SANE recipes and adventures from a splendid single life.
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Podcast Co-host, recipe developer, and food photographer for the Smarter Science of Slim.
Tales of food, travel & adventure - a little bit of crazy with a whole lot of SANE.
I think it’s high time I gave you a Pacific Northwest weather update, because we’re all a bit confused and discombobulated up in this little corner of the world. Where did Summer go and what’s with this rather small, fresh-feeling number on the thermometer all of a sudden? Summer fled overnight like the von Trapp family escaping Austria. Fall roared in like a gay pride parade – loud, proud and in a blaze of glorious color. Poof! In a flash, Summer was out and Fall was in; and with it came the rain. I didn’t realize quite how much I had missed aqua-planing down the I-90. Driving home has been quite a rush most nights this week.
Seattle feels like we’ve had a long, cold shower – refreshing, cleansing, rehydrating. I’ve put my thoroughly over-worked hose and lawn-sprinklers to bed for the winter, dug out my foot-duvets from the depths of my closet, and flipped the switch on the thermostat. I’m settling in for a good few months of dark mornings, gusty winds, my beloved LL Bean thermal jacket, and steaming bowls of soup. I’m up for it.
While Mother Nature was pulling a fast switcheroo on us, I’ve been trying to figure out what you need most in the *SANE recipe department, so that I can help you in your quest for *SANEity. Here’s what my little Facebook Poll revealed. I’ve hyperlinked to the recipes already posted that fit the bill.
You need breakfasts – quick breakfasts that are not smoothies; and breakfasts that don’t involve eggs.
So last weekend, I headed into the Marmalade HQ kitchen and made a big old mess; several times I’ll have you know. My dish-washer can vouch for me. So can Cindy. Cindy showed up on Sunday to haul away two chairs that we both decided would be a better match for her house than mine. She made the mistake of plonking herself down at my kitchen table, and then saying, “No”, when I asked her if she’d had lunch. She unwittingly became an Official Smarter Science of Slim Taste Tester as I rolled out one dish after another for her to stab a fork or spoon into.
I am relieved to report that Cindy said she’s coming over every weekend now. I took that as a sign that she enjoyed the grub. Either that or she thinks I need cooking lessons. The rate at which she slurped the Leek and Cauliflower down, I think it was the former.
You can see the results of my labors here. There’s lunches, seafood, veggies, breakfast and dessert. Yesterday I added another lunch and another breakfast. I’m getting there, people! You make me want to cook all day long.
Aside from soup, which is always a great portable lunch option, I came up with something that has been rocking my world all week long - Leek and Mushroom Quiche Cups. Portable breakfast, portable lunch, portable snack. Oh so *SANE, oh so tasty. These darling little pillows of *SANEity have merrily saved my a** most every day this week. If you ever come over to my house you will always find a stash in my ‘fridge now.
You will need to invest in some of these, if you don’t already have some. Or these would be cool too - more like quiche squares – more manly, more lunchy. You will use them a million times, I am certain; because these quiche cups are just a perfect piece of *SANEity for any time of day. My silicone cups are already coming up for a Service Award, and I’ve only had them 10 days.
In the morning, as you dash out the door, grab 3 or 4 of these and a bowl of *SANE soup (lots more soups coming soon!) and you’ll be set with one scrumptiously *SANE lunch to get you through the grizzliest of afternoons. Add a little cup of this and you’ll be so happy you’ll wonder how – or why – you ever forced one of those sandwich things down your gullet at lunchtime before.
4 oz leeks, sliced thinly and slices cut in half crossways
2 oz sharp Cheddar, grated
12 eggs
1 tsp dried sage
Ground pepper
¼ cup heavy cream (keeps them moist in the ‘fridge)
Instructions
Place 12 silicone cups in a muffin pan.
In a bowl, mix leeks, mushrooms and cheese well.
Divide veggie cheese mix evenly between the 12 silicone cups.
Place eggs, sage, pepper and heavy cream in the bowl and whisk very well to make sure the eggs are completely broken up.
Pour egg mixture into a measuring jug (or other container with a pouring lip) and then carefully fill each silicone cup. The cups should be almost full.
Carefully place the muffin pan into the center of the oven, pre-heated to 375 degrees F.
Bake for 30 minutes until the quiche cups are risen, puffy and golden brown.
Remove from the oven and carefully tip each quiche cup out of the silicone cups.
Eat immediately or, if making in advance, allow to cool completely before packing in a storage container and placing in the ‘fridge.
Mic -LOVED THESE! I always get disappointed after making recipes I find online because I can never get a finished product that actually looks like the pictures showcased online. That is definately not the case here, they came out looking just like Carrie’s pictures! And they taste heavenly. I even got my one year old to eat them. I would reccomend this recipe to anyone, SANE or not. :)
Allison Sherman -These are mighty tasty, for sure. I had to wing it a little bit because it made more than 12 muffins for me. I ended up throwing some more mushrooms and cheese into my leftover egg mixture and poured it into a mini loaf pan. That seemed to work fine. And now I know for next time I can fill them a little less full but use more muffin cups.
