Experimental Quiche........

I love waking up in the morning and having a great savory breakfast that is homemade.  I always love  a good quiche, but having that every morning isn't going to do very good things to your waist line.  So, I decided to revamp the crust and filling recipe.  There was an unexpected turn, which left my morning of hard work unsatisfied :(

For the crust:

3/4 cup quick cooking dry oats
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2    tbs  ice water

Well, I got this recipe from http://www.myrecipes.com/ and I don't think I will use it again for quiche.  It was very bland!  If I were to use it again I would add a half cup of brown sugar and use it for a fruit tart.  I will be in search for another healthy crust recipe.

For the filling:

2 eggs
2 egg whites
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 salt
1/2 pepper
2 cups chopped spinach
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup onions
1/2 cups milk( fat-free)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Strike two, I omitted the Swiss cheese, which I feel left out that extra je ne sais quoi.  What the heck is going on with my quiche?!?!  I would never serve this to anyone!  All the healthy goodness, but no taste.  I will have to go back to the drawing board.  I woke up this morning and executed this dish without doing any altering of the original recipe, strike three.  I am out! 

It didn't taste as good as it looks, till next time.

Luv Elle_Dash

Multi-Purpose Marinade/Sauce/Dressing

I fired up some energy this evening to cook an amazing and easy dinner after a trip to Gas Works Park and walking Green Lake on this rare beautiful day in Seattle.  I have a recipe for a marinade that is tried and true and also grew up with.  I said multi-purpose in my title because you can really use it for any Asian inspired dish.  I love to cook fish with it, salads, tofu and noodles.  Tonight I used it to marinade some salmon and dressed my sauteed mung bean sprouts and spinach.

Here is my recipe, use it for whatever you wish.

1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
2Tbs honey (helps  to balance the tartness of the vinegar.  I like to use honey because it has better health benefits)
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup chopped cilantro*
1/4 cup chopped green onions*
I like to add some olive oil if I am using this as a dressing 1/4 cup.



Mix all ingredients together and marinade, dress, and enjoy! 
*chop extra for garnish

Luv Elle_Dash

LOVE IS IN THE AIR

I miss the the stockings, the decorated Christmas tree, and the festive colors through out the house, so I decided to add a little bit of life back in for this Valentines Day.  I've only really put up decorations for two holidays: Christmas and Halloween.   Moving forward this year, I am going to keep up with the seasons and my holidays of choice.
Having constant visual change helps me look forward to what is to come and creates a lifted atmosphere.  Living in Seattle you have to create your own environment with its constant rain and dreary sky.

Floating Hearts, my Husband just put up my shelves.  Thank You!

I made these hearts out of felt fabric that I had left over from my ugly

Christmas sweater making party.

I hope everyone has a great Valentines Day!

Luv Elle_Dash

Fun Finds and a garden show................

Wednesday was a day of inspiration.  I found some fun items for later projects at an "antique" store that I couldn't live without.  I thought I could use these items later for scrap booking.

My friend Amy and I went to the Home and Garden Show in Seattle and found some great ideas for vegetable gardening.  The most interesting thing I learned was the use of space that the gardeners planned out.  Very resourceful.

Vintage Valentine Card.

Yellow Buttons

1950's Autograph book

Vertical gardening, strawberrys are planted in the tall boxes.

A pickup truck turned into a vegetable garden.  Not that I would ever do this, but I thought it was interesting how little space was needed and how the space was used.

Luv Elle_Dash

Chicken Soup To The Rescue!

I stopped by the grocery store last night on the way home to pick up some items for home made chicken noodle soup.  I have a big boy at home sick, so I thought I would make him something comforting :) . 

1 Whole Organic Chicken
4 Whole Cloves of garlic
2 pinches of whole peppercorns
2 cups of chopped carrots
2 cups of celery
1/2 head of kale, chopped ( I wanted to make this soup a little heartier, this made the soup very delicious!)
10 cups of water
1 cup of whole grain pasta
1/4 cup parsley
2tbs of dill paste (you can find this in the herb specialty section at your grocery store)

This was one of my best chicken soups to date.  I think I found my recipe.