Q is for Quiche. Poisonings, Dragons, Chocolate, Banquet and Picture Blog

I just cannot believe people are so sick that they would poison the water in a girl’s school  because they are against girls being educated. What kind of sick people are they? The article was brought to my attention by a friend on Facebook who can’t believe it either. Luckily none of the females has died, but a lot of them are pretty sick. This happened in Afghanistan and I think it is a horrifying story.

On a lighter note, I have just been reading, on Kindle, the first two books in the Dragon Stones trilogy by Kristian Alva. If you have been with me for a while, you will know I am a sucker for dragon stories. Right now, I’m fed up that the last one isn’t quite ready although its due to be published on the 30th of this month. This is the cover from the second book. The book is somewhat reminiscent of Eragon, although there are lots of very marked differences. The story is basically about a mad Emperor and a prophecy which says he will be slain by a young dragon rider riding a white dragon. Well that part was obvious right from the beginning. The dragon/rider relationship is somewhat different though. The dragons have a precious stone embedded into their necks, depending on the colour of the dragon, so goes the stone, green dragon – emerald, blue dragon – sapphire and of course white dragon – diamond. When a magical bond is established between the dragon and rider, the stone splits, each part having an etching one being inverse, one converse, so they will mesh if put together. The rider, obviously has the second half which enables him to converse with his dragon as well as all other dragons and their riders as well as wild dragons (which, I might say, the emperor is killing off as fast as he can). A pretty good tale.

Haven’t mentioned before, there is a chocolate store in Cambridge where they make their own chocolates, Reid Candy and Nut Shop: I have arranged for a little tour next Tuesday, I enquired before Easter and wish I had gone then, it would have been fun to see them moulding Easter chocolate. I will find it fascinating and hope they will allow me to take pictures or will have pictures I can use. I have always wanted to see the process of making chocolate, I am not sure exactly how much they do at Reid’s but whatever it is, it will be interesting.

Tonight we have one of our Bowling Banquets. It is the one for the non-existent bowling alley which closed a few years ago. As I have said before, we still have a large contingent who used to bowl at that alley and who still take part in the Travel League once a month in the winter season and we join up for a banquet at the end of winter. We go to a local golf club which caters for quite a few banquets although banquet is a bit of a misnomer. Not really that hi falutin’, but we have a good meal and a good time.

Yesterday a friend posted a picture and link to a blog by a South African who publishes the most wonderful animal pictures which he takes himself, his name is Isak Pretorius and the picture my friend posted was absolutely gorgeous, it is of Bat Eared Fox pups. What gorgeous little critters. then perusing Isak’s blog, I decided I had to follow Isak Pretorius Photography Blog, as it is full of the most extraordinary pictures which I recommend to anyone interested in animals and scenery, I have certainly added it to my list as I spent an age looking at the pictures today. Because of the A to Z challenge I have added several new blogs to my following list, but this is outside that field.

It was pretty obvious that Q had to be for Quiche although I did think about Quince, but as I have never eaten quince I decided against it. Below is a classic recipe for Quiche Lorraine although today there are dozens of quiche recipes even if ‘real men don’t eat quiche’. There used to be a restaurant in Cambridge, where we lived before, and they served an absolutely wonderful quiche which was one of Matt’s favourites. The restaurant is still there, but they don’t do quiche any more. I haven’t made one in a while, I used to do so often. I will have to remedy that. Last night I made a Jambalaya which we haven’t had a long time, next it will have to be a Quiche. One of the side benefits of this A to Z challenge, we have been having a few dishes we haven’t eaten for a while.

Quiche Lorraine

By: Laundrie, AllRecipes.com
"Bacon, Swiss cheese and onions mingle in perfect harmony amidst the eggs and cream in this timeless classic. Perfect for breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner or just an indulgent snack!"

Original Recipe Yield1 - 9 inch pie

Ingredients

• 1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch single crust pie
• 6 slices bacon
• 1 onion, sliced
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Line pastry shell with foil. Bake in oven for 8 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 5 minutes, or until crust is set and dry. Remove from oven and turn down temperature to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. In a large skillet, cook bacon until crisp. Drain and reserve 2 tablespoons of drippings. Crumble the bacon and set aside. Cook onion in skillet with reserved drippings; cook until onion is tender and then drain.
3. In a large bowl, mix together milk, salt and eggs. Stir in bacon and onion. In a separate bowl, toss cheese and flour together, then add to egg mixture. Be sure to mix well. Pour egg mixture into pie crust.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until knife inserted in center of quiche comes out clean. If necessary, cover edge of crust with foil while baking to prevent burning or overbrowning. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Have a great day