It’s true, they turned out just like the picture. I like a big dose of salt on mine. I might add that in next time.
I had never purchased a leek and didn’t understand the cutting instructions so I just chopped it up nice and fine with my pampered chef chopper. I like my food to be more integrated and have less big chunks of flavor anyway. I can see they are a cousin of the onion but I didn’t hold that against them. They are a great flavor enhancer and now I’m a big fan.
I’m already thinking that my next batch might have zuchini or broccoli or spinach. FUN!
Oh, and I love that these are a “to go” food.
carrie-Why can’t we just get eggs that are all the same size? Someone needs to sort those darn chickens out!! And don’t even get me started on non-uniform-sized silicone cups. Can we all just agree on a size and stick to it?? Sigh.
In other news – we have leek converts! I am so happy!! :-)
allisol -These are so versatile! I ate up all the ones I made last week (favorite way to eat: cut up and heated with a slice of avocado) so I made some more today and really tweaked the recipe. I didn’t have the mushrooms but instead I added browned ground pork sausage, some freshly grated parmesan cheese instead of the cheddar and some finely chopped zuchini. I chopped up the sausage too, even though it was ground. I like my flavors to blend and each bite to taste the same. Oh, and I added a teaspoon of salt.
The result: AMAZING! They are super tasty. But maybe I could have laid off the salt. With the salty parmesan cheese mix and the salt maybe they are a little too much, but I do love salt. And I don’t know where the sausage went but it’s in there and it’s yummy. And the leeks smell SO GOOD. I have extra chopped leeks I will use in my eggs tomorrow morning. I could not have done this without my pampered chef food chopper (no, I’m not a rep). I LOVE that thing and it helps me add veggies to things b/c I can chop them up really small and they blend in nicely.
This is a big hit for me. A great fast meal that is SANE and really flexible for whatever I’ve got in the kitchen. Two thumbs up, Carrie! If anyone else did any variations of the original, I’d love to hear about it.
allisol -Oh, and because I added some extra things I needed more egg mixture so I threw in 3 more eggs and a dash of cream. It made 23 muffins. Plenty for sharing and eating!
carrie-Planning on a whole load of alternatives! Coming soon :-) We love anything that helps you add more veggies.
Julie -Made these this weekend and they are awesome! Can’t wait for the alternatives. I’m sure you could put lots of different things in these. Question for you about the silicon liners – do you oil them? Mine stuck like crazy. Do you need to get them out right away? Maybe that was my problem. Thanks!
carrie-Hmmm, Julie – I did not oil them. My eggs cups just popped right out, whether I took them out straight away or let them cool first. Other than a splash of oil, not sure what to suggest, although that seems a bit of a pain and negates half the reason for the silicone! May as well use regualr muffin pans…
Julie -Thanks Carrie – that’s helpful to know! It must be my cups. Is the link above for the same ones you have? It will definitely be worth it to invest in ones that don’t stick. Thank you!
Charge Headlong » Carrie Brown | Marmalade and Mileposts-[...] you rolling on down the tracks. A while back I asked you what you needed via Facebook, and then posted the results here. I thought it was high time I checked back to see how I was [...]
Keri -Can I make them using regular paper muffin cups? I don’t have any silicon liners yet (just ordered from Amazon, won’t arrive til Monday), but I want to try these this weekend.
carrie-Hi Keri – I have not tried them with them paper cups. I would be more inclined to just grease the muffin pans and do them directly in those. I think the eggs mixture may be too “wet” for the papers.
Keri -Thanks for the tip. I hadn’t thought about the wetness of the egg mixture. I’m not sure I have enough regular muffin tins for the amount of mixture, so I may use some mini-loaf pans as well.
carrie-Keri – You could also use ovenware dishes – just grease well with coconut oil before you put the mixture in. You will likely have to alter the cooking time if the dishes are significantly bigger and/or deeper than muffin cups.
Margaret -Oh my…I just made the mushroom leek quiche cups. I did add some red pepper flakes to the second batch as I like to kick it up a notch; so tasty! Has anyone frozen these and then popped them in the microwave to warm?
Thank you Carrie for a quick, savory and tasty breakfast (just perfect for a lazy breakfast person, like myself)!
carrie-Hi Margaret! Yes, readers have successfully frozen these. I’ve never managed to hav any last long enough to get as far as the freezer ;-) So glad you loved them. They are one of my favorites!
Vivian -Hi Carrie, I just made these and they turned out HUGE! And beautiful! And delicious!
I do have a quick question: when i added up all the fat & protein and divided it by 12, each of these delicious quiche cups has 8g of fat and 7g of protein. Are they meant to be eaten as a side dish then? I can’t possibly eat 4 of them to get to my 30g of protein – and plus, that would be 32g of fat. Could i make them with egg whites instead, to get more protein out of each quiche?
