The Fourth Skype Bake Date: introducing the humble QUICHE!

This week has been a really big week in a lot of ways. There have been many ups and downs in our lives these past couple of weeks. Firstly, I worked out that life is too short to work in retail if you absolutely hate it, so I answered job ads for various other positions in administration. I was feeling a little depressed that I didn't get the job I really wanted (which was an opportunity to work for a not-for-profit organisation, the ultimate punch-in-the-gonads to the retail industry) when suddenly my phone rang and the company in question invited me back for a different position. Later that afternoon, thanks to a glowing review from one of my previous bosses at a not-for-profit organisation, I got the job! Hallelujah. I start on January 24.

Another piece of fantastic news is that Joe is coming to visit! We have booked tickets, and he will arrive in Australia on 11 February 2011. We're going to stay in Sydney for a few days, and possibly visit my folks in Tasmania. We have so many exciting things that we're going to get up to, but by far, the best thing will be just hanging out together and being able really take a step forward in our relationship together. Another really great thing is that my new job is allowing me some time off to spend with Joe, as Joe's trip was booked before I got the new position.

I'd love to make a really huge song-and-dance about Joe's visit (because I am so excited, I cannot begin to tell you), but it's not appropriate on this very day, because yesterday, my beautiful Joey lost his best friend, Armand, to a very sudden illness. I cannot begin to imagine how Joe feels about that, as I have never lost a close friend to death before. From my point of view, I think that Armand is the most important friend that Joe has had over the past year, and the loss must be truly terrible. I had the distinct pleasure of meeting Armand over Skype one night when he was meeting up with Joe to go a movie (no notice from Joe, either - I was in my pyjamas, and my hair looked like a wind-blown haystack), and he seemed like a really great friend to Joe. Massive kudos to him for supporting this unconventional-but-not-unheard-of relationship that Joe and I share. Joe has written a truly moving blog post about Armand, and I'd like to encourage you to read it. It has certainly made me reflect on how short life is, and how we must embrace every opportunity to love one another and share in our happiness.

So! The quiche.



Seeing as our third Skype date was Joe's choice, and also a native food from the Philippines, Joe let me pick a classic food memory from my childhood. Given my (stupid yet effective) diet, I chose to bake my mother's recipe for quiche (which isn't exactly Quiche Lorraine, despite my mother's name being Lorraine). This is not a quiche recipe that calls for a pastry base, though you could certainly add one if you felt like it. My mum's basic recipe is:

QUICK AND EASY QUICHE RECIPE

4 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup of grated cheese

1/2 cup of self-raising flour (flour + baking powder)

2 Tbsp Parsley (optional)

Sprinkle of Black Pepper

1/2 cup of ham or cooked chicken

Directions:

Combine all ingredients. 

Pour into greased pie plate and bake in moderate (180°C/375°F) oven for 40 minutes.

As I'm an Atkins dieter, I substituted milk (lots of carbs) with cream (no carbs at all), and self-raising flour (again, lots of carbs) to soya flour with baking powder (not sure how many carbs but markedly less than that of white flour). Joe and I both elected to use bacon in our dishes, and Joe also included some browned mince meat. I threw some onion, garlic, broccoli, cauliflower and green beans in mine, too, as I knew that the soya flour would give the quiche an odd taste and wanted to compensate for it. I also didn't add parsley, as I didn't have any, and I frankly don't really like it. Added some other spices instead (oregano and basil).

Well, holy mackerel, Dear Readers... how delicious! My quiche is stunning! It wasn't quite cooked all the way through when I first took it out and attempted to eat it (probably due to the pizza pan left in the bottom of the oven, blocking the main source of heat), but was perfect after a second go in the oven! Yummmm! Joe seemed pleased with his quiche, too. It's such an easy recipe, and the results are so tasty. You really can throw whatever you want into a quiche and it'll taste good (and it's always a tad more exciting with a pastry base, but alas, Atkins diet). My aunt loves the quiche recipe because you can literally just throw the ingredients into a bowl, put a lid on it, shake it, sha-sha-shake it, and voila! It's mixed and ready for baking!

Hoping the new year is treating you all well, despite the new sadness in our lives at the loss of Armand.

Until next time, Dear Readers, I remain,

Devoted to Joe in the good name of Quiche,

Pammy