Green courgette quiche

I can't pronounce the title of this post very well, or at least not repeat quickly in succession, so I'm glad I can only write it down and don't have to say it outloud in public.

Anyway, you might already see from the pictures that it's time to cook green! This recipe is my own Eat Your Greens contribution for July. I normally take turns hosting with Shaheen from Allotment 2 Kitchen every other month, but now she has been hosting for the two previous months during my relocation. I'm glad to be back, and can't wait for the round up at the end of July to see your wonderful recipes.

Remember that there's still plenty of time to take part in the challenge. Read the more detailed instructions here, if you're interested.

So I cooked with courgette again, as it's nicely in season, and once my partner arrives in Denmark, my courgette and quiche cooking days are over. Well, maybe not fully, but he doesn't like either of them much. I enjoyed this simple green dish very much, and there was enough for me for a couple of days.

Here is my recipe for a Green courgette quiche

Ingredients

1 courgette
2 new season onions with greens
1 leek
1 garlic clove
2 eggs
100 ml cooking cream
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp lemon pepper
Handful of fresh basil leaves
150 g grated Emmental cheese
200 g puff pastry / shortcrust pastry

Method

Slice the courgette, onions, leek and garlic. Use all the lovely green stalks of the onions and leek. Those are the best part!

Whisk the eggs with the cream and seasoning.

Spread the pastry on baking paper in a pie tin. Blind bake the pastry for a while in the oven so that it doesn't get soggy later.

Place the courgette slices, onions, leek and garlic on the pastry, and cover them with the egg mix. Sprinkle the grated cheese on top.

Bake the quiche at 200 C for about 35 minutes or until done, set and baked golden brown.

Have a nice week!

Your VegHog

University of Copenhagen Botanical Garden

It’s time to post something from my area in Copenhagen, as I haven’t come around to it too much yet. I live very close to the Botanical Gardens, which is just brilliant, and I go there for spontaneous walks a lot. They have many greenhouses and a large park around them. It’s a nice haven in the centre of the city.

There is a very interesting flora and fauna there. One greenhouse is more spectacular than the other, and the outdoor area comes in full bloom in the summer. I love water lilies, and there are plenty of those there. It’s a shame that the giant water lily indoors isn’t blooming at the moment, as I’m sure that that is a true spectacle.

What was blooming recently (and maybe still is?), was the Protea cynaroides (large pink flower below). It was so impressive and pretty, and I went to see it a few times.

Another favourite of mine is the cactus and succulent house. There are so many spiny plants there, some of them are quite hedgehoglike.

I was very surprised to bump into that turtle and its several friends! I wouldn’t have thought that they can survive like that in Denmark, but at least now they seemed very happy in their pond. Of course there are also a lot of birds, squirrels and fish to observe. That’s one of my relaxing hobbies.

Here are some photos from the gardens, from the greenhouses and the outside. Everything is just perfect there, even when the weather is a bit cloudy, it’s a good place to escape to.

2 x melon and cheese salad

Here comes more summer food, and why not, it's July after all! How are you all doing? I've been busy again (or still) and haven't been able to return to my old posting shape. 

I had my first visitor over, so that took some of my time. Otherwise it has been a busy work schedule, and I'm also travelling to Finland over this weekend. 

This kind of melon + cheese combinations in salads are my absolute favourites in the summer. It's a refreshing yet filling dish with the protein addition, and perfect for barbecue parties with friends. The weather has been variable here in Copenhagen, but I've still found it to be warm the whole time, and definitely right for some summer food.

My go-to mix for these salads is any melon (often watermelon or cantaloupe melon), new season onions, fresh mixed leaves and grilled cheese or halloumi. Just perfect! 

Tell me about your favourite summer salad in the comment box below!

New potatoes with mushroom sauce

Yes, indeed this is another plate of summer food. Today I'm having boiled new potatoes (with skins of course as per the Scandi style), creamy mushroom sauce and a fresh salad with watermelon and strawberries. This is so good and comforting!

This kind of dishes will be my standard all summer long, and I'm very sorry that I have less recipes to share. I try to at least occassionally share what I'm eating so that you can also have a look. I would also be curious to know your favourite dishes in the summer. Is it all about fresh and local produce or what are you eating? Please share in the comment box below, and enjoy your summer food!

Grilled cheese and olive hummus breads for breakfast

This has been a good weekend what comes to my slow breakfasts at home. I've had wholemeal baguettes with grilled cheese, olive hummus, tomatoes, onion and basil. They were so good and tasty, and I'm really glad I took the time to make them and then sit around peacefully and enjoy.

The olive hummus is ready made from the shop and it's really good. It gives a bit of a change to the usual hummus. The cheese is similar to halloumi in the sense that it's suitable for frying and barbequing, but it's made only from cow's milk. I think it's also a bit softer than halloumi, and I enjoy it very much. I've also tried to learn how to fry these the best on the gas stove, which has been okay, although I managed to scorch some quite black (I still ate them...).

Of course I also had coffee from a Moomin mug to complete the nice moment.

How has your weekend been?

Your VegHog

Eat Your Greens welcoming July recipes

It's great to be back hosting Eat Your Greens! Shaheen kindly covered for me, while I got settled here in Denmark. I must say that I've settled in fairly well so far and can't wait to experience more here.

But now it's time to see your wonderful summerly green vegan and vegetarian recipes. What could be better time than July to eat all those lovely greens!

If you are not familiar with the challenge yet, you can read more here. But in all simplicity, share a vegan or vegetarian recipe featuring green vegetables that you have posted on your blog in July in the comment section below, and it will be featured in the round up at the end of the month.

I can't wait to see your green summer creations! Have a look at the wonderful June recipes for some more inspiration!

Your VegHog

Cooking for one

I'm so sorry that I have been awfully quiet here on the blog, but I've had a lot on my plate. And that's only figuratively speaking, as I wanted to share some of my underwhelming recent dishes with you. Okay, they are not all bad, just what I've been wanting to eat, but perhaps not so blog worthy.

One of the biggest challenges after my move has been cooking for only one person. My partner will join me in a few weeks, and until then I'm just cooking for myself. I had to change the food amounts quite immensely, as I get a good lunch at work as well, so don't have to cook for two + two lunches for the next day.

Unfortunately this has made me fairly lazy and I'm mainly cooking boring pasta dishes or even ready meal pizzas. I've made quite a few salads, as they are perfect for the summer and it's easier to assemble one plateful. However with salads I have to be careful not to buy too much fresh stuff that I don't manage to eat. There are so many tempting vegetable markets, where everything looks so tasty. So it hasn't been easy not to hoard everything straight away.

Of course the bright side is now that I can cook all the dishes that my partner dislikes, such as creamy pasta sauces. In Nordic countries there are special creams available that are meant for savoury cooking, and they are very nice in sauces. I've been utilising these a lot lately.

Here are some of the dishes that I've recently eaten.

Pasta with creamy tomato sauce

Cheesy rolls with tomatoes and fresh season onions

Savoury oatmeal porridge for breakfast, naturally with coffee

The summer classic: Insalata Caprese

Ready meal pizza with additional cheese and a cider on the side as lazy weekend food

Exciting beetroot tagliatelle with another creamy tomato sauce, but just look at that colourful pasta

Yes okay, it's pasta... with cheese and creamy mushroom sauce

A ready meal pizza that I tried to boost with some fresh mushrooms and additional cheese

Better cooking coming soon on this blog! Also remember that I will be hosting Eat Your Greens again in July after a longer break. Please do take part!

Enjoy your weekend!

Your VegHog