Thanks for this amazing recipe. Can’t wait to see what the kids think! :-)
Cheers, Vivian
carrie-Hi Vivian – aren’t they good??!! Actually, if you ate these with a large pile of non-starchy veggies they would be the perfect SANE meal – with 1/3 protein, 1/3 fat and 1/3 veggies. Perfectly balanced!! I have a huge appetite and I can eat 4 of these at a time easily. If you do want to reduce the fat and increase the protein then yes you can swap out any number of the whole eggs for an equivalent in egg whites. So excited you love them!! Hope the kids agree :-)
Vivian -Yay Carrie, excellent news! Thank you! I will sub for egg whites and let you know how it goes.
Yes, the kids loved them. They did ask for more cheese next time, but that’s because they’re addicted to cheese… :-)
I am loving your recipes, Carrie. The chocolate espresso cookies were a big hit as were the shrimp w/ leeks!
Keep ‘em coming!! Hope you’re enjoying the rainy weekend :-)
Cheers, Vivian
carrie-Ha ha, Vivian – I am also a huge cheese fan. I always use the strong / mature cheddar so you get the most flavor without adding more cheese! I am so glad your family are enjoying the recipes. Healthy is simple, when you know how :-)
I am pretty sure you want exactly zero narrative on this one. I can hear the chant from here: “SHOW ME THE CHOCOLATE PUDDING!!”
If you love chocolate and think life must be over because you chose to go *SANE, this will make your knees weak, your heart thump and your mouth happier than a 3 year old in a mud puddle.
I keep a large bowl of it in the ‘fridge so I can get a chocolate fix at any time.
Carole -This looks amazing! I have been trying to make some of you’re sane recipes but the cup conversion is throwing me off. I’m Scottish and we don’t normally work with cups’ as such! I looked up the conversion online and I found 1 cup equals 8oz or 235grams? Would this be right that for the recipe you would add 235g cocoa powder? This seems a lot!!!
carrie-Carol – so sorry about that – I should remember better life before “cups”! I will weigh it tonight and see how accurate it is. Then I’ll go back and clarify where necessary the other recipes. However, you may want to get yourself a set of American cups, since for some recipes where exactness is not vital, cups can be super fast. I was raised on pounds and ounces, got converted to grams, then moved to the US and got cups. I’m still confused!
carrie-Wait until you try it, Susie! SANE is awesome :-)
Carole -That’s a good idea, ill definitely do that! I tried to make a paelo recipe of chocolate and coconut brownies and I don’t think the measurements were right! I will be investing in a set of American cups ASAP as your recipes are amazing! Thanks for all your motivation and making it a more realistic lifestyle!!
Sharon-Carole – definitely get some measuring cups, Amazon sell them. I had so many disasters following American recipes before I bought my cups! This recipe sounds delicious. I’ve made chocolate pudding with avocado before but haven’t added coconut cream. Carrie, in the UK coconut cream comes in tetra packs – mine are 250ml. Could you please let us know what 1/2 can is.
carrie-1/2 CUP creamed coconut. Those darn cups again!
carrie-Yes! Cups are problematic when it comes to conversions. For baking, when recipes need to be exact I always weigh. For recipes like this one where relative quantities are not critical, it use cups. I need to write a seperate post on the whole oz / g / cup conversion thing. Liquids measured in cups are accurate, dry stuff is not, since as Rob rightly points out, cups are volume not weight. I will add a weight of cocoa powder to the recipe!
Ally BIshop -Great recipe — I look forward to trying it!
But 11 tbsp of xylitol seems like a lot (not to mention, the stuff ain’t cheap!) Is there a reason why it’s that much? I usually do about 2 when I make a pudding with avocados, but I’m wondering if the cream is what thows it off, or the mint?
Just curious, as I don’t want to screw up the recipe when I make it. :)
carrie-It is the cocoa powder – there is a lot of it. Pure cocoa powder is very bitter. Start with 5 and work your way up, I ended up with 11. You can also use equivalent in Stevia if you want, but it won’t taste as good. Let me know where you end up! I buy Xylitol in bulk online – it is MUCH cheaper that way.
Ally Bishop -Ha! I knew there had to be a reason. I don’t add as much cocoa…but I’m going to add more. Thanks!
carrie-You can add more or less cocoa, but will have to add more or less sweetener to compensate. Ratios are not critical in this one.
carrie-Carole – I weighed a cup of cocoa powder and it is 140g. I strongly recommend you get yourself a set of cups :-) Where I use an actually weight in a recipe though, weigh, because it means is needs to be accurate. Hope that helps!
allisol -Carrie, I had some issues with this recipe, maybe you can help. I didn’t actually get to make it b/c I couldn’t find all the ingredients. My questions:
1. What is coconut CREAM? I found canned coconut milk (in several varities – lite, unsweetened, sweetened, etc) but no cream.
2. I could not find cocoa nibs. I know these are more of a garnish but I like a crunch so I probably would have added more.
I looked at two different stores for these things, one of which was somewhat of a specialty / health food type store.
