Azoresgal~Life on an Island

Summertime, and the livin' is easy... it sure is! Can you believe we are headed toward the month of August already? Summer please slow down, I am enjoying all of our late mornings, pool days, BBQ's and our respectable laziness ( our as in me and the kids, Mr.G is working, well because someone needs to pay the bills around here ). As much as I love summer, there is something I struggle with, and no it's not the crazy island humidity, but instead cooking!! Gasp, I know how the heck do you have a food blog and yet hate cooking in the summer. The struggle is real, I just loose my kitchen mojo. Anyone else feel the same? I just want some simple suppers, something I can fix perhaps in the morning and not worry about it when it comes to dinner time. So my dear ones, I present to you the Quiche Lorraine, make it and forget about it. Serve warm or cold and add a salad, and tah-dah dinner is served! Mini Quiche Lorraine Crust 1 3/4 cups (430 ml) unbleached all-purpose fl...

Sorry, more zucchini ! On the bright side, it is a lovely recipe. Great for brunch, or dinner or a snack ! The original recipe asks for bisquick, which I cannot find anywhere on the island, so I use this substitute instead. This recipe is easily adaptable, other spices, more cheese, perhaps even some leftover shredded chicken or ham. It is great warm, and cold with a salad on the side, I hope you give it a try. Zucchini Pie 4 eggs, beaten 3 cups shredded zucchini 1 cup Bisquick/ homemade version 1 cup of shredded hard cheese or more 1 small/medium onion, chopped fine  Salt and pepper – a bit of each  1/4 cup butter, melted or oil (if it's still dry, add another 1/4 cup) Put it all in a big bowl and mix until all dry ingredients are wet. Pour into the casserole dish or pie dish and bake for about 45 minutes at 180// 350 degrees.

I made this quick quiche for dinner the other day, to go along with some cream of pumpkin soup. By the time everyone was home from school, finished with their activities, and homework, a warm bowl of soup, and a slice of this quiche hit the spot. You can make quiche in a number of ways, the variations are endless, they are a great way for using up leftovers of meat and veggies. I added some grainy mustard, it really enhances the flavor of the cheese. I also made my own pastry shell , but that could be replaced with a store bought, shell or even puff pastry. the ingredients sauté the bacon, till cooked, and then strain ,to remove fat add everything together in a bowl mix well pour into a pie shell bake @ 375/200º for about 40 mins I used my new (smaller) tart pan.....so I had leftover filling, just filled up two ramekins Enjoy Bacon Quiche 2 packages diced bacon 1 bag of shredded cheese (3 cheeses modelo) 1 tablespoon mustard, grainy or di...

 This is the recipe I use for making, my pie crusts. Don't be scared, ok ! This dough is very forgiving, and comes together fast. The most important thing, to know is to keep your ingredients COLD, and once the pastry is done, also keep it cold while you make your pie/tart/quiche filling. Here CRISCO is not easily found, so I use lard, for any pie that is "salty", if I make a sweet pie, I like to use all butter. Please remember, that if at first you don't succeed, to try, try again...........or you can always pie a frozen pie crust ;) Very cold lard, ( or CRISCO) (or butter) very COLD ice water in a bowl add, flour, sugar and salt add in the lard, and use fingers to mix it in the flour it should come together, like large crumbs ( the larger the crumbs, the flakier the crust) add in the very COLD water stir with a fork till the pastry, comes away from the bowl, almost into a ball turn out the pastry, form into a disc,  place in ...