSE’S TOMATO (ALPHABET) SOUP

1 small onion, chopped

olive oil

1 large carrot, peeled and grated

1 small zucchini, scrubbed and grated

1 clove garlic, put through a garlic press

1  26 ounce box Pomi strained tomatoes

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon sugar (or agave)

salt and pepper to taste

handful of alphabet pasta

Heat a large pot over medium heat.  Saute onion in olive oil.  Add carrot when onion is soft.  Add zucchini when carrot softens.  Add garlic when all is soft and beginning to brown.  Add tomatoes, and fill the empty tomato box with water. Add water to soup with bay leaf, salt, pepper, and sugar.  Bring to a boil, then simmer, covered, for approximately 40 minutes. Fish out bay leaf and discard.  Using an immersion blender, puree the soup right in the pot.  Meanwhile, bring a smallish pot of water to a boil, then cook pasta and drain.  I like the add the pasta as I serve it because it tends to get mushy as leftovers.  I prefer the soup without pasta, but The Boy loves it.