Any suggestions? I’m dying to make this. I even have the peppermint extract from a very inSANE brownie recipe. Would love to save it’s little soul.
carrie-Allisol – I got mine at Trader Joe’s – can’t tell whereabouts in the world you are. Coconut cream comes in a can and is thick. When you open the can it has usually seperated out into liquid and solid, so you have to dump it out and mix it up before you use it. If you can’t find it in a regular store I would try the Asian section or an Asian store.
Cocoa nibs are springing up all over so I am surprised and disappointed you couldn’t find them. I order mine (I use Valrhona – the best) online from http://www.worldwidechocolate.com/shop_valrhona_cocoa_nibs.html but you should be able to find them locally. Hope that helps! If not, email me.
ALLISOL -OK, thanks, Carrie. I’m in Gilbert, AZ. Plenty of options here. I’ll head to my TJ’s sometime soon and see if I can find these things. With all the Halloween candy around, I’m going to need some pudding…
Krista -Hi Carrie- Great recipe. Quick question – where did you buy the coconut cream and cocoa nibs? (We live in Redmond :))
carrie-I used Trader Joe’s Coconut Cream. I get my cocoa nibs online…if you can’t find them in Trader Joe’s (I can’t remember if I”ve seen them there or not) PCC has them for sure. Hoep that helps!
Tracy -So, xylitol and stevia are sane approved? (Stevia wasn’t on the list of 15). I have had issues with sorbitol in the past, with xylitol being a “natural” sugar alcohol, I am wondering if I will have the same issues.
carrie-Hi Tracy – yes! Jonathan prefers to use Stevia, but I prefer to use Xylitol because of it’s baking characteristics. Xylitol is not a sugar alcohol in the same way as sorbitol, so you should not experience any issues. However, a few people experience slight bowl issues initially which go away on continued use. I have never had any issues with it and it is the most like sugar that I have found. Hope that helps! Most people also find that their tolerance for sweetness generally decreases the longer they eat SANE. SOme things now seem unbearably sweet to me. This is a good thing! Good luck!
Deborah Medley -Love the idea of chocolate pudding!! Do you think it will be ok to omit the peppermint? Not to keen on peppermint :)
Julie -Hello – very excited to have found your blog. Have been doing ssos since April but had run out of ideas. I want to try this pudding! Do you have a brand of xylitol that you recommend? Does it matter? Bought the ingredients tonight for the cauliflower leek soup, but TJ’s didn’t have xylitol. Thanks!
carrie-Hi Julie – welcome! I use Xyla because it’s made from birch trees instead of corn. I order it in bulk (55lb bags!) because it’s much cheaper, plus I don’t run out every five minutes :-) PCC have it for sure if you are not ready for bulk. Can’t remember where else I’ve seen it. I rarely go in the middle of grocery stores :-) I love that soup!!
Julie -woah! 55 lbs! What else do you use it for? I can’t even imagine where I would put that :). Thanks so much for the quick reply! I’ll try PCC. I’m curious to know where you buy online.
Thanks.
carrie-:-)) Bear in mind that I am developing recipes, so I might use 8 times as much to get to the final recipe that works. Plus, it’s not going to spoil. I keep the sack in the garage and refill a jar in my kitchen. I use it for everything that requires sweetening. I got my stash from here: http://www.naturalsweetenerstore.com
Julie -Ah, makes sense. I guess i do have 3 huge tubs of protein powder taking up a whole shelf in my pantry :) I’m looking forward to trying Xyla. I made some “ice cream” last night with coconut milk/cocoa/sugar that I bet would be even better (and certainly more SANE) with the Xylitol.
I was reading up on it – sounds like it has fewer calories and a lower glycemic index than sugar. Glad to hear it can be incorporated in to a SANE diet. Curious to know more about how/why it works.
I’m also planning to make your little egg cups this week :)
Thanks so much Carrie!
Christy -Which coconut cream do you use? My grocer carries it, but it’s loaded with sugar.
carrie-Hi Christy – I use Trader Joe’s – it’s just coconut, no sugar added. Obviously, coconut cream with sugar in would make it inSANE, so great job on reading the label!! It’s a shame we have too, but those manufacturers can be so sneaky!
carrie-Let me know how you like the Egg Cups, Julie. I am addicted to them! They have become my all-meal, all-purpose food :-) PS. I am working on SANE ice cream.
Julie -Wow! Just made this. It is mind blowingly good. Holy cow. I only had 1 good avocado, but it seemed to work ok. Hard to believe it is sane. Would make a great frosting (maybe the result of the single avocado?). Made the egg cups and the green smoothie this weekend too. The smoothie was tasty but too rich for me. The egg cups will be a staple in our house for sure. So easy and tasty! Thanks Carrie!
carrie-Who knew spinach would ever be described as “too rich”? I love it!
Julie -haha – true! It was more like a pudding for me than a smoothie. Maybe the coconut milk? It was the coconut milk + the avocado that got me. Looking forward to the next smoothie recipe!
carrie-Julie, use water instead of coconut milk and see if that is more “smoothie” for you.
