Feta, tomato and basil toast

This is probably the meal I make the most for a quick and delicious lunch and even breakfast sometimes. I never get bored of it as the flavor combination is so good- juicy tomatoes, creamy and salty feta, and crunchy and garlicky toast. Who could resist? 

Creamy, delicious feta crumbled all over the juicy tomatoes.

It is really light and works well with any good bread, though my particular favorites are sourdough or granary. It takes just minutes to prepare. I always keep the ingredients for this in the fridge and always feel satisfied after eating it.

Ingredients (per person)

2 slices of bread (sliced quite generously)

Olive oil (I use a spray)

A clove of garlic

A few leaves of basil (use scissors to cut into slithers)

A handful of cherry plum tomatoes (I use a mix of yellow and red ones) sliced or quartered

A couple of sun-dried tomatoes chopped into slithers

Feta cheese to crumble (as much as you like)

1 tsp sun-dried tomato olive oil (from the jar of sun-dried tomatoes) to drizzle over the top

Cracked black pepper

Juicy tomatoes, basil, feta & sun-dried tomatoes

Method

Toast the slices of bread. Once toasted, rub a clove of garlic over the crunchy toast so the garlic flavor transfers to the bread. Drizzle or spray some olive oil onto the top of the toasted garlic toast (you could use butter but I think olive oil works better with these Mediterranean ingredients).

Scatter the slices or quarters of tomatoes over the pieces of bread, add the sun-dried tomato slithers and basil and top with the crumbled feta cheese.

Season with black pepper and then drizzle a little of the sun-dried tomato olive oil from the jar over the top.

So simple to put together but believe me packed full of flavor. Eat on its own at breakfast or with some mixed salad leaves on the side for lunch.

Who can resist this flavor combination?!

Hope you enjoy this as much as I do.

Melt in your mouth mini quiches

I love love love quiche. It is great as a snack, or for lunch with salad or for dinner with veggies and mashed potato. They are perfect for taking on picnics too. I love that you never have to make the same quiche twice as the possibilities for fillings are endless.

Back in the UK most of the major supermarkets sell some fantastic ready-made quiches with all sorts of exciting fillings inside and they were a staple in my diet and my fridge when I was living there. They were my go to fast food that just needed popping in the oven and in the time it took for them to heat through I could have whipped up a simple side dish or two. One of my favorites was a minty spring vegetable variety and a close runner up was filled with asparagus, leek and parmesan. Yum!

Melt in your mouth mini quiche.

 

I had always thought that quiches (particularly the crust) were much more difficult to make than they actually are, so it was ages before I started experimenting with making my own. I was inspired this week to whip up a batch of mini quiches which was a first for me. I have always made large quiches before so I thought I’d see if my recipe worked for a smaller version using my much loved silicone muffin tray and they did. They were perfect. Why didn’t I think of making mini quiches this way before? Haha.

Give this recipe a go. Either mini ones like I made this time, or use the same recipe to make a large one. The recipe is so simple and doesn’t involve any rolling of pastry or pre-cooking of the pastry crust. Cook the pastry crust together with the filling inside it. You’ll be amazed. The pastry is light and delicious.

I opted for cheese, tomato and basil quiches for my first batch (see recipe below), followed by a second batch for my husband filled with cheese, bacon (make sure you ¾ cook the bacon first)  and jalapenos. You could also try spinach, garlic and feta for a tasty vegetarian option, or red onion, sun-dried tomato and goat’s cheese. I also love assorted mushrooms with leek and gruyere cheese or tri-color roasted bell peppers and zucchini. The options really are endless so get inventive!

Pastry (makes 8 mini quiches)

½ cup of milk

80g butter

Seasoning

1 ½ cups of self raising flour

1 tsp of baking powder

No mixer needed!  A light fluffy pastry dough for the case.

Place the milk and butter in a saucepan and stir in the heat until the butter has melted and mixed into the milk. Place the flour, baking powder and seasoning into a mixing bowl nd pour the butter and milk mixture in. Use a metal spoon to sir and combine to a smooth, fluffy, light dough. Set aside.

