Monthly Archives: March 2012

I love a man in a kitchen

I’ve talked before about how much my husband does in the kitchen–as my sous-chef/support staff, as a baker of the same chocolate chip recipe on a regular basis, as a dish-washer, encourager, and as . . .

. . . well, a derriere to spank. When I get the urge. Which is frequently.

And it’s not just any derriere, either. It’s a mighty fine piece of God’s workmanship.

There’s just something about the husband + kitchen combination that encourages my hand to . . . well, you get the gist.

Don’t be shocked–it’s nothing you haven’t heard before on this blog.

Anyway, today is my lovebug’s 29th birthday. Birthday surprises are hiding in my pants drawer, to be revealed tonight. A dinner date will be happening soon. And as for the cake at hand . . . well, he still claims that I owe him 2 lemon cakes. He cannot be argued down from this iron-clad stance. He has dug his heels in and will not budge until 2 lemon cakes have been produced (by me) and consumed (by him).

We’ll just have to see what happens.

I guess if this is the biggest controversy in our marriage–how many lemon cakes I owe him at a given point in time–you could say that I really have nothing to complain about. That I have, in fact, a lot to be thankful for in this man who goes out of his way to love me and serve me, makes me coffee every morning, faithfully deals with any household issue I deem “gross” (trash; bugs; kitchen floor; sink drain; bathtub drain, etc. etc.), gives me back skritchlies every single evening, reads me Harry Potter until I fall asleep at night, listens patiently and pours me a glass of wine when I’m stressed, sends me little emails during the day to tell me he’s thinking about me or praying for me–and the list could go on and on. He’s smart, disciplined, faithful (to me, to God, to his friends, commitments, health–it’s a huge part of who he is), a hard worker, a generous giver, funny (make that hilarious), sensitive, well-read, passionate, always striving to better himself–the whole package. Designed by God before the beginning of time–and I say: Good job God! Thanks for letting me have him for our time here on earth.

And oh yeah–he has a great, smackable butt.

But I think we already covered that.

Happy birthday, baby! Welcome to the last year of your 20’s (where I’ll be joining you in a couple months)–it’s been a great decade of togetherness and love and the adventure of finding out who we are, and I’m sure this last year will be no different. I love you!

Dairy-Free Bacon and Kale Crustless Quiche

No cheese? No cream or milk? Believe it, because it works: welcome to the dairy-free (and gluten-free) quiche.

This is the perfect quiche to bring to a group event where there may be people with special dietary needs. My friend Sarah (a fabulous cook, by the way) brought this to our women’s ministry brunch a number of months ago, and it’s really delicious. While there’s no cheese, the bacon adds the richness that could have been lost when the cheese got the boot. Plus, as my husband said after eating two generous slices of this, it doesn’t give you the feeling of “I never want to eat again” that a really rich quiche can produce after one hefty serving. Know that feeling? Not the best sensation. In fact, after 3 slices of this quiche for dinner, I was feeling great, light on my feet, and my stomach was a happy place.

The flavor of the coconut milk is definitely present, and while I loved it, my husband was a little wigged out by it. So if you’re one to be wigged out by coconut milk, this may not be the dish for you. But if you’re lactose intolerant, this is such a great alternative to traditional quiche–and I’ll be making it again even though I’m all about the lactose and the gluten. Because it’s tasty, man.

Adapted from this recipe, let’s make it this morning, eh? Eh.

Ingredients

(Serves 4)

5 eggs
1-15 oz can coconut milk
5 pieces of bacon
1 onion, diced
1/2 bunch of kale or spinach
1/4 cup white wine
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. 

Warm the eggs and coconut milk until they reach room temperature (you can sit them in a warm water bath for 15 minutes to accomplish this).

Dice the bacon and fry it in a large skillet over medium high heat.

While the bacon fries, dice the onion . . .

. . . and chop up the kale or spinach.

Today, it’s kale all the way.

When the bacon is close to being crispy, drain most of the bacon fat out of the skillet . . .

. . . and add the onion.

Fry for 8 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is starting to brown.

Add the kale or spinach . . .

. . . and sauté for about 2 minutes, or until wilted.

Add the wine, and continue to cook until the liquid evaporates (another 3-4 minutes).

Sooooo good.

Let the bacon and veggies cool down for about 15 minutes (you can spread them out on a plate to speed up this step).

I may have taken a few bites of this and promised myself that I would soon make a bacon/onion/kale sauté that I could simply eat piled over white rice. I recommend that you do the same.

Beat the eggs and coconut milk in a large bowl . . .

(bowl pictured not large enough = transfer to a different bowl)

. . . adding salt and pepper (about ¼ tsp of salt).

Whisk the bacon and veggies into the eggs until they are well suspended in the egg mixture. Grease an 8×8 glass dish or a pie pan with coconut oil or cooking spray, and pour in the egg mixture.

Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until the center has solidified.

Remove the quiche from the oven and let it sit for about 15 minutes so that the eggs set.

Dig in!

Oh my word. How I love this quiche. How I love the kale within . . .

. . . and the bacon within.

 It’s a winner!

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