This evening we spent some time with a new Bhutanese family that has just arrived from the refugee camp in Nepal. Huma taught me how to make the delicious chai they always serve to guests.

In a pot put 1 part water and 1 part milk, 1 spoonful of tea (pictured below) per cup, 1 spoonful of sugar per cup, a sprinkling of pepper and a bay leaf.

Let the concoction simmer until it’s foamy, then pour through a sieve. Serve to soon-to-be-very-happy guests!

Here’s the brand of tea they use. They are so generous, and sent us home with this bag!

Earlier in the day, Rama served a snack of fruit, Nepali donuts with tomato & chile chutney, and fried bitter gourd. The fried bitter gourd (said to be good for high blood pressure) is shown in the background, and the fresh is in my hand. First for me! I love it!

Posted via Pixelpipe.

Posted via Pixelpipe.

Posted via Pixelpipe.

Posted via Pixelpipe.

Posted via Pixelpipe.

Posted via Pixelpipe.

I Love You, Quiche

This week in our CSA box, we received a leek. I’ve never cooked with a leek. I don’t know why, I just never really knew what to do with it, so I never bought it at the market. And now that one was given to me, I figured I’d better find a recipe worthy of celebrating such an occasion.

I’ve only made quiche once before, and it turned out ridiculously good. Seriously, I order quiche quite a bit when we go out, and some spots are alright, others are…. meh. The filling seems too eggy, milky, jiggly and bland. This recipe is killer. It’s cheese-heavy, which makes is so much more flavorful and solid than some. So I went back to my original recipe in regards to the egg-and-cheese ratio. Everything else got substituted!

I’ve been on a serious homemade-cracker kick ever since I discovered this recipe, and I had the genius idea to use it as a pie crust for quiche. I had made a double batch of crackers earlier in the day, so made some extra dough to save for quiche crust later that night. I rolled it out, laid it in the shell and prepped it to par-bake for about 10 minutes or so, just to give it a head start of the egg.

Rolling Out Parmesan Cracker Dough

Anyone new to par-baking, there are weights out there you can buy to keep the crust from bubbling up, but I find beans work just fine, and are a heck of a lot cheaper. I just reuse them and keep them in a jar.

Par-Baked Crust Lined with Dry Beans

I got out all of our veggies for the quiche - along with leeks this week, we received mushrooms and tomatoes in our CSA box, and those went perfectly with the mild onion flavor of the leek.

Lovely Veggies... Well, and Fruit

Josh got to work on the cheese. I’ve mentioned before he’s the official cheese shredder in the house. Side note - I hate shredding cheese. I’d rather do dishes. As a kid when it was my job to shred cheese for dinner, I balked and groaned every time. I still hate it. The other day I figured I’d just take care of it myself (I think Josh was busy doing something else), and about 5 strokes into it, the grater attacked my hand and I looked like I had pissed off Wolverine. (I enjoy being melodramatic.) Now, Josh is really, seriously, hands-down the official cheese shredder in the house. Which is good, because he doesn’t mind doing it and can snack on it to his heart’s content.

For this recipe, we used 1 cup of sharp cheddar, 2/3 cup of feta, and 1/2 cup of parmesan. Yum!

Little Piles of Creamy, Salty Deliciousness

While Josh worked on the cheese and egg mixture, I started on the veggies. Sliced up the leek…

God is So Creative

After the Dark Green Has Been Trimmed

We Were So Enthralled With This Guy, He Needed Three Pictures

Then I sliced up about 6 mushrooms…

Who Dared the First Guy to Eat a Fungus?

And quartered a handful of cherry tomatoes…

That Big Knife Just Looks So Intimidating

Then I sauteed up the leeks and mushrooms first.

Mmmmm.....

Once they’re fragrant and softened, I added the tomatoes, just to heat them up and get them a bit saucy. ;)

Veggies Are Done!

Then we added all the veggies into the bowl of eggy custard mix. This consisted of 5 eggs, 1/2 cup of milk, sprinkle of salt, 1 tablespoon of flour, and all that lovely cheese.

Bake Before Ingesting

Getting Closer....

It all got mixed up together and poured into our shell.

Almost Ready!

Now, since the crust had already been par-baked to keep the bottom from getting soggy, and since it was actually a dough for crackers and a bit more delicate, I covered the crust in foil so it wouldn’t brown too quickly.

It's a Bit Paranoid About the Aliens...

Bake for about 30-40 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean. Let it stand a few minutes before slicing. It turned out amazing!!

Perfection

The Flatbush

Josh and I recently discovered a great little pizzeria here in North Everett. It’s simple, tasty, and has some personality. We love it.

Brooklyn Bros. Pizzeria is located on Hewitt, right across from the Events Center. We’ve been there a couple of times now, once for take out, this time dining in. We loved it enough to bring some family with us this time!

Outside of Brooklyn Bros

The layout is simple - one room seating (some seating upstairs too I heard), order at the counter, paper plates, menu on the board, you get the picture. One open wall is covered in graffiti, which gives it some character. Add that to the old pictures framed on the walls, the creaky old building it’s housed in, and the casual service, and you somehow feel as though you’re somewhere other than Everett.

Looks Like Other People Like It Too!

You can pick two styles of pizza - the Sicilian, a thick 16″ square pizza, choose your own toppings, or the Napoletana, a round thin-crust in three different sizes. Again, you can choose your own toppings on the Napolenta, or you can choose from six different signature pies. This time, we tried the Sicilian and added pepperoni and roasted garlic to it. It was very, very good… thick, soft crust, smothered in delicious sauce and cheese.

Thick Saucy Goodness

Mmmmm....

Our family ordered The Flatbush - the Napoletana-style with sausage, roasted red pepper, and roasted garlic. It was very good too - the thin crust was a perfect vehicle for the finely ground sausage. Perfect for folding and devouring. ;)

Patiently Waiting While I Try For the Perfect Shot!

Thought You Might Want a Close-Up

Overall, Brooklyn Bros. comes highly recommended. Great pizza for dining in or taking home, plus pizza by the slice from 11am-7pm. We’ll definitely be back!