Smoked salmon, leek and mushroom quiche

This year I haven't had much luck with Australian Post. Firstly they lost the postcard that my parents sent me from overseas. And then they directed my RSVP to my friend's wedding back to my address, without a single note or word of explanation! I thought that we are long past the era when people have to worry about losing ther mail. Apparently not!

Enough ranting and back to cooking. After making fried rice with smoked salmon yesterday I still have some fish left from the packet. Not wanting to keep it in the fridge for too long, I made a smoked salmon, leek and mushroom quiche today.

Smoked salmon, leek and mushroom quiche

100g smoked salmon, cut into small pieces
2 trimmed leeks (or buy a whole leek, cut away the green section and the root)
250g sliced mushrooms
3 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup plain flour
1 1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup ricotta cheese

1) Preheat the oven to 175 degrees C. Lightly grease a baking tray.
2) Heat olive oil in a frying pan over moderately high heat. Chop the leeks into thin rings and add them to the pan. Stir for about one minute then add the sliced mushrooms. Cook until both vegetables are softened and excess moisture is evaporated. Set aside and allow them to cool down slightly.
3) In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, flour, baking powder and cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Pour in the cooked vegetables and the smoked salmon and stir well.
4) Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Bake for about 30 minutes or until the eggs are set. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle extra cheese on top if desired.

Today's dinner

Baby quiche

This is meant to be a healthier alternative to your ordinary quiche. It actually tastes more like a fish bake than a quiche, because of the proportion of the ingredients. You can really add whatever vegetables that you like. Make sure you add heaps of chopped fresh herbs and enough black pepper - they really add to the flavour.

1 large size onion, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped
1 can of mixed beans, mashed
1/3 cup of corn
1/3 cup of mushrooms, diced1/2 head broccoli, finely chopped
1 small can of salmon/tuna, drained
3-4 eggs
1 cup of finely chopped fresh herbs, eg basil, parsley, mint
cracked pepper

1) Pre-heat oven at 180 °C
2) Sauté onion and garlic in olive oil. Add mushrooms and broccoli and continue to sauté until soft. Add other vegetables and salmon. Turn off the heat and add the eggs. Mix well
3) Spoon mixture into muffin tray. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.
4) Serve warm with salad!Strawberry & Chocolate Slice
I also tried out one of the recipes from the Easy Baking cookbook. I wanted to use up some of the chocolate buttons that I have so, instead of choc chips, I added a layer of melted chocolate on top of the strawberry jam layer. I forgot to buy butter today so I only used half of the butter stated in the recipe. The slices turned out really yummy. Great combination between the strawberry jam and the almond. However the flour mixture did not bind as well as it should, probably because of the amount of butter used. Just have to eat them like crumbles then!!

225g plain flour
1 tsp baking power
100g brown sugar
200g unsalted butter
150g rolled oats
225g strawberry jam
Chocolate buttons
25g flaked almonds

1) Preheat the oven to 190 degrees. Line 30x20 cm rectangular baking tin with baking paper
2) Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl. Add sugar and mix well. Add the butter and rub in with fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the oats.
3) Press three quarters of the mixture into the base of the prepared tin. Bake in preheated oven for 10minutes.
4) Spread the jam over the cooked base. Melt chocolate buttons in microwave and spread over the strawberry jam. Mix the remaining flour mixture with almonds. Sprinkle evenly over the chocolate layer. Press down gently.
5) Bake in the oven for another 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Leave to cool in the tin, then cut into slices. Enjoy!