Quiche Basics

Today, I made a quiche with roasted turkey, chèvre cheese, tomatoes, and parsley. (Total Approximate Cost for 8 reasonable or 4 large servings: 4.56€!)

It's a relatively low-labor, fast, refrigerator-friendly, and easy French dish made with a few basic ingredients and uses up any leftovers you may have. If you are able to buy a store-bought pie crust with no MSG and trans fats, it can also be made with a store-bought pie crust. Here is a healthier version of a flaky, whole wheat, "no-butter" quiche crust: 

Crust

Ingredients (Total Approximate Price: (~0.57€)

2 c. (4dl) whole wheat pastry flour (~0.25€)
1 tsp. salt (~0.01€)
2 tsp. sugar (~0.01€)
3/4 c. (1dl and 3 tbsp) canola oil (~0.15€)
4 tbsp. milk (~0.15€)

Directions

Mix flour with salt and sugar in a large bowl. 

Mix oil and milk with a separate bowl then add to the flour mixture. 

Stir the dough with a fork until it starts to form large clumps. 

Press the dough into a ball then flatten it to form a 5-6 inch (12.7-15.24cm) "pancake". 

Roll out the dough between sheets of plastic or wax/parchment paper. 

Peel off the top sheet and flip the dough into a 9-inch pie pan or tart pan. 

Remove the other sheet and press the dough into the pan. Trim if necessary.

To "blind bake" quiche crust, "dock" the dough (by poking it with a fork several time to let off steam as it bakes) then put parchment or foil on top of dough. Fill the parchment/foil with dried beans. Bake in a 350F (176C) oven for 8-9 minutes. Remove the beans and parchment/foil then return to oven to brown for 3-5 minutes. Add quiche filling (see below) then follow directions for baking the quiche.

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Quiche

Ingredients (Total Approximate Cost: (~0.99€)

1/2 cup (1dl) heavy cream (~0.40€)

1/2 cup (1dl) milk (~0.30€)
2 eggs (~0.25€)
1/4 tsp kosher or coarse sea salt (adjust depending on your personal taste and your filling combination) (~0.01€)
Freshly grated nutmeg (~0.03€)

Directions

In a large glass or stainless steel bowl, beat eggs along with the cream and milk. 

Once thoroughly combined, add the salt and nutmeg. 

Whisk to combine.

Preheat your oven to 350F (176C). 

Evenly distribute the quiche fillings in the crust (see below for filling options). 

DO NOT overfill the crust with the fillings since the eggs will expand and overflow as the quiche bakes. 

DO NOT pour too much of the liquid into the crust. 

Bake the quiche for 40-45 minutes until set like JELL-O. 

Let cool for 15-20 minutes before cutting into the quiche to make sure it is set.
 

Tried and True Quiche Filling Options (Total Approximate Cost: ~1.50€ - 3€): 

• Sauteed onions, bacon (or "lardons" if you live in France), and Parmesan/Comté/Swiss cheese (any hard cheese will do) (~1.50€)

• Smoked salmon, parsley (or cooked spinach), and blanched or canned white asparagus (~3€)
• Roasted turkey, chèvre cheese, parsley, and tomatoes (~3€)
• Canned artichoke hearts, cooked or thawed frozen spinach (make sure it's dried!!!), and Parmesan cheese (~3€)
• Gruyere cheese, sauteed leeks, and bacon (~3€)

• Cooked spinach, sharp cheddar cheese, and cooked ham cut into cubes (~3€)

• Thawed frozen spinach (dried thoroughly!!!) and Swiss cheese (~2€)

(Be creative and try your own combinations as well! Just make sure not to use non-crumbly, soft cheese like mozzarella... otherwise your quiche will be extremely gooey and cheesy, unless, of course, you're into that stuff.)

