Quick Quiche

I haven't had much success making pastry and frankly, I avoid making it at all. If I have to, I resort to frozen ones or even ready-made pie cases.

The quiche recipe I use is a rough combination that I tweak according to my mood, the saltiness of the cheeses used and the other ingredients I add, whether bacon, salmon, tomato, spinach etc.

I'm not a cheese connoisseur so I can't claim to know the best combination. I just love cheese, any combination does it for me and I haven't found one that doesn't work well yet. When in doubt, I check out this site.


Quick Quiche Mix
makes about 3-4 cups

3 eggs
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup milk
2 cups grated soft or semi-firm cheese
1 cup grated crumbly or firm cheese
1/4 tsp of any suitable spice (optional)

Beat the eggs before adding in all the other ingredients. This time, I used Colby Jack and Parmesan. Spoon the quiche mix into the pastry cases and top with desired toppings. I used leek, cherry tomatoes and leftover gorgonzola for variety.

Bake in a 350F oven for 20-30 minutes until mixture is cooked. The quiche will puff up quite a bit in the oven but the puffiness will subside upon cooling.

Steamed Eggs

The supermarket I frequent has been selling a tray of 30 eggs for $2.85! So different from the days when bird flu was a scare here. Since I can't resist a bargain, I've been cooking with many eggs.

I'm also using this opportunity to take part in A Taste of Yellow, an event being organised by Barbara at Winos and Foodies as part of LiveStrong Day 2007 on May 16th, which is when the round up will be posted. Check it out!

When I get sick, I turn to comfort food and steamed eggs is simple fare that does just that. Growing up, my mother used to cook this in the rice cooker using a trivet that raised the dish above the steaming rice, cooking everything at the same time. My sister and I were happy to eat these eggs with only rice and soya sauce. A simple pleasure.

It wasn't until I started living on my own that I learnt how to make these. I had a flatmate whose grandmother told her the proportions of egg to water to ensure a smooth soft texture - for every egg used, fill 4 half shells with water and combine. Basically, for every egg, add 2 parts of water.

Although I loved it plain as a child, I now prefer it a little more jazzed up. I've steamed this with minced pork, prawns and even corned beef.

I'm using only eggs for this recipe. The eggs pictured are salted eggs on the left and century eggs on the right.

If the salted eggs come covered in charcoal, they can simply be washed under running water before being hardboiled.

The century eggs are covered in clay and rice husk. It has to be removed by firmly knocking it against a hard surface, much like for hardboiled eggs. It doesn't need cooking, its ready to eat. However, the taste may take some getting used to.


Steamed Eggs with Century Eggs and Salted Eggs
serves 6

4 eggs
350ml water, or twice the volume of eggs
2 salted eggs, hardboiled
2 century eggs
pinch of salt

Chop up the hardboiled salted eggs and century eggs (I used an egg slicer) before mixing in with the eggs, water and salt. There's no need to beat the egg mixture or there will be an excess of bubbles on the steamed surface.
Distribute into individual portions or steam it all in a shallow dish for 10-15 minutes or until set.

When ready, drizzle with sesame oil or soya sauce, garnish with chopped spring onions. Serve this together with rice and other dishes.