Annie Oakley Has Nothin' on Me

I did some target practice this weekend, out on my family's land near Burnet. My father bought a nifty iron contraption that has three targets hanging from it. When your bullet hits the target, it spins it around the bar. Fun, huh? But what happens when you hit it at the spot where it's welded and then hit it a few more times at the bottom? This:

Ahh, fun times. It's nice to know my little .22 Ruger pistol is capable. And now I need to kill the remaining two targets so we can get a new one!

I Love Quiche

It's true. I think it started when I used to sing along with the B-52's to their Quiche Lorraine song. "Quiche Lapoodle is her name!" I would sing the "quiche, quiche lorraine" part and while I knew quiche was a type of food I wasn't certain what it really was. Years later, I tasted quiche and fell in love. Now on each Friday at work a group of my co-workers and I participate in a “breakfast club”, taking turns bringing food for our group. After a few months, it’s easy to tire of the usual bagels, doughnuts and breakfast tacos. Last week was my turn and I decided to make quiche. I mulled it over and decided upon a spinach, tomato and mozzarella quiche for a vegetarian option. I’d been wanting to make a caramelized onion, bacon and gruyere quiche, so that settled it.

Thursday night after work I stopped by my neighborhood grocery store for supplies. Unfortunately for me, my grocery store is a smaller version of one of the two predominant chain stores in town. While they do carry a nice selection of ethnic foods such as fresh nopales and pandulce, they don’t have much else that is anything other than basic foods. I can get queso fresco and panela but other than a bag of shredded Swiss there was no gruyere to be found. While regular American Swiss is an okay substitute, it’s just that, okay. Gruyere gives this quiche a much more intense depth of flavor, so buy it if you have the choice.

Caramelizing onions takes patience. First I heated two tablespoons of olive oil in a deep, wide pan over medium heat. Next, I layered thinly sliced Texas 1015 sweet onions into the pan. Leaving the temp at medium, I used a spatula to turn the onions as the bottom layer began to soften. After 5 minutes, I lowered the heat to low-medium. During the next 40 minutes I turned the onions about every 10 minutes or so, just to ensure even cooking. They will slowly turn golden as their flavor becomes smoky sweet. Some people add sugar or balsamic vinegar to the onions at the end of their cooking time. I’ve never found the need to do so with Texas 1015 onions or any variety of sweet onions such as Vidalia or Walla Walla.

While the onions caramelized, I prepared my other ingredients, thick slices of tomato, thawing out frozen spinach and squeezing as much moisture out as possible, frying bacon and of course, whipping up the egg mixture. When it comes to quiche, I don’t try to use lower fat substitutes. I’m not planning to eat an entire quiche, just a slice, so I don’t use anything but heavy cream and whole milk in my egg mix. You can play around with the amounts but the richness in flavor is worth it to me.

I baked the spinach quiche first, layering the ingredients as evenly as possible before pouring the egg mixture. I usually pour slowly and rotate my pan as I go so that the liquid fills in evenly as well.

I did not make my own pastry crust, but I can now vouch for Mrs. Smith’s frozen deep dish pie crust. I followed the directions on the label and did not pre-bake it. I did keep it frozen up to the point when I was filling it. As an afterthought I probably will line the edges with a foil ring to keep it from over-browning but even though it was dark brown it did not taste burnt.
After the onions were golden, glistening and oh so deliciously done, I filled the second pie crust.

Smoky thick cut bacon goes well with the onions but so does diced ham and cubed cooked chicken. I use what I have on hand when I make quiche. Consequently, I’ve had some unusual yet tasty combinations over the years. And despite the “real men don’t eat quiche” yarn, once I pulled the onion and bacon creation out of the oven, my boyfriend was hovering with a plate and a fork.
I’m including the recipe for the onion and bacon quiche. If you’d like the spinach and tomato recipe, feel free to e-mail me.

Caramelized Onion & Bacon Quiche
6 eggs
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg, plus more for sprinkling
¼ tsp. salt
Several grinds of pepper, between ¼ to ½ tsp.
¼ tsp. garlic powder
8 oz. shredded gruyere or other swiss-type cheese
2 Texas 1015 onions, sliced thinly and rings separated
2 tb. olive oil
4 slices cooked thick cut bacon, crumbled
1 deep dish pie crust


In a deep, wide heavy pan, slowly caramelize onions in the olive oil until golden brown. Preheat oven to 425º. In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream and milk. Once blended, add spices and whisk to distribute. Place frozen pie crust on a baking sheet. Layer cheese, bacon and onions evenly in crust. Carefully pour egg mixture into pie pan, until mixture is a ¼” from top of crust. You may have leftover egg mix (great for making mini crust-less quiches in buttered ramekins). Lightly sprinkle the top of the quiche with nutmeg, swirling with a fingertip any large spots of spice. Bake until golden brown and completely set. You may want to insert a sharp thin knife or cake tester into the middle to ensure it is done. If it comes out clean, remove and cool for 5 minutes before serving. When reheating later in a microwave, less than a minute at full power will heat a serving. Makes 8 servings.

Spicy Black Bean Burger Addiction

I admit it, I love Morningstar Farm's Spicy Black Bean Veggie Burgers. That said, I'm now wondering if I can make a better tasting black bean burger at home. I did find a recipe that sounds good, on about.com in a section that listed their top veggie burger recipes. I'll have to actually make them to find out if they are tasty, but for now, here is the recipe along with a link to where I found it. This recipe isn't spicy but you know me, I'm going to tweak it to my taste.