Victory in Europe Day

Unlike the U.S., where Victory in Europe Day (aka. VE Day), isn't really celebrated and life goes on as normal, the French actually have a day off for this day. Let me play devil's advocate here for a second, but I think it's a little funny that the French celebrate Victory in Europe Day (most stores and banks are closed) given that the French really didn't do much throughout the war until the very end since it was occupied by Germany. Yeah, I know, I live in France and I'm sure tons of French people will be offended, but I can't help but mention that. WWII wasn't "won" by the French... they lost to Germany after a month and it was mostly the UK and the U.S. who helped liberate France and Russia played a big role in defeating the Axis Powers. The French were basically declared winners by default. Sure there was the "Résistance", but yeah...

In any case, maybe I'm just ranting about the French partly because the supermarkets are closed and I have no more milk left to drink since they're also closed on Sundays. Super! One of the things I need to survive is milk, without it, I'm not exactly the happiest person on Earth.

Actually, there's one stereotype about the French that's partially true. "The French can't win a war alone/without the help of Americans". I'm a history major, so I've had my fair share of studying wars fought by the French... and... while it wasn't always the American who helped the French "win", it's kind of true... OK, Napoleon won a lot of battles, but ultimately he lost the Napoleonic Wars to the Duke of Wellington (after whom the dish beef wellington is named).

If you really think about it though... it's kind of true... the French can't win a war alone... unless of course, it's against themselves:

The Gallic Wars - Lost. The French lost the Gallic Wars to the Italians.

Hundred Years War - Almost Lost. The French mostly lost the Hundred Years War (which actually lasted for 118 years) but it was Joan of Arc who came to the rescue! So maybe the French can only win if the armies are led by someone who's not a Frenchman? Perhaps Frenchwomen are made of sterner stuff?

Italian Wars - Lost. Italy is victorious. No offense to the Italians, who also have a not-so-great record when it comes to winning wars, but how can you lose 2/2 wars to Italy???

Thirty Years War - Occupied. France didn't even participate in this war but the country was invaded and at the end of the war, when it's free again, claims that the war was a tie, but the actual participants really didn't pay much attention.

The Dutch War - Tied. I think this is the only time the French managed an actual tie.

War of the Augsburg League/King William's War/French and Indian War -  Mostly Lost. It was actually technically lost but officially declared a "tie".

War of the Spanish Succession - Lost.

The American Revolution War - The French did help and it's true that the U.S. colonies might not have had enough funds to win the war had it not been for French aid... BUT, in terms of actual fighting, Americans saw most of the action and very few Frenchmen actually fought in the war. There's another stereotype that goes "The French only wins a war when America does most of the fighting." In history, it's not always America, but in terms of a foreign, non-French power doing most of the fighting... yeah... maybe it's true.

French Revolution - Won. But they were also fighting against each other... so yeah...

The Napoleonic Wars - Lost. A few battles were won, but Napoleon was Corsican, which is an island of France that actually wants to secede from the country and be independent... but even he lost in the end.

The Franco-Prussian War - Lost. Germany defeats France.

World War I - Tied. The allied powers are given a boost with the intervention of the United States.

World War II - Lost: Victory only by default. The French were defeated by Germany after a month of "courageous" fighting. In the end, they were occupied until the Brits and Americans came to liberate them.

War in Indochina - Lost. French forces lost and had to give up its Southeast Asian colony.

Algerian Rebellion - Lost. France loses its African colony as Algeria becomes the first non-Turkic Muslim country to defeat a "Western" power since 13th century.

I don't advocate any war, but yeah, that stereotype seems to be true, about the French being unreliable when it comes to military affairs. It's just a matter of when the French surrender, I suppose. I wonder... is this why Frenchmen seem so effeminate?

Today's Random Picture:

Love is Deafness

I assume most people are familiar with the expression that "love is blindness". When you're in romantic "love" with someone, you fail to see their flaws and see only the positive traits and are "blinded" by love. While I don't believe romantic love with a significant other can last for more than a few years (5 years would be the maximum, I'd say, in terms of the psychology and scientific explanations, since release of neurotransmitters adrenaline, dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, vassopressin, etc. all return to "normal" levels after as early as 2 or 3 years but also as late as 5 years) I never thought that it could be the same for languages. As in a previous entry, I noted that language learning is like being married. My love affairs, flings, and short-lived romances with foreign languages I never married and my eventual polygamous marriage to the current languages I'm learning are extremely parallel to the psychology behind human relationships!

