Que Viva Mexico!

For those of you who don't personally know me, who are visiting my blog for the first time, or who haven't really paid attention to my ever-so-apparent love for Mexico, here's a post to clarify.

I love Mexico; Adoro mi pais. 

Yes. Despite my looks, which often lead people to believe I simply moved to Mexico for a bit and thus call it the "place where I'm from"; despite my lengthy time spent abroad for studies or travels, which can be misunderstood as a flee-tactic; despite my writing in English--including journal entries, thoughts, blog posts and book chapters--which can mislead people into thinking that I purposefully avoid the Spanish language (see note below); I absolutely love my country. And I'll continue to express my love as long as I can.

I won't apologize for instances of crazy excitement following an encounter with fellow Mexicans abroad; I won't apologize for breaking out dance moves whenever the rhythm kicks in; and I won't apologize for making my nationality evident.

In fact, as long as I continue to live abroad--and judging by the career path I've chosen, that is likely to be the case--I'll continue to profess my Mexicanness in any and every way possible. For instance, suggesting that you (my non-Mexican and Mexican-abroad readers) YouTube El Grito de la Independencia (or tune in live tonight at 10:45 central time).

Phew. Enough said? I think so.

And now for food...

I realize this dish is mostly not-Mexican, but it's more about what it represents than the cuisine under which it falls. Quiches are French, wilted spinach is probably multi-national (I couldn't find origins in my quick research), and the diced tomatoes have both a Mexican-lime and an Italian-oregano flair. Still, the mini quiches proved to be a perfect meal for me. They're healthy and filling. And most importantly, one recipe was enough for more than a weeks worth of leftovers!

One thing I'll advise is the use of cupcake liners. I didn't use them--per the recipe I used for this post-- and greatly regretted it when I found myself scrubbing my pans. Cooking spray will only go so far. Enjoy!

Crustless Spinach and Mushroom Mini Quiches (adapted from Will Cook For Friends)
Makes about 16 cupcake-sized.
Active time: 30 mins; total time: 60 mins.

• 1 teaspoon coconut oil
• 1 cup red onion, finely diced
• 10 eggs
• 1/2 cup 2% Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 2 tablespoons chopped basil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 cup chopped spinach
• 1 1/2 cups chopped mushrooms
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375F and line cupcake pan (I greased but not so convenient) with cupcake liners. *You will have to reuse the pan or use another one for the remaining 4 quiches (if using a regular 12-cupcake pan)
2. In a medium saucepan, heat coconut oil over medium-high heat. Add diced onion and sauté until slightly tender, about 5 minutes.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, yogurt, milk, parsley, basil, salt and pepper. Add chopped veggies and stir to combine.
4. Pour mixture into cupcake tins, filling up to about 1/4-inch from the top. Add a teaspoon of cheese to each mini quiche, slightly pressing to submerge it. 
5. Bake quiches for 20-25 minutes, or until egg is set and top is shiny. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes. *If not using cupcake liners, use a bread knife to carefully remove from pan. Serve warm.

**So why don't I write in Spanish rather than English? I've taken more classes/courses on writing in English, so it comes more naturally to me. Also, within the past six years (during which my blog started), I've lived in an English-speaking country for the majority of the time.

Three Cheese Mushroom Crustless Quiche

As of today I am a published writer on Blogcritics, an online magazine stemming from Technorati. How exciting is that? In my efforts to gain more readership and put my journalistic skills to practice, I will write for whoever gives me the opportunity; but this is a great opportunity.

If you haven't already checked it out, go to Blogcritics or Technorati (which is pretty much blog universe). Believe me, you will end up wandering the blogosphere for hours and hours non-stop.

Anyways, here's a snippet version of my article, but for the full version visit it at Blogcritics:

If You Love Quiche

I have been eating quiches for many years. I can’t remember the first quiche I had, but it was most likely the traditional quiche Lorraine. My mother’s side of the family cooks on a daily basis. If it’s not my grandmother making sauces or breads, it’s my aunt baking pies and cookies, or my mom making random recipes she finds appealing. So I’m guessing my mother made the first quiche I ate. Either that, or I had it in France. Anyways, the quiches I have tried since then, have ranged from Lorraine, to Alsacienne (with onions), to peculiar concoctions of cheese and vegetables. So far my favorite has been my aunt’s Goat Cheese and Sun-Dried Tomato Quiche. It is cheesy and sweet, and her crust is by far the best piecrust I have ever had.

Recently, while browsing the Internet, I came across a ‘crustless quiche’ recipe. I was taken aback because it was in fact a crustless pie. How could someone even think of making a quiche without the crust? I can honestly tell you that every time quiche was made at home I would tear off the extra pieces of crust and snack on them, so the prospect of a crustless quiche didn’t appeal to me at first. But one night I decided to try it.

I wasn’t very hungry and I didn’t have much time to cook. So I did. I made my first crustless quiche and I loved it. It was still fluffy and flavorful. The only difference was that it satisfied my small appetite perfectly. With that I discovered that quiche can be a full meal, crust et al., or the center of a bigger plate. Making crustless quiche opens up more possibilities. Not only can you mix ingredients within the pie, but you can also pair it with pretty much anything.
Every now and again I get the craving for quiche. I have yet to make my own crusted quiche from scratch, but I have done two crustless quiches in the past months, and they were amazing. The most recent one was tonight.

I decided to make a small Three Cheese Mushroom Crustless Quiche after browsing through my fridge. The recipe I got inspired from was a Spinach and Mushroom Quiche I found online, but here is the modified one.

Three Cheese Mushroom Crustless Quiche (adapted from RecipeLand.com)

• Cooking spray
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup coarsely chopped mushrooms
• 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar
• 1/2 cup shredded Swiss
• 1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• S & P

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Spray a 9-inch pie dish with cooking spray and set aside.
2. Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Cook until tender, about 3-5 minutes.
3. In the mean time, beat eggs in a small bowl. Add milk and mix well.
4. Transfer mushrooms to pie dish and spread evenly on the bottom. Sprinkle cheese over mushrooms evenly. Add egg mixture to dish.
5. Cook quiche for 35-40 minutes or until golden and fluffy. Let cool and serve.

 

Crustless

There was a whole bag of frozen broccoli florets in my freezer. What to do with it?

32 oz. of frozen broccoli + Martha Stewart = Crustless Broccoli & Cheddar Quiche.

Never thought recipes for crustless quiches existed, but they do, and thank goodness for that!

Very easy to make and delicious outcome.

I used the leftover broccoli to make a sauteed side dish for my quiche.