Filling

3 eggs

1/2 cup of milk

Seasoning

Fillings of your choice. I used 5-6 cherry tomatoes chopped into quarters, chopped basil and 2/3 of a cup of grated cheddar.

Fillings for my cheese, tomato and basil mini quiches

Beat the eggs and milk together and season. Stir in the cheese and basil. Set aside and leave tomatoes out.

Assembling the quiches

Pre-heat the oven to 180.

For the mini quiches I used a silicone muffin tray so no oil is needed, but if you are using a metal muffin tray or metal quiche tin brush lightly with oil or melted butter first.

No rolling required, just press the quiche pastry dough into the muffin molds or quiche tin so that it is pretty evenly spread on the bottom and sides. Pour in the egg, milk, cheese and basil mixture so it is close to but not all the way to the top of the pastry crust. Drop a few pieces of tomato into each mini quiche or scatter over the top of a large quiche so they sink slightly into the mixture.

Nor rolling required. Press the dough into the molds.

Fill almost to the top of the pastry with fillings.

As soon as the quiches are filled place straight into a hot oven and cook for approximately 20 minutes for mini quiches and 25-30 minutes for a large quiche. The quiche should be golden, the egg mixture should have firmed up and the pastry should have crisped too before removing it from the oven. Remove from the oven and set aside for a few minutes to cool slightly before removing from the molds or tray.

Just out the oven.

Cooling on board.

 These keep well in a sealed container in the fridge for 4-5 days at least and can easily be re-heated in the oven or microwave.

Serve with veggies or salad or both. For a really filling meal enjoy as I did with my cauliflower and broccoli cheese bake (recipe posted last week) and a salad such as crispy slaw. I also love quiche with mashed potato and spicy baked beans.

Melt in your mouth mini quiche.

Top tip: if you have any of your quiche filling cheesy egg and basil mix left as I did you can bake it in a silicone muffin tray with no pastry to make baked eggs. They are a great breakfast alternative. I popped them in a Tupperware in the fridge and reheated them at breakfast time. Delicious with baked beans, cooked mushrooms and toast!

Happy Juice: The Bugs Bunny

Here is another one of my favorite juices that always manages to bring a smile to my face. It is bright orange in color due to the carrot in it so I’ve named it the Bugs Bunny. 

The Bugs Bunny!

Kick-start your day with a glass of this and meet at least two out of the recommended five servings a day of fruit and vegetables for a healthy diet.

Carrots contain vitamins A, C and K, pineapple aids in the digestion of protein, lime is packed full of vitamin C and ginger contains anti-oxidants, is an anti-inflammatory and is great at fighting coughs and colds and bringing fevers down.

There are two versions of this juice, one using a juicer which gives a pulp free version that goes down easily, or if you don’t have a juicer you can use a blender or stick blender and then use a sieve to remove the pulp (if you want it smooth) or forget the sieve and drink it with the pulp still in it.

Ingredients

¼ of a large pineapple or half a small one like we have here in Bali

1 large carrot

The juice of one lime

1 inch or root ginger

All the ingredients ready for the juicer

Method using a juicer

Cut the fruit into pieces small enough to feed into the juicer and use the juicer to extract the juice from the pineapple, carrot and ginger and mix with the lime juice. Drink, enjoy and smile :)

Juicer free method

Juice a lime and pour the juice into your blender. Cut the pineapple into small chunks, and grate the carrot and ginger and add to the blender. Blend for a few minutes until thick and smooth. You can add some extra lime juice or even some apple juice to help it all blend if necessary. The mixture will be quite thick and pulpy so pour into a sieve placed over a bowl and use a spoon to stir so the juice falls into the bowl and the pulp remains in the sieve. Leave for an extra few minutes so the last of the juice drips into the bowl. Discard the pulp and enjoy your juice. 

Drink, enjoy, smile :)