On the menu: week of 3/29

Let's cut to the chase on this week's menu: (Please save your questions for the end.)

• Monday - tortilla de patata (Spanish tortilla) with new potatoes, Peruvian ensalada, and fake tabbouleh
  
• Tuesday - lemon mustard chicken with green beans
• Wednesday - quiche, take 2
  
• Thursday - leftovers
• Friday - hobo dinners

I figured out what I don't like about quiche. Growing up, I despised quiche. Since then, there have been quiches I've liked to varying degrees. Last week I made quiche for the first time in a long time. The Hubs loved it. I didn't. And I made it. So I have no one to blame but myself. But I think I finally realized what makes a quiche I'm not going to like:

1. too much swiss cheese - I like swiss cheese but not as a dominant flavor
2. too much of the same - I like the texture better when there's chunks in it. I can't explain why really. The first quiche I ever remember enjoying my friend's mom made with big pieces of sausage and vegetables throughout.
3. pie crust is not on my list of favorite things

So I want to try it again. Mom suggested substituting mozzarella for some of the swiss cheese in the recipe, and I'm going to add some beef sausage, tomatoes and green onions. I'm also considering brushing the top of the crust with garlic and herbs in a little melted butter (inspired not by Mom this time but by Hungry Howie).


In contrast, hobo dinners were a favorite of mine growing up. For each person, you wrap a hamburger patty topped with sliced potatoes, onions and carrots, as well as salt and pepper to taste, in some foil and cook at 350 degrees for about an hour. To be a little more hobo, you can also cook it in campfire coals - preferably somewhere near train tracks with all your belongings tied in a bundle to be slung over your shoulder. But we're not really about authenticity this week.


What is fake tabbouleh? you may ask. I'll tell you. Fake tabbouleh occurs when you have more parsley than you know what to do with and want to make something out of it without purchasing anything, so you take a tabbouleh recipe (the one in this book, perhaps), throw authenticity out the window, use only the ingredients you have on hand and ditch the rest. What you end up with may not reeeally be tabbouleh, but if you end up with a salad made with parsley, tomatoes, green onion, lemon, olive oil, salt and pepper, how can that be a bad thing?




Some of you have, in fact, asked How did the chickpea patties turn out? The answer: seriously delicious! A bit crumbly, but very good. I would definitely make them again.

That's all the time we have for today, but be sure to check out the Chive Talkin' Menu Plan Blog Roll for more menu plan goodness!