Black Bean Burgers

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 onion, diced
1 can black beans
1/2 cup flour
2 slices bread, crumbled
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp seasoned salt
salt and pepper to taste
oil for frying

PREPARATION:
Sautee the onions till soft, about 3-5 minutes.
In a large bowl, mash the beans until almost smooth. Add sauteed onions and the rest of the ingredients, except the oil, adding the flour a few tablespoons at a time to combine well.

Mixture will be thick. Form bean mixture into patties, approximately ½ inch thick and fry patties in a small amount of oil until slightly firm. Make veggie burgers and enjoy!

Nutrition Information:
Servings: 6
Calories per serving: 294
Calories from Fat: 11
Total Fat: 1.2g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 25mg
Total Carbohydrates: 55.3g
Dietary Fiber:11.3g, 45% RDA
Protein: 16.8g
Vitamin A 0%, Vitamin C 1%, Calcium 10%, Iron 23%, based on a 2000 calorie diet

OKC Teen's Letter to Sally Kern

I am still all worked up about Sally Kerns. In the vernacular of the state I grew up in, I'm not only "all het up" I also have "a case of the mean reds". But no matter how angry I am that Sally Kern is a bigot who lives with her fears by pointing the finger of hate toward the groups she's scared of, I can't be half as eloquent in expressing myself as a teenager named Tucker.


I happened by chance upon Tucker's letter to Kern. Tucker is a teenager who was robbed of his mother by the Murrah bombing in Oklahoma City. Some of you may know that my mother's best friend, Vera, had a niece who died in the bombing. Baylee was one year and one day old on the morning of the bombing. She was a beautiful girl but the only way I remember her now is in that infamous picture where she is cradled in a firefighter's arms. The photographer, Charles Porter, snapped the picture of firefighter Chris Fields as he carried Baylee, dying, out of the rubble.

It's hard to believe that there are some in America who think that terrorists can only be Muslim and that homosexuals are a larger threat than terrorists. Such skewed beliefs are more of a threat to society's downfall than any perceived morality issue. Sally Kern, the Republican representative from Oklahoma City, has attested to these beliefs.

Tucker, whose mother was killed in the same bombing as Baylee, wrote an incredible letter and tried to deliver it to Kern. He was unable to give it to her. The Oklahoma highway patrol intervened and stopped him from delivering it. Here is a link to Tucker's letter, as reported in not THAT different, with citations from the News9.com story about Kern.

Tucker's letter is amazing, such insight into pain and such empathy for the pain of others. I'm grateful and appreciative that there are Tuckers in this world, who can look beyond the easy blame and find the root of the problem.

I urge you to check out Jami's blog at not THAT different. But if you're not wanting to navigate away just yet, here is Tucker's letter. Thank you Jami, for blogging about Tucker and his letter, or I'd have never known.

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From comment page 112 of the News9 story, here is the letter. At the time of this posting, there are 136 pages of comments to the story.

Rep Kern:

On April 19, 1995, in Oklahoma City a terrorist detonated a bomb that killed my mother and 167 others. 19 children died that day. Had I not had the chicken pox that day, the body count would've likely have included one more. Over 800 other Oklahomans were injured that day and many of those still suffer through their permanent wounds.

That terrorist was neither a homosexual or was he involved in Islam. He was an extremist Christian forcing his views through a body count. He held his beliefs and made those who didn't live up to them pay with their lives.

As you were not a resident of Oklahoma on that day, it could be explained why you so carelessly chose words saying that the homosexual agenda is worst than terrorism. I can most certainly tell you through my own experience that is not true. I am sure there are many people in your voting district that laid a loved one to death after the terrorist attack on Oklahoma City. I kind of doubt you'll find one of them that will agree with you.

I was five years old when my mother died. I remember what a beautiful, wise, and remarkable woman she was. I miss her. Your harsh words and misguided beliefs brought me to tears, because you told me that my mother's killer was a better person than a group of people that are seeking safety and tolerance for themselves. As someone left motherless and victimized by terrorists, I say to you very clearly you are absolutely wrong.

You represent a district in Oklahoma City and you very coldly express a lack of love, sympathy or understanding for what they've been through. Can I ask if you might have chosen wiser words were you a real Oklahoman that was here to share the suffering with Oklahoma City? Might your heart be a bit less cold had you been around to see the small bodies of children being pulled out of rubble and carried away by weeping firemen?

I've spent 12 years in Oklahoma public schools and never once have I had anyone try to force a gay agenda on me. I have seen, however, many gay students beat up and there's never a day in school that has went by when I haven't heard the word **** slung at someone. I've been called gay slurs many times and they hurt and I am not even gay so I can just imagine how a real gay person feels. You were a school teacher and you have seen those things too. How could you care so little about the suffering of some of your students?

Let me tell you the result of your words in my school. Every openly gay and suspected gay in the school were having to walk together Monday for protection. They looked scared. They've already experienced enough hate and now your words gave other students even more motivation to sneer at them and call them names. Afterall, you are a teacher and a lawmaker, many young people have taken your words to heart. That happens when you assume a role of responsibility in your community. I seriously think before this week ends that some kids here will be going home bruised and bloody because of what you said.

I have not had a mother for nearly 13 years now and wonder if there were fewer people like you around, people with more love and tolerance in their hearts instead of strife, if my mom would be here to watch me graduate from high school this spring. Now she won't be there. So I'll be packing my things and leaving Oklahoma to go to college elsewhere and one day be a writer and I have no intentions to ever return here. I have no doubt that people like you will incite crazy people to build more bombs and kill more people again. I don't want to be here for that. I just can't go through that again.

You may just see me as a kid, but let me try to teach you something. The old saying is sticks and stones will break your bones, but words will never hurt you. Well, your words hurt me. Your words disrespected the memory of my mom. Your words can cause others to pick up sticks and stones and hurt others.