Roasted Beet, Cherry and Apple Smoothie

Busy or not, come February 

                                   and I feel the urge to mix and blend 

create something red... 

something ....      perfect for fourteenth Feb.....

Last year the urge stretched a little beyond.. so sometime in March toddler and I blended this lovely red smoothie and I, charmed by its hue, decided to call it the V-day smoothie... just because it was red and looked so valentine-y ;-)   since February was long gone, I saved the recipe only to share it with you in good time...

Pineapple, Orange & Celery Juice

My toddler is a healthy eater by choice. Given the option between a slice of pizza and lentil-rice, he invariably chooses the latter. He loves fish, likes boiled eggs, adores yogurt but the one thing that he refuses to eat, rather drink are juices. Store-bought apple juices he can do, but something about freshly made juices repulses him. He simply does not like them...

Quiche Maraîchère # French Fridays with Dorie

Quiche Maraîchères (pronounced as maʀeʃe) was this week's assignment for the French Fridays with Dorie. 

Finally !      I had been longingly staring at the photograph alongside the recipe for weeks... With all the red and green market fresh vegetables, the quiche looked so pretty, springlike and so very inviting. But when it came to making it I was such a mess....

No. The recipe, though a little unusual, wasn't complicated at all.  All we had to do was to toss chopped celery stalks, leeks, carrots and red bell  pepper  in melted butter. Cook the veggies for about 10 minutes, then spoon the cooked vegetables into a 9 inch partially baked tart shell. Next whisk cream with an egg and an egg yolk,  pour the custard over the veggies and bake the quiche for about 20 minutes at 400°F. Finally sprinkle grated Gruyère or cheddar over the semi-baked quiche and bake it for another 5 to 10 minutes, or until the cheese is golden and the filling is uniformly puffed, browned and set. 

My quiche would probably have come out of the oven all pretty and dolled up had I not been over enthusiastic about letting the filling puff and brown uniformly. In trying to do so, I let the quiche bake for an extra 10-12 minutes which made it as brown as it looks below :( Anyway though thoroughly browned and somewhat over baked, the quiche tasted wonderful. I used  grated smoked Gruyère cheese on top and both husband and I thought that that cheese made it even more flavorful. We simply could not stop admiring the quiche. We loved it warm, we loved it cold, we loved it every time we cut a wedge out. It was simply fantastic ! 

update 4/27/2014: Made the quiche for dinner tonight and enjoyed it in all its prettiness...  I baked it for 30 minutes this time and was rewarded for following Dorie's instructions to the T :)   

Visit French Fridays with Dorie to know what the other members thought about this quiche. You can find the quiche recipe here and the recipe for the tart shell here. For more such delicious recipes order your copies of Around my French Table and join the Doristas in this tasty adventure.

I shall be sharing this recipe at some of these parties.