Julie -Oh -good idea – thanks! I make my green smoothies with kale, greek yogurt, protein powder, pineapple, mango, and lemon, and I might just have that one hard wired into my brain since I have it most mornings. It’s about a cup of fruit to ~4 cups of kale. It would be good to have an alternative, so I will definitely try this one again.
Doug -This chocolate pudding was a huge hit at our recent Christmas dinner. People had no idea what was inside until we told them. Fantastic.
One surprise, though: After cooling the pudding for a couple of hours in the fridge, the coconut cream seemed to separate a bit, such that there was a cream-colored, waxy-looking halo around the edge of the pudding. Perhaps it didn’t mix enough, or cooled too long?
carrie-Doug – not sure about the halo effect. I made a big batch and had it in the ‘fridge for several days to test stability and I did not experience that. I would start with mixing for longer next time and see if that helps. Glad you loved it, and duped the guests!
Wenona -Hi. Glad to see your great recipes. About the coconut milk vs. coconut cream, I can see where the confusion would be. I’ve bought coconut milk (full fat) in a can from Walmart, put in the fridge and it separates out with the bulk being firm and I used this to whip up a mousse using an electric mixer. The brand that I like is Golden Star, only ingredients are coconut milk and water. I’d say it’s pretty difficult to tell the difference between the chocolate coconut mousse and chocolate mousse made with dairy cream when you add enough chocolate to cover coconut taste.
Lee Marshall -Just made this and wow (nice job Carrie)! I reduced the sugar a little so you really get the “dark chocolate” experience, and used less advocado (1/2 large), which is why I think mine’s ended up looking a little darker than the photo’s here. Will use more next time I think…
Overall, very impressed with this!
For anyone that’s interested I used Monk Fruit (luo han guo) extract as a sweetener. This has just started appearing in my local supermarket branded as Norbu Sweetener (http://norbusweetener.com.au/). It (apparently) doesn’t have the bitter after taste of Stevia and (again apparently) is excellent for baking and doesn’t have the bowel effects that Xylitol can have. Can’t personally comment on this, just the marketing hype I’ve read…
Anyone know the fat content of this one? I know they’re all good fats, but curious as could be quite rich calorically speaking?
I’ve noticed how I always manage to get in the wrong line at Trader Joe’s. It’s become a core competency of mine. The other day, while I was at TJs buying – among other things – the brussel sprouts for this recipe, and after having successfully defended my title in the wrong-line-picking championships for the umpteenth week in a row, I had a conversation with the checker dude. I have absolutely no idea what he was talking about. Something to do with blotting paper, British people and chairs. I nodded, and smiled, and said, “Yes!!” in a highly excitable tone a couple of times, and then he said, “See? That’s why I love you guys”. I think I successfully winged that one then.
My life has involved a fair amount of winging-it, over the years, if truth be told; and especially in the kitchen. One of my best ever winging-it moments was when I was a young student in London. I earned my bread-and-butter by helping John – my University Department Head – to cater bridge parties for ladies-who-lunch, swanky Sunday brunches where it was entirely unfashionable for the women to actually eat anything, and very posh soirees. One particular Sunday, I was feeding fancy finger food to well-heeled gentlefolk at a large garden party in a rarefied part of Surrey. There was an awful lot of champagne involved, and, I am certain, several other types of alcohol. I was glad for that because it meant, when disaster struck in the crème anglaise department, I could wing it with abandon. The risk of tragic food news leaking from the kitchen got less with every popping cork.
John and I usually managed these parties between us, but the size of this event required another pair of hands. Enter, Harry - an overly charming Irish man with an eye for the ladies and a strong pair of freckled hands. All went swimmingly until it was time for a little something sweet. Harry curdled the crème anglaise moments before it was to be served alongside dessert. Quelle horreur! Quick as a flash, I rifled through the pantry, knowing that any self-respecting household – no matter how wealthy – would have a canister of Bird’s Custard Powder lurking inside. I tossed it to Harry and he threw some in a pan, whipped milk in and brought it to a simmer until it thickened. We had a sauce! Except everyone there would know it was instant custard - with its immediately identifiable flavor, and, I am pretty sure, its own Pantone number. As the desserts were being plated by the servers, I frantically searched our box of tricks for inspiration.
John, who had been watching the fray, calmly picked up a small bucket of praline paste & handed it to me. It took me 2 seconds to rip the lid off and lob some of that glorious, smooth, brown nuttiness into the warm custard. I stirred that stuff so fast I thought for a moment my arm might twist right off. The sauce took on a wonderful pale golden beige hue, while the intense toasted hazelnut aroma wafted around my head. 10 minutes later the host came running into the kitchen. I contemplated diving under the sink, or making a dash for the wine cellar, but before I could flee the crime scene he was all up in John’s face demanding, “That sauce! What was that sauce?” Without batting an eyelid, John replied, “Creme de nougatine”. I stood rooted to the granite floor, no longer aware of the hubbub of clinking glasses as the clean-up crew scurried to recycle them back out into the hands of the merry garden-partyers; a large smear of praline displayed boldly across my starched, white apron.
“Fantastic!”, our host declared. “Bloody brilliant! Best thing on the menu!”