I find this realization fascinating. English is my native language so I suppose this language isn't a marriage at all. It's perhaps like a mother to me. I don't love in romantically, but I do appreciate the language and I love English when it's spoken not with an American accent, but with a foreign accent (British, French, German, Irish, Polish, Romanian, Russian). Swedish and Korean were my "second" languages, due to my ethnic background. I was exposed to these languages since infancy, so these are like my "siblings". My siblings in real life I love dearly (in a platonic way, of course. Kar and Ken know I love them =) Love you guys!) But as for my language "siblings" my feelings for them are pretty neutral. I don't hate them, but I do feel appreciative of them and find them interesting sometimes. Needless to say, I do not feel "passionate" about either language.

Then come the real "foreign" languages in my life. Spanish was an arranged marriage. At one point, I hated Spanish since I was being forced to learn it. After having spent a good chunk of my academic life and sacrificing countless hours to learning it, I feel an obligation to be "married" to it. It would be a waste of time and energy if I were to forget it or "divorce" it now. In fact, I've really come to like the way "Castellano" sounds, perhaps because my roommate in New York was a Spaniard from Madrid? I'm not sure.

French was my first love. As a 5-year-old at the JFK airport waiting for my father who was coming back from his military assignment in Germany, I first heard French as an airport announcement while with my pregnant mother and infant brother. The soothing sounds of French enticed even my puerile ears. "What language was that?!" I asked, fascinated by my new discovery. 

"That's French," she replied, while putting a hand over her 8-month pregnant belly. 

"Oh!" I exclaimed. I didn't say the rest aloud, but I clearly remember thinking, Wow, I want to learn French! After this airport discovery, I rummaged through our family library to find an old atlas, looking for France on the world map, discovering its capital, learning about the Eiffel Tower... 

It took 13 years to finally learn French and go to France for the first time. My first few years of being "married" to French were wonderful. It was like a childhood dream that finally came true. Everything about the language captivated me entirely and I devoted innumerable hours to it. My love for it felt endless and limitless. Meeting French people and speaking French with them made my heart beat faster with excitement. These were the blissful early years. 

Now I've come to realize this excitement is gone. It's now been nearly 5 years since I've been "married" to French and the initial burning passion I have for French seems to have waned to a flicker. No longer do I feel so excited and my heart doesn't beat any faster at the prospect of speaking it. Perhaps it's even further killed by the fact that I live in France where everyone speaks it. Not only that, but I've come to realize that French isn't always so beautiful as it sounded to me before I learned it. I love Parisian French. The Parisian accent is by far my favorite. The Alsatian accent (I live in Alsace) in French does not sound very nice. Most people speak standard French here (especially the younger generation) but the older generation and people from villages have strong Alsatian accents which I find unattractive. Québécois, the French spoken in Canada, sounded beautiful when I didn't know a word of French. Now, I really dislike this accent. Sometimes even standard French sounds unattractive depending on the speaker and the way it's being spoken on the streets. Before, everyone who spoke French seemed to me to have beautiful voices and spoke beautifully. Now, I find some peoples' voices to be annoying at times. Before everything sounded beautiful, now, now that I know French relatively well, it doesn't always sound so beautiful and it's a little sad that this initial passion is virtually gone. 

It's not just French either. German was the second language I married for love and even with this, my passion is slowly waning. Before I knew a word of German, all German speakers sounded the same. Now, it's not the case. I know which accents in German I like the best. Standard German I still like very much and I definitely like the northern German accent and the Eastern German accents the best. The southern German accents (Baden-Württemberg and  Bayern being the most notable examples) and the Austrian accents are not very attractive to me anymore. Sadly, the city next to Strasbourg, Kehl, is in Baden-Württemberg... so they all speak German with a rather unattractive accent.

