Torture

[cjsmith]

Yesterday's free lunch: pasta in assorted sauces, with bread and butter.
Today: someone brought in Krispy Kremes and left them by the microwave.

I don't for one minute think other people should have to change what they're doing for my comfort, but my God, I never knew how AWFUL this sort of thing could be. I am getting a major education here.

edit: AND there's an Enforced Fun at the office tomorrow! Guess what we're having! Pizza and ice cream! I think I feel an attack of bubonic plague coming on. *eyeroll*

Comments

[porcinea.livejournal.com]

Oh! Here's a tasty dish: savory filling (chopped ham, collard greens & onion sauteed together with a splash of balsamic vinegar & Greek spices, broccoli, roasted chicken, sausage, pretty much anything). Spread in bottom of pan. I'm guessing I use about 2 cups worth? Maybe it's only 1. Enough to cover the bottom of the dish at least half an inch deep.

Top with shredded cheese (almost any cheese will do -- cheddar, goat, mix'em'up). About a half a pound of cheese, I use; you could use way less and still have a tasty dish.

Okay, here's where it gets tricky -- can you eat yoghurt? Mild lactose-intolerance, you mention, and cheese is okay? So maybe yoghurt is, too? If yes, then beat up 1 cup of yoghurt (or sour cream equivalent) with 3 eggs. If no, beat up 4 eggs.

Pour beaten mixture from above over savory plus cheese that's already in your pan. Bake in a medium hot (350 - 375 deg. F) oven until done (approx. half an hour to 40 minutes).

You've now made a crustless quiche or a frittata. Either way, egg consumption without the utter relentlessness of hardboiled / scrambled / omelette.

(I hope this was actually helpful, rather than annoying.)

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Hey, thank you! This is another way to mix it all up.

Is "savory filling" a specific thing with a definition, like bouquet garni, or is it just any chopped up stuff that is savory rather than sweet? F'rex, if I chop up a pile of spinach & onion & a bit of garlic, does that also count? What kind of herbs might be good to add? (Herbs are where I totally fail as a make-it-up-as-you-go cook.)

I can indeed eat yogurt. My handout sheet says "in moderation" on that one, which sounds like this recipe is fine.

[porcinea.livejournal.com]

Yes, any chopped-up (and cooked!) stuff that is savory rather than sweet. Spinach & onion & garlic is just about perfect. I'd add a splash of vinegar to take the edge off the greens. And then I'd use my Greek spices, which are primarily oregano, pepper, salt, paprika & basil (plus 10 other spices!) -- I buy it from Old Towne restaurant, in Charleston, SC. A tub lasts us about a year. http://www.oldtownegrill.com/ (in case anyone reading this is curious).

I have a heavy hand with herbs & spices. When I'm cooking in other people's kitchens, I tend to raid their spice cabinet and sniff stuff until I find something that smells like it would go with whatever I'm cooking. It's kind of random, although the bottle label may provide clues. Then I dump a (couple?) tablespoon(s) into my palm, filling the center hollow of my cupped hand, and then rub my palms together over the pan to crush the dried plant matter. (Powdery spices I just dump in.) I like to add the herbs/spices early on, like as the onion is almost finished (onion is always the first thing I put in). With the garlic, generally. I sometimes forget, and have to add it in at the end. No biggie.

[ambar.livejournal.com]

Spinach onion and garlic totally counts.


Here's my frittata base:

brown 1C chopped onion in a little bit of olive oil in a nonstick pan. Add chopped garlic to taste (ie, none to 4 cloves, whatever you want). Add a big fistful of spinach leaves and cook (stirring them around) until they are wilted -- a shake of salt (seasoned or plain) will help wilt them.

Other veggies go in fine at this point. I am lazy and TJ's has lots of pre-prepped frozen veggies. Ie, half a cup of bell pepper strips, or the same of sliced zucchini and squash, or their green mix of asparagus tips, edamame and more spinach. Whatever.

Option: throw in 4oz of diced already cooked meat -- roasted chicken breast or ham or whatever.

In a separate bowl, beat 1C egg whites with 1 whole egg plus spices -- eg, 1 teaspoon Penzey's Northwoods Seasoning.

Pour the egg mix over the veggies and cook until the bottom seems reasonably solid (I jiggle the pan to see if it swirls or not).

You can either flip the frittata in the pan to get the top finished, or brown it under a broiler.

[ambar.livejournal.com]

should have mentioned, you can simply use 6 whole eggs instead of the egg whites if you feel the need increase calories and aren't sweating your cholesterol intake.

[jtidwell.livejournal.com]

I do Yet Another Variant on the frittata theme. I mix the eggs with some amount of cream or milk (are those okay?), and add around a quarter teaspoon of baking powder per 6-8 eggs. This helps the whole thing puff up very nicely. Fractionalize as necessary for fewer eggs.

I cook it mostly on the stovetop, then grate some hard cheese on top and pop it under the oven broiler. Yep. Flipping an 8-egg frittata in the pan takes more skill than I've got!

For fillings, my favorites are (1) onion, garlic, and zucchini slices cooked until brown, and (2) spinach and feta cheese. The latter would also be good with a few diced tomatoes in it....