Saturday, January 3, 2015

Holiday wind-up and warm vegetarian quiche (coconut milk base!)

MOH and I just got back from visiting our family in Northern California and just had our engagement ceremony and it was so memorable.


Our families came together to celebrate our engagement and take part in some good food. We were so fortunate to have the day documented by our wonderful cousin, Sid, who was a total trooper in photographing every moment!


A traditional vietnamese engagement ceremony involves the groom's family coming over to the bride's side with an assortment of gifts - a dowry almost. Gifts include fruits, cake, liquor, and tea. Each gift has special symbolism for wishing the couple a happy, lucky marriage.


Matthew's side brought so many delicious treats including dragonfruit, sticky rice cake, durian sweetcakes and a big roast pig! Another key part of the ceremony is a tea ceremony and lighting incense, where both our father's light incense to wish us good luck in our future union.


The day was full of so many happy memories for MOH and I (even despite a slight misspelling in the desserts), but MOH and I were so overjoyed to have our families support us in this next step in our life regardless.

Unfortunately, when we got back, both of us seemed to catch a NorCal cold - we've been in bed and walking around the apartment like zombies. Such a far cry from how happy and excited we were a week ago! After four days of a "flu-like" outbreak, the skies have cleared and we're feeling slightly better.

What better way to ring in the new year than to celebrate with quiche?

I love to make quiche when there's a bunch of "roast-friendly" vegetables. I like to make quiche with mushrooms, onions, broccoli, carrots and even eggplant. Today, I decided to make a quiche that's a little on the healthier side than using the typical heavy cream or half and half. Coconut milk is often a great substitute for any dairy ingredient. I was debating on almond milk, but the one in my fridge is slightly sweetened, otherwise I'd use it.

Quiche is super simple to make - simply sautee quiche ingredients in a saucepan until slightly cooked.

Then add in cream base (dairy option of your choice or almond milk, or coconut milk), eggs (egg white can be good), and cheese. Then toss this mixture into ramekins and bake, and then eat to your heart's delight!

MOH likes to have a crust in his quiche, so I line his ramekins with croissant dough. Quiche is just as good without the crust, which is how I like to eat it.

Hope everyone is having a great start of the new year! May this year be full of lots of happy memories for everyone - happy eating all!

Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 large broccoli crown, chopped
- 1 package of mushrooms, sliced
- 1/2 large eggplant
- 3 garlic cloves chopped
- 3/4 cup coconut milk
- 1/2 cup cheese (mixture of cheddar and four-cheese blend)
- 2 eggs
- optional: croissant-crust (I used Pillsbury croissant mix)

Protocol:
1. Heat oven to 375 degrees
2. Heat butter in medium saucepan
3. Sautee broccoli, mushrooms, eggplant and garlic until slightly softened
4. Turn off heat once vegetables cooked through, add milk and cheese and egg mixture - once mixed, pour into ramekins (if you want a crust, line the ramekins with the crust first, then pour mixture on top)
5. Bake quiche for 30 minutes and browned. Once cool, enjoy!









No comments:

Post a Comment