I have no idea where the month of July went, but I forgot about making one new vegetarian meal a month so I'll have to do two for August. This challenge is an attempt for both myself and Mike to eat a bit healthier and not feel reliant on meat for every meal. The risk of eating vegetarian for novices like us is not getting our protein and eating too many unhealthy carbs, which is just as bad as eating too much meat so I have to be conscious of the recipes I choose. Mike grew up with plenty of meals without meat, but they consisted of lots of pizza and pasta, which is why this challenge cannot include either of those starches!
I grew up eating a some-what balanced dinner of salad first, then a meal with a veggie, a meat, and a starch (often too much starch). Today when I don't have meat in a meal I don't feel satisfied. I know this is all in my head, so I'm hoping I can happily eat a meal without meat and be completely satiated. Mike, however, didn't eat a single vegetable besides corn and potatoes when I first met him. The past few years I've gradually introduced Mike's diet to green beans, broccoli, cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes, zucchini, and even the odd spinach or kale snuck in soup. He's new to vegetables so it's another thing I have to be considerate of. Growing up in California I always enjoyed a plethora of delicious, unique, inexpensive, and almost always in season veggies. When I moved to Boston and then London, that all changed. I transitioned to the lands of root vegetables and other vegetables and fruits you could only get at certain seasons or expensive markets (and some not at all). Because of this over the past 10 years my taste for vegetables has regressed to the extent I'd rather have a starchy carb or creamy soup instead of a green salad full of bright vegetables.
This all has to change! But since this is the first of 12 (and many more) vegetarian meals we'll start a little slow and palate-friendly with a quiche. If you want to omit the starch completely you can always bake this without a crust, which is more like making a flat omelette or frittata.
I haven't been grocery shopping in over a week so I used whatever vegetables I had in the house, but the original recipe calls for zucchini/courgette. You can find that recipe
HERE, but my adapted version is below.
Caramelized Onion, Broccoli, Pea, and Tomato Quiche
Adapted from
Cooking Light Magazine
Serves 6
Ingredients
1/2 (14.1-ounce) package refrigerated pie dough (I used 1 roll of JUS-ROL shortcrust ready roll so I didn't have to roll it out)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh broccoli
1/2 cup frozen peas, defrosted
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes (I used cherry ones)
3 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/2 cup finely chopped Basic Caramelized Onions (recipe
HERE or my version below)
1 cup 1% low-fat or semi-skimmed milk
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 large eggs
2 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated (about 1/2 cup)
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 425° (218° centigrade).
2. Roll dough into a 12-inch circle (or whatever size for the pie plate you have). Fit dough into a 10-inch deep-dish pie plate. Fold edges under. Line dough with foil; arrange pie weights or dried beans on foil. Bake at 425°F/218°C for 12 minutes or until edges are golden. Remove weights and foil; bake an additional 2 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
3. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F/190°C.
4. While the dough was cooking I made some caramelized onions a quickie way because I didn't have time to make the recipe above: Thinly slice 1 large onion. Put 2 tablespoons butter with two tablespoons of olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Add onions and cook for 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Lower heat to medium low and continue to cook until browned, about 15 minutes.
5. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl. Add broccoli and sauté 2 minutes. Add tomato, peas, and garlic; sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Sauté 3 more minutes or until crisp-tender. Cool slightly.
6. Arrange onions over bottom of crust; top with vegetable mixture. Combine remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, milk, flour, pepper, eggs, and cheese in a medium bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Pour milk mixture over vegetable mixture. Bake at
375°F/190°C for 35 minutes or until set. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
I served the quiche with green beans and roasted potatoes (the potatoes were meant to be the good part in case Mike hated the quiche).
And the verdict? YUMMM! We both really enjoyed it and we still got our balanced meal in. The original quiche recipe is 314 calories, but I don't think my version is far off since I made only minor substitutions. I still can't believe Mike liked it considering he really doesn't like peas!
Next time I make this quiche, I will probably double the amount of tomatoes and increase the garlic by a couple cloves. If you make it, do not skip out on the caramelized onions, they absolutely made the dish!
Yeahhhhh, so it's not enough that she has a secret sister that was given up for adoption, but that sister has no legs. Pretty juicy stuff. Dominique's memoir, Off Balance, is full of gymnastics horror stories mostly surrounding her crazy intense father and the demanding and manipulative Karolyi power couple (who are still in power today). What makes this gymnastics story unique is that Dominique is a first generation American, but was raised very much like her family still lived in tyrannical Romania (she hadn't even tried a peanut butter and jelly sandwich until she was 14-years-old!). Because of this upbringing you see why she resorted to seeking emancipation after being under the iron fist of her father. Perhaps the most inspiring part of this whole story is not Dominique's at all, but that of the sister she only learned about a few years ago. Her sister, Jennifer, seems like an incredible person - born without legs, but doing more than most people with legs accomplish (including myself). She climbed trees as a small kid, played softball, basketball, volleyball and gymnastics - without legs!! Man, do I feel like a bum when so-called 'disabled' people do more than I do! Really makes me feel guilty for not appreciating or taking care of my body.
I'm giving this book a thumbs up! I enjoyed the juicy gossip, was inspired by Dominique's sister, and even though Dominique did not get to compete again she's now living happily with her husband and two children. I did struggle with a couple parts of this book, one being the repetitiveness of some of the statements about gymnasts or her family; this is likely an editing problem which surprises me because there were two co-authors. Also, while I don't doubt Dominique had an awful childhood, I can't help but wonder how much of her perspective is distorted from a child's point of view? We all have our childhood issues, which at the time seem so traumatic or dramatic because that point in our life is narrow and that's how it feels. As we get older we look back on those things and yes, some of it is still awful, but maybe not as bad as we once felt when we were that immature child and our world was so small. We learn to understand our counterpoint's perspective, forgive, and grow. I don't know how much of that Dominique has done and at times I felt like I was listening to a teenager still. It almost seems as if this was an exposé on how awful, corrupt, and damaging Bela and Marta Karolyi are to USA gymnastics. I would have liked to read more in-depth details on her struggle to get back to competing again in the early 2000s, her partying years (she briefly discusses boys, alcohol and drugs, but not in anywhere close to the detail of the tumbles in her past routines or cruel conversations with Bela), and the creative process (if any) of gymnastics. After reading this book, I'm hoping we get to hear more from her sister about her journey through all of this!
Yeahhhhh, so it's not enough that she has a secret sister that was given up for adoption, but that sister has no legs. Pretty juicy stuff. Dominique's memoir, Off Balance, is full of gymnastics horror stories mostly surrounding her crazy intense father and the demanding and manipulative Karolyi power couple (who are still in power today). What makes this gymnastics story unique is that Dominique is a first generation American, but was raised very much like her family still lived in tyrannical Romania (she hadn't even tried a peanut butter and jelly sandwich until she was 14-years-old!). Because of this upbringing you see why she resorted to seeking emancipation after being under the iron fist of her father. Perhaps the most inspiring part of this whole story is not Dominique's at all, but that of the sister she only learned about a few years ago. Her sister, Jennifer, seems like an incredible person - born without legs, but doing more than most people with legs accomplish (including myself). She climbed trees as a small kid, played softball, basketball, volleyball and gymnastics - without legs!! Man, do I feel like a bum when so-called 'disabled' people do more than I do! Really makes me feel guilty for not appreciating or taking care of my body. 