What is insane about French and German now is I even have a preference for people speaking with a French or German accent in English! I didn't think this was possible, but it is. For instance, a Parisian speaking English with a French accent sounds a lot better than a Marseillaise speaking English with a French accent. Sound insane? Maybe. It's worse for German, actually. I really like Germans from northern/eastern (esp. Sachsen) German who speak English with a German accent but really dislike the German accent when someone from Baden-Württemberg or Bayern speaks English with their German accent. All Austrian accents and Swiss-German accents, in both German and in English with German accents, don't sound very nice to me. Strange, since I'm not as picky with French when it comes to the Belgians or Swiss speaking French. But with German, I've developed extreme preferences.

Actually, in the past few months, I've come to realize that my love for Russian has surpassed my love for German. I'm still a beginner in Russian so that passion and excitement is still strong and burning. Everything is so different in Russian that it's fascinating. It's different from French in that while I loved Russian and that's why I decided to learn it, I didn't love it as much as I loved French when I started it. It was my 3rd favorite language when I initially attempted to learn Russian, resulting in the lack of motivation at first and my on and off relationship made it difficult to make progress, especially as I focused on my French or German. Last year, however, I realized I'd begun to like Russian more and more. The more I learned the more it became interesting. It equalized in terms of interest level with German and now I'm sure that I prefer Russian over German. I mean, French was so easy to learn (for me, it was the easiest language I've learned so far) that while I felt satisfied in the early stages, that feeling of satisfaction is virtually gone now. Russian is a little different. It's so hard to learn that I sometimes wonder why I'm so masochistically attracted to this language. Still, the satisfaction level is amazingly high, higher than it ever was with French.  It makes me wonder, though, will I also develop such preferences for Russian once I speak it well? Five or ten years from now, will the passion I have for Russian die just as my passion for French?

Don't get me wrong. I still love French. But the feeling of being wildly and "madly in love" is gone. French is still my favorite language but my love for French isn't growing anymore. Meanwhile, my love for Russian has been steadily increasing. I'm a little afraid to admit it, since I've loved French for such a long time (nearly 18 years) but I think it's a possibility that maybe in the future, my love for Russian will surpass my love for French.

As for Italian, I used to love it almost as much as Russian when I started out but my love for it hasn't been increasing or decreasing and it's been pretty level. Satisfaction levels for Italian are not that high since it's not so difficult to learn, especially not after French and Spanish. I love it a lot more than Spanish, but less than French, Russian, and German.

Maybe I'm just an extremely picky person when it comes to serious relationships, whether with a human or a language? For instance, I even have preferences for the genders of speakers. My favorite speakers for each language are different. For French, I really prefer French when it's spoken by a woman. I don't know why, but it sounds nicer when a Parisian French woman speaks French than a Parisian man. Even in English, I prefer listening to a Parisian Frenchwoman speaking English over a Parisian Frenchman. The language sounds so much nicer to me when it's spoken by a woman. For Russian, I definitely prefer it when it's spoken by a man. I don't have accent preference or anything but I just like it when it's spoken by a man with a nice voice. For German, I prefer it being spoken by a man from northern or eastern Germany. Italian, I prefer when women speak it. I'm not fluent enough to have accent preferences, but I usually prefer listening to Italian being spoken by a woman rather than by a man. Spanish, I guess I just prefer anyone from Madrid over any other city. I'm pretty gender-neutral when it comes to Spanish since it wasn't out of love that I started this language. My preference for the Madrid accent probably comes from the fact that I lived with a friend who spoke with that accent.

Hm, I'm actually not picky but I'd prefer the term sound-sensitive. Out of the 5 sense, if I were forced to give up all other senses and keep only one sense, it would be to have my sense of hearing. Sounds are amazing. Music is capable of stoking emotions. Languages can seduce you. For me personally, the extent of what can be expressed through sound and speech is astonishing. I know I'm not alone in this since my siblings agree with me. They might not choose the sense of hearing over all other senses (the sense of sight is more important for some. For me, the sense of sight comes second after hearing, so sight is also very important), but they're also very sound sensitive. Both my siblings want to date people with a nice voice, in addition to nice looks. I suppose for me this has evolved into accent preferences within language preferences, while it's not the case for my siblings.

Today's Random Picture: 

Rodent Dumbo? Still pretty cute =)

Killing Me Softly with His Chocolate

I got some good quality Swiss chocolate today from a French friend who'd visited Switzerland over the weekend. What to do with this besides just eat it all? Hm... I tried my hand at baking some mini chocolate molten lava cakes! They were irresistibly delicious and with some homemade crème anglaise... it was heavenly. 