BEST. WING-IT. EVER.
Having winged-it at the check-out line, it seemed only appropriate that I would later wing-it with a bag of brussel sprouts and a bottle of balsamic. I love brussel sprouts; they remind me of Christmas. We ate them frequently at home in England, but I remember them best for being part of our slap-up Christmas Dinner every December 25th. Roast turkey, mini sausages wrapped in bacon and roasted in the turkey juices, roast potatoes, mashed potatoes, roast parsnips, carrots, all covered in lashings of meaty gravy. And brussel sprouts. I think there was another vegetable in the mix too (Mark? Help?), but for reasons that I’ve never quite been able to put my finger on, I remember the brussel sprouts the best.
I haven’t been eating brussels much since I landed stateside, mainly because the one I’ve had here have been tougher, more bitter and less palatable than their English counterparts. After my first few run-ins with American brussels, I nodded understandingly when friends from this side of the pond wrinkled their noses at the thought of devouring them.
This recipe may well change all that; because, as most people will agree – everything tastes better with bacon. Even, or maybe especially, brussel sprouts.
10 oz shaved brussel sprouts (Trader Joe’s sell them ready shaved)
¼ cup white balsamic vinegar
¼ cup water
Salt and pepper
Instructions
Cook the chopped bacon over medium heat until lightly browned.
Add the shaved sprouts and stir well.
Cook, stirring frequently, until sprouts just start to brown, about 5 minutes.
Add the balsamic vinegar and water and stir well.
Reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid and cook for a further 5 minutes until sprouts are tender.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
I used regular dark balsamic for these pictures. I would use white balsamic in future to keep the color brighter. The taste would be the same. You can use either.
Cowgirl Rae-As far as trader joes goes…. their ketchup is the bomb…. I know not sane by itself, but it’s a condiment. I’m a ketchup pusher. I should get a reward of some kind.
I want to thank you for the recipes, thank you for being a great partner to Jonathan on the podasts and all around thank you for helping spread understanding about eating SANE. I love listening to your commentary on the podcasts…. and your blog.
carrie-TJ’s ketchup IS the bomb!!! I am so wih you on that, Rae :-) And, it’s SANEr than the rest, so YAY. Happy to be your partner in ketchup-pushing crime. THANK YOU for your kind words. It’s a labor of love, so always wonderful to here that it is having a positive impact.
The Monday Memo #3 » Carrie Brown | Marmalade and Mileposts-[...] and by jove I was going to make them for you, owned a checkout at Trader Joe’s for the first time in history, had a gobsmackingly good SANE Big Breakfast Adventure in Eastlake with two Aussie chums, and had [...]
Welcome to the first Monday Memo! The good news is, this is going to be short. The bad news is, it’s already Tuesday. Bear with me, dear readers, while I get into the swing of publishing a regular weekly round-up. I’ll get into a rhythm, and knowing you’re there – cheering from the sidelines – well, that really helps. Thank you.
Stuff I made and ate and wrote about last week, in case you missed them.
Genina -Hi Carrie!
From Leek and Cauliflower soup to the end there is no link to the recipe. I cannot find them in the search bar (under cauliflower)
I know you name things and categorize them with your titles.
(like “the Monday Menu” will have this soup etc)
Can you let me know what the aka names are for the recipes with no attached links? Thanks!!!
ps- made the pear porridge….so delish!!
carrie-Hey Genina! I re-ordered the post – hopefully it is more clear now that the ones without links are COMING SOON!!! They are what I cooked last weekend but have not been able to post yet. I love that Pear Porridge!!
Genina -AhA! That would be the why! See how much you have spoiled us with your fantastic meals….I can’t get enough!!! I will just have to wait patiently for the recipes! And again, I thank you for the time and effort you put into sharing with us your wonderful inventions!
There’s not much I won’t – at a minimum - take a stab at, so I certainly wasn’t adverse to rolling up my sleeves and trying my hand at a spot of plumbing, despite my woefully poor knowledge of pipes and washers and other plummy things that allow water to move around the place.
Things I am unlikely to attempt a second time would include getting a large leather sectional up a dog-leg staircase unassisted, and single-handedly dismantling and rebuilding a 147 lb exercise bike in order to get it up to my bedroom. Those stairs have a lot to answer for, let me tell you. Despite being ultimately successful in both endeavours, there would have been an awful lot more fun, several extra hours when I could have been engaged in any number of alternative adventures, and an awful lot less groaning and panting going on if I’d had a couple extra pairs of arms on hand to spread the load. I’ve spent decades waging solitary battle against legions of inanimate objects when I could have just called in the cavalry. I live in excited anticipation that I’ll grow out of that, one day. I used to declare it “character building!” Let’s just call me stubborn.
Replacing the standard-install shower head with one that does everything – bar wash the dishes – seemed like a simple enough task, even for a girl with limited exposure to a pair of flat-nose pliers. It turned out to be the perfect reminder that simple is not the same as easy.
