Let me start off by apologizing for the long time since the last post on Forks & Recreation. I’ve been getting settled into my new life in Lusaka, Zambia. It has been a lot of adjustments these past few weeks learning a new job, learning a new city (not to mention a new continent), and learning the new grocery stores. That, combined with the fact that the sun sets at 6pm here, means that it has been hard to time to photograph meals (got to get that natural lighting!).
Luckily, I had some time this weekend to photograph a meal that is very illustrative of my time here so far: the load-shedding approved cauliflower cheddar quiche.
“What’s load shedding and why is this quiche load shedding approved?” is probably what you are asking yourself right now. Zambia is experiencing some serious power cuts right now. The outages started in July and will likely continue until early 2016 when the rains (hopefully) come and replenish the dam that generates most of Zambia’s power. Most neighborhoods in Lusaka have power cuts for 6-8 hours a day. I majorly lucked out and my house is on the commercial schedule since there is a mall nearby, so we had the fortunate power outage schedule of 10pm-6am for the month of August.
However, things changed slightly in September and our power was out from midnight-8am. Same number of hours. Much less convenient. People usually get into work around 8:30am, so me and my housemates are now left with a 25 minute window to shower and do whatever else requires electricity (no water when there is no power – the water pumps don’t run). We sit at the dining room table eating our cold breakfasts in the morning, twiddling our thumbs until we hear the power come back on. Then break! Everyone scatters to shower, get dressed, and get ready for the day. The days when the power doesn’t come on until 8:30 are very disappointing (and slightly smellier…) days. But overall, still grateful we only have an overnight schedule. Most Lusakans are faced with power outages that range from 6am-2pm, 10am-6pm, or 2pm-10pm. We’re lucky.
Cold breakfasts has been a key part of the past month. During the first week I was eating yogurt bowl after yogurt bowl, which quickly gets old. I needed to find some way to add variety, and hopefully also eat some of those eggs sitting on our counter at the same time. Enter quiche.
This quiche is the perfect thing to eat cold in the morning, or pop in the microwave to heat quickly after the power comes back on. It doesn’t take long to make (under an hour) and can feed you throughout the week. Not to mention, it’s an eggcellent way to sneak in extra veggies like cauliflower and spinach. And cheese. Can’t forget the cheese.
The quiche has mainly served its role as a cold breakfast, but really, it’s an eggceptable meal at any time of day. There’s also endless possibilities for flavors. Yummy additions include:
- Bacon
- Spinach
- Feta cheese
- Sauteed mushrooms
- Broccoli
- Roasted red peppers
Make it your own! Let me know what your favorite quiche combination is.
(Sorry I can’t stop with the eggstremely funny egg puns)
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup cold water
- 1 1/2 cup chopped cauliflower
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 2 clove garlic, minced
- 1 cup chopped spinach
- 3 eggs
- 1 1/4 cup milk (or soy milk)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour and salt.
- In a jar, shake together olive oil and water to combine.
- Pour the oil and water into the flour and mix just until the flour is incorporated into the dough.
- Press the dough into the bottom of a 8 inch pie dish and up the sides.
- Place the crust in the oven while the oven is preheating and while you prepare the quiche filling (no longer than 10 minutes).
- Steam the cauliflower until it pierces easily with a fork.
- In a medium skillet, saute diced onion for 3-4 minutes over medium-high heat until translucent. Add garlic and saute for a minute longer.
- Throw spinach into the skillet and saute until wilted.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, salt and pepper.
- Remove the pie crust from the oven. Pour vegetables (cauliflower, spinach and onions) into the pie crust. Sprinkle half of the cheddar cheese over the cauliflower. Pour in the egg mixture and top with the remaining cheese.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes. The quiche is done as soon as the middle sets, but the whole quiche jiggles a bit when the dish is moved.