My uncle taught me this disputed French-American dessert. There's some controversy over whether it was invented in the U.S. or in France but either way, it's delicious and that's all that matters! My roommate were raving about this dessert and even the crème anglaise was gone by the end of the night. Let's hope that my Pascal doesn't go to Switzerland every weekend, or I might die of a chocolate-related heart disease... though dying because of too much chocolate doesn't sound like a bad death =D

Here's the recipe for anyone interested in trying. It's very easy to follow, you don't need too many ingredients, and it's scrumptious!

Molten Lava Cake

Ingredients: 

3.5 oz. (100 g) good quality semisweet or bittersweet chocolate

4 tbsp. (100g) unsalted butter

2 large eggs

3 tbsp. sugar 

4 tbsp. (30g) all purpose flour 

Cocoa powder 

Butter

Directions:

Butter ramekins then add a little bit of cocoa powder to each ramekin, shaking off any excess. This is just to make sure that the cake will come out of the ramekin after it bakes =) 

Preheat your oven to 350F (176C)

Melt the chocolate and butter together over a double broiler or in the microwave, stirring often so that the chocolate doesn't burn! 

Whisk the eggs and sugar together and beat until very pale and thick (it takes over 10 minutes with a hand mixer... yeah, I said it was easy and good, I never said it was fast!). 

Turn the speed on your mixer to low and add the flour. Add the melted chocolate and butter mixture and mix to combine.

Divide mixture into the ramekins and bake for 10 minutes! Don't bake for longer... then it won't be a molten lava cake but just a regular chocolate cake.

For the Crème Anglaise: 

Ingredients: 

1/4 cup (0.5dl) heavy cream
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp. granulated sugar

Directions: 

In a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the vanilla and cream together. DO NOT BOIL!
Whisk egg yolk with sugar until it's becomes glossy and smooth.
Temper the egg yolk-sugar mixture with the hot cream.
Whisk constantly so that the egg doesn't curdle!
Slowly, whisking constantly, add the heated egg mixture to the cream mixture. 

Whisk until it thickens (until it's napé as the French would call it) - the mixture should be thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon and holds a line when you take a finger and draw across it. 

Use immediately or after it cools; if you have leftovers, you can keep it in the refrigerator for a few days.

Today's Random Picture:

Pie (or π) Day

Today is March 14, otherwise know in the U.S. as "Pi Day" since in America we begin dates with the months before the day, resulting in the number combination of March 14th looking like this -> 3.14 or the abbreviated form of the mathematical π. In Europe, I guess this can't apply since today's date looks more like 14.3... which doesn't really stand or anything. Maybe it took me 14.3 seconds to run the 100meter dash in track and field or maybe I was able to jump 14feet 3 inches in the long jumps, but otherwise, 14.3 is rather irrelevant.

Still, having spent a good 20 or so years (a.k.a. 95% or more) of my life in the U.S., I'm still very used to writing the date starting with the month, not the day. So, I have my own personal celebration and what better way to celebrate "π" than with a pie?! Being in France, I guess I should call it a "tarte" since the French don't really have "pies" as we know it in America. Also, due to ingredient unavailability, it's hard to cook American pies (or American food in general) in France. What to do? When in Rome, do as the Romans! I made a Crème Brûlée Pie (Burnt Cream Pie... sounds horrible in English, doesn't it?), or Tarte au Crème Brûlée.

I even caramelized the sugar topping to get that crunchy loveliness... otherwise known to me as the best part of a crème brûlée or eating a crème brûlée is cracking the hard sugar topping with a spoon and eating the creamy deliciousness inside. ♥ I think I'm in love! It was absolutely delicious! And my roommates (who are both French) practically inhaled it so no more leftovers remain. Luckily, I did snap a shot of the finished pie slice before it was devoured.

