Asparagus and Onion Quiche with Parmesan

I have a love-love relationship with quiche. It is such a delicious savoury dish, and because you can vary the filling, it never gets old for me! I tend to have a pie shell in my freezer at the ready, so that whenever my quiche mood strikes, I can satisfy it immediately. I love that the preparation time for quiche is relatively low, but the recipe can last a few days if you’re feeding one or two people. It’s easy to pack for lunch, and it’s a good way to get your protein in at any time of day because it’s breakfast, lunch, and dinner-friendly!

This quiche is a bit pared down compared to my usual veggie-loaded quiches (for my other quiche recipe, click here!). In fact, as my sister and I where preparing this quiche yesterday afternoon, we joked about how using fewer ingredients makes a quiche seem fancier… whereas lots of ingredients make a quiche feel more homey and hearty.

So this is our take on snooty high-class quiche. The parmesan layer gets golden brown and crunchy, and the sweetness of the onions complements the fresh asparagus perfectly. I promise you, it is very, very good!

The quiche, fresh out of the oven!

Brandon’s Green Tea Rosemary Lemonade

This recipe is part of my friend Brandon’s contribution to Foodie Friend Friday. For the rest of his menu, check out the following posts:

• Introduction and Green Tea Teriyaki Chicken
• Green Tea Rice

Brandon’s Green Tea Rice

This recipe is part of my friend Brandon’s contribution to Foodie Friend Friday. For the rest of the menu, check out the following posts:

• Introduction and Green Tea Teriyaki Chicken
• Green Tea Rosemary Lemonade

Foodie Friend Friday #5: Brandon’s Green Tea Extravaganza

This is the fifth and final installment of my March experiment, Foodie Friend Friday, and I can tell you that we are going out with a bang! If you would like to see what my other friends have been cooking this March, check out the following recipes:

• Introduction and Annie’s Risotto
• Garrett’s Shrimp and Couscous Salad
• Becca’s Liver-Friendly Salad
• Annemarie’s Beef Chili

This week, I am featuring my friend Brandon’s cuisine. Brandon is one of the best friends I’ve made during my undergraduate degree. We met three years ago, when we both got hired as orientation coordinators for our university’s orientation week, and we’ve been friends ever since!

One of the defining aspects of our friendship is our deep and undying love for good food. Before Brandon selfishly abandoned me to move back to Toronto, we would get together, cook something delicious (like this yummy chicken), and watch mildly offensive television together. When we weren’t busy being weirdos at home, we would go out to restaurants where we would both get carried away with our meals and rant and rave about them like two food-crazed loonies. Essentially, we were made for one another.

All this is to say that Brandon was a natural choice for me to ask to write up a tasty recipe for my blog. But of course, in true Brandon fashion, I opened my inbox today to not one, but three recipes from the guy. Brandon is not the type to do something halfway, and clearly this was no exception. The great news is that he has put together an amazing themed feast that is sure to wow the lucky people you make this for!

Breakfast Blueberry Oat Loaf

Ever since I’ve started eating breakfast regularly, I wake up every morning and I am ravenous! I’ve graduated from just having a smoothie and I’m now supplementing my morning shake with other foods. In fact, I find that if I front-load my day with good, filling food, I have more energy throughout the day and I tend to eat less junk food. I assume this is because my blood sugar levels are more balanced, but I don’t know for sure.

Because I’m a total breakfast convert now, I’m trying to find some tasty and healthy breakfast options to start adding variety to my morning munching.

My basic criteria for breakfast are:
– lots of protein
– lots of fibre
– as much fruit as possible
– really quick to make
– and of course, it has to taste good

Oven Baked Ratatouille

Ratatouille is a quintessentially French comfort food: roasted veggies and tomato sauce come together in this zesty, comforting dish. Somehow, the French can even make comfort food sophisticated, don’t you think?!

I have loved ratatouille for as long as I can remember. The soft vegetables have loads of flavour and the tomato sauce that brings them all together is sweet and tangy. Ratatouille can be prepared on the stove top or in the oven, but I find the latter method gives the vegetables  a nicer texture and richer flavour.

I dare you to look at this and not want to gobble it all up!

Foodie Friend Friday #4: Annemarie’s One-Pot Chunky Chili

I can’t believe we’re already at week 4 of my Foodie Friend Friday experiment… March has seriously flown by! Today, my friend Annemarie is sharing her recipe for stove-top beef chili, which sounds and looks absolutely deeeelicious!

Annemarie and I met in our first year of undergrad and have remained friends ever since. She and I share a love for knitting, tea, and good food (she’s actually been on my blog before!), as well as the occasional bout of shopping, glass of wine, and chick flick. We used to take turns making one another lunch back in the day, and I still dream about this spicy black bean and corn soup she made for me once — it was to die for. Her family has also been wonderful during my time at school, welcoming me into their home for Easter and Thanksgiving celebrations when I couldn’t fly all the way home to BC. We have had a really great 5 years together so far!

Matcha Yoghurt

I’m not sure I can even classify this as a recipe as it is really simple… but I just have to post it as it is SO GOOD! But first, here is a bit of information regarding matcha.

I am a big fan of matcha green tea powder. Matcha consists of green tea leaves that have been steamed and then ground into a fine powder. Lots of coffee shops nowadays serve matcha flavoured drinks, but beware: these are loaded with unnecessary fats and sugars, which greatly reduces the benefits of the matcha and covers up its natural flavour.

Matcha powder.