Perched precariously – one foot on each corner seat in the shower enclosure, body tipped as far over as I could go, arms raised high – I reached up to the nut with the dull metal pliers, fully expecting it to whip right round. Nothing. 15 minutes later, that sucker still would not budge and I was noticeably flagging in the strength and patience department. No amount of Law-of-Attraction-style positive vibrations, visualizing myself spinning that silver nut off with ease, or incantations of “I love my pliers”, and ”I have so much gratitude for you, shower head”, was having the slightest effect in my bathroom that morning. I progressed to swearing like a trooper, screaming at the air vent, even yelling at the Universe. And not very nice things, either. Then, with tears rolling down my cheeks out of sheer frustration, struggling to maintain my balance, and fiercely gripping the nut with the pliers one last time, it suddenly, magically started to turn.
Replacing a shower head is like losing fat. It’s simple. It just ain’t always easy.
Hang in there.
Here’s some 5 minute SANEity for you. Eat this and feel better!
4 eggs (whatever mix of whole eggs & egg whites you care to use)
¼ cup water
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp coconut oil
1 tsp butter
½ red or green pepper, chopped into small pieces
10 cherry tomatoes, quartered
½ cup grated cheese (optional)
Instructions
Turn the oven broiler on high.
Whisk the eggs well with the water, salt, pepper, and oregano.
Heat the coconut oil and butter in a small skillet or omelet pan over a high heat.
Add the chopped pepper and cook for 1 minute on high.
Turn the heat to medium and pour the whisked eggs into the pan.
Move the eggs around in the pan with a spatula for 20 seconds.
Stir in the cut tomatoes and shake the skillet to even the egg mixture across it.
Let the eggs cook, without stirring, for 1 minute.
Remove the pan from the heat and place it under the broiler.
Cook for 1 minute or until the eggs have completely set.
Remove the pan from under the broiler and place back on the stove-top.
If you are using the cheese, sprinkle it over the top of the frittata now.
Cook the frittata for another minute on the stove-top, or until the underside is golden brown. Carefully lift one edge of the frittata with a spatula to check on the color.
Place the frittata under the broiler until the cheese has melted and just begun to turn golden.
Slide the frittata onto a plate leaing it unfolded.
Bob -You know me,
I used olive instead of coconut, I don’t know what a broiler is so I used the grill, i used homemade sundried cherry tomatoes as thats all I had, (and I slid just a little chopped bacon in too, cos I never have been completely sane!), and it was DELICIOUS.
Any recipie you can ignore, and it STILL works, is a good recipie by me.
Thanks.
carrie-Ah, Bob. Heating olive oil is bad, coconut is much better for you too. Broil = grill. Ooooh, love the sound of sundried!! YUM – bacon :-)) You still make me laugh, even after all these years :-)
by carrie
Mic - LOVED THESE! I always get disappointed after making recipes I find online because I can never get a finished product that actually looks like the pictures showcased online. That is definately not the case here, they came out looking just like Carrie’s pictures! And they taste heavenly. I even got my one year old to eat them. I would reccomend this recipe to anyone, SANE or not. :)
Allison Sherman - These are mighty tasty, for sure. I had to wing it a little bit because it made more than 12 muffins for me. I ended up throwing some more mushrooms and cheese into my leftover egg mixture and poured it into a mini loaf pan. That seemed to work fine. And now I know for next time I can fill them a little less full but use more muffin cups.
It’s true, they turned out just like the picture. I like a big dose of salt on mine. I might add that in next time.
I had never purchased a leek and didn’t understand the cutting instructions so I just chopped it up nice and fine with my pampered chef chopper. I like my food to be more integrated and have less big chunks of flavor anyway. I can see they are a cousin of the onion but I didn’t hold that against them. They are a great flavor enhancer and now I’m a big fan.
I’m already thinking that my next batch might have zuchini or broccoli or spinach. FUN!
Oh, and I love that these are a “to go” food.
carrie - Why can’t we just get eggs that are all the same size? Someone needs to sort those darn chickens out!! And don’t even get me started on non-uniform-sized silicone cups. Can we all just agree on a size and stick to it?? Sigh.
In other news – we have leek converts! I am so happy!! :-)
allisol - These are so versatile! I ate up all the ones I made last week (favorite way to eat: cut up and heated with a slice of avocado) so I made some more today and really tweaked the recipe. I didn’t have the mushrooms but instead I added browned ground pork sausage, some freshly grated parmesan cheese instead of the cheddar and some finely chopped zuchini. I chopped up the sausage too, even though it was ground. I like my flavors to blend and each bite to taste the same. Oh, and I added a teaspoon of salt.
The result: AMAZING! They are super tasty. But maybe I could have laid off the salt. With the salty parmesan cheese mix and the salt maybe they are a little too much, but I do love salt. And I don’t know where the sausage went but it’s in there and it’s yummy. And the leeks smell SO GOOD. I have extra chopped leeks I will use in my eggs tomorrow morning. I could not have done this without my pampered chef food chopper (no, I’m not a rep). I LOVE that thing and it helps me add veggies to things b/c I can chop them up really small and they blend in nicely.