Today's Random Quiz:

You Are Cooking

You are a very generous and caring person. You love to make other people happy, and you love to give. You are content when you are busy with projects. You enjoy working with your hands. You are both intuitive and creative. You are good at figuring out how to make things work, and you love to experiment. You may be only following recipes for now, but eventually you'll be creating your own amazing, original meals.

What Hobby Are You?

Yummy, Yummy, Yummy, I've Got Love in My Tummy

Adjusting to France, amidst the hectic schedules, part time work, and now the pressures of planning for a "future", I have plenty of things on my plate. It took me a while to get used to but now I'm pretty much used to life here in Strasbourg. Like my uncle Jon always says, "You could put that girl in the middle of nowhere and she'd still survive." Uncle Jon is probably right. I somehow always manage to survive and everything always seems to work out in the end. Oftentimes, I don't just survive because I don't want to survive, I want to LIVE and THRIVE! I want to enjoy every minute of my survival and that makes all the difference.

Despite the the lacking intellectual stimulation in the educational department of my life, I am making sure I live my life in the most fulfilling ways as possible. I'm ceaselessly studying the languages I'm so passionate about, I've traveled to villages in France and Germany, meeting and learning new things along the way, and with my oven, I've been baking up a storm. Today is my friend Nico's birthday and to celebrate (and to spite him), I made him a tart... not a French tart, but a British tart! French food isn't better in any way at the non-gourmet level (I'll get into this in a later entry) and since, being French, he's arrogant about his country's cuisine and believes that British food is inferior (despite the fact that he has never been to the UK and has therefore, never tried British food), I made him a Banoffee pie:

"Banoffee" is a portmanteau of the words "banana" and "toffee", the main ingredients of the pie. I made the toffee at home by boiling sweetened condensed milk for about 3 hours (It's extremely time-consuming, but it's also totally worth the time and effort since it's delicious and all-natural! I don't like eating weird chemicals...). Bananas should be ripe, but not overripe, otherwise it would be too mushy for the pie. The topping is a whipped cream topping. 

Banoffee pie was invented in England and its popularity has since spread across the world (or perhaps only just the Anglophone world?) 

Of course, being in France and him being French, I did bake him a quiche as well, this one is filled with smoked salmon, spinach, and blanched white asparagus:

There were absolutely no leftovers, so I figure that means both were good crowd pleasers =) 

Today's Random Quiz:

You Are Bitter

You aren't bitter at the world, even though you have a strong personality. Instead, you are sophisticated and cultured. You appreciate acquired tastes. You are very powerful. You have the ability to change a room's energy. While some may find you disagreeable, your points of view are intelligent and interesting.

What Taste Are You?

French Kisses

On Thursday night, Paul and I went out for dinner and on our way back, I heard two girls speaking French. Seeing that I had a major exam on Friday, I interrupted their conversation and asked them if they were French. They were! Two Frenchwomen from Région Bretagne, they were staying in NY with a boyfriend of one of the girls, who was doing an exchange/internship at NYU. We immediately got along and exchanged phone numbers during the short conversation. Friday night, after my exam, I got a call from the girls. Paul, Victor, and I were already out in a club at the time and we invited them over. Soon enough, they came! It was amazing. They brought along with them, the boyfriend, another friend, and a friend of a friend.

We talked about French kisses, how many bises you do in each region, Nicholas Sarkozy, drank vodka and beer until 5a.m., befriended the bouncer, and left after the bar closed. Then I remembered seeing a map that taught y0u how many bises you do in different regions of France, and I found it again to share it with you all (if someone is planning to go to France sometime soon ;))
Oh yeah, in other news, my brother's leaving for Poland next weekend! I hope he'll have an equally great if not even better experience in Poland than I did almost 3 years ago. I'm jealous of him, actually. It's just a shame that my jobs have chained me down to the U.S. for the moment.

Today's Random Quiz:

You Are Coffee

You are highly ambitious and goal oriented. You feel like there isn't enough time in your day to get it all done. You are outgoing and creative. You love talking with people, thinking up crazy plans, and then acting immediately on them. When it comes to caffeine, you'd like a refill. You can almost always use an energy boost. Life is too short. You're going to get as much out of it as you can. You live for today.

Are You Coffee or Tea?