This is a big hit for me. A great fast meal that is SANE and really flexible for whatever I’ve got in the kitchen. Two thumbs up, Carrie! If anyone else did any variations of the original, I’d love to hear about it.
allisol - Oh, and because I added some extra things I needed more egg mixture so I threw in 3 more eggs and a dash of cream. It made 23 muffins. Plenty for sharing and eating!
carrie - Planning on a whole load of alternatives! Coming soon :-) We love anything that helps you add more veggies.
Julie - Made these this weekend and they are awesome! Can’t wait for the alternatives. I’m sure you could put lots of different things in these. Question for you about the silicon liners – do you oil them? Mine stuck like crazy. Do you need to get them out right away? Maybe that was my problem. Thanks!
carrie - Hmmm, Julie – I did not oil them. My eggs cups just popped right out, whether I took them out straight away or let them cool first. Other than a splash of oil, not sure what to suggest, although that seems a bit of a pain and negates half the reason for the silicone! May as well use regualr muffin pans…
Julie - Thanks Carrie – that’s helpful to know! It must be my cups. Is the link above for the same ones you have? It will definitely be worth it to invest in ones that don’t stick. Thank you!
carrie - Yes. Money well spent!
Julie - Just ordered! And a spatula to get stuff out of the bottom of the vitamix. thanks!
carrie - Woohoo!!!
Charge Headlong » Carrie Brown | Marmalade and Mileposts - [...] you rolling on down the tracks. A while back I asked you what you needed via Facebook, and then posted the results here. I thought it was high time I checked back to see how I was [...]
Much Better All Round » Carrie Brown | Marmalade and Mileposts - [...] original *SANE Quiche Cups were a huge hit, so it seemed only right to expand the repertoire of this perfect lunch and snack [...]
Keri - Can I make them using regular paper muffin cups? I don’t have any silicon liners yet (just ordered from Amazon, won’t arrive til Monday), but I want to try these this weekend.
carrie - Hi Keri – I have not tried them with them paper cups. I would be more inclined to just grease the muffin pans and do them directly in those. I think the eggs mixture may be too “wet” for the papers.
Keri - Thanks for the tip. I hadn’t thought about the wetness of the egg mixture. I’m not sure I have enough regular muffin tins for the amount of mixture, so I may use some mini-loaf pans as well.
carrie - Keri – You could also use ovenware dishes – just grease well with coconut oil before you put the mixture in. You will likely have to alter the cooking time if the dishes are significantly bigger and/or deeper than muffin cups.
Top 10 SANE Recipes of 2012 » Carrie Brown | Marmalade and Mileposts - [...] 7. Leek and Mushroom Quiche Cups [...]
8 Tricks That Make Being SANE At Home Easy » Carrie Brown | Marmalade and Mileposts - [...] Leek and Mushroom Quiche Cups [...]
Margaret - Oh my…I just made the mushroom leek quiche cups. I did add some red pepper flakes to the second batch as I like to kick it up a notch; so tasty! Has anyone frozen these and then popped them in the microwave to warm?
Thank you Carrie for a quick, savory and tasty breakfast (just perfect for a lazy breakfast person, like myself)!
carrie - Hi Margaret! Yes, readers have successfully frozen these. I’ve never managed to hav any last long enough to get as far as the freezer ;-) So glad you loved them. They are one of my favorites!
Vivian - Hi Carrie, I just made these and they turned out HUGE! And beautiful! And delicious!
I do have a quick question: when i added up all the fat & protein and divided it by 12, each of these delicious quiche cups has 8g of fat and 7g of protein. Are they meant to be eaten as a side dish then? I can’t possibly eat 4 of them to get to my 30g of protein – and plus, that would be 32g of fat. Could i make them with egg whites instead, to get more protein out of each quiche?
Thanks for this amazing recipe. Can’t wait to see what the kids think! :-)
Cheers, Vivian
carrie - Hi Vivian – aren’t they good??!! Actually, if you ate these with a large pile of non-starchy veggies they would be the perfect SANE meal – with 1/3 protein, 1/3 fat and 1/3 veggies. Perfectly balanced!! I have a huge appetite and I can eat 4 of these at a time easily. If you do want to reduce the fat and increase the protein then yes you can swap out any number of the whole eggs for an equivalent in egg whites. So excited you love them!! Hope the kids agree :-)
Vivian - Yay Carrie, excellent news! Thank you! I will sub for egg whites and let you know how it goes.
Yes, the kids loved them. They did ask for more cheese next time, but that’s because they’re addicted to cheese… :-)
I am loving your recipes, Carrie. The chocolate espresso cookies were a big hit as were the shrimp w/ leeks!
Keep ‘em coming!! Hope you’re enjoying the rainy weekend :-)
Cheers, Vivian
carrie - Ha ha, Vivian – I am also a huge cheese fan. I always use the strong / mature cheddar so you get the most flavor without adding more cheese! I am so glad your family are enjoying the recipes. Healthy is simple, when you know how :-)