Above you can see the first quiche I have ever made. I presented it to my family for yesterday's evening meal. Happily, it got a big thumbs up.
The pastry case was initially "blind baked" for fifteen minutes with ceramic baking beads in a foil "bowl" weighing down the centre to prevent rising.
I pre-prepared the items I wanted to put in the quiche - caramelised onions, small broccoli florets, strong Cheddar cheese (grated), a handful of small pieces of smoked ham and some pepper rings that I had fried off.
These ingredients were laid out quite evenly in the open pie. Then I poured in an egg mixture using six large eggs and a small cupful of single cream.
The quiche was popped back in the oven at 180°C for almost thirty minutes. Magically, it set as I had hoped and then I let it cool down as I prepared the other meal items - boiled Jersey Royal new potatoes and a mixed salad.
⦿
And here's another first...
Back in February, I blogged about a circular walk I had undertaken in the shadow of Stanage Edge. On that walk, I came across a curious wooden bench titled "The Apple Core" in memory of a local woman called Wendy Billing. She had been taken before her time back in 2020. Go here.
On that walk, I had noticed that the metal plaque was very tarnished so for some reason that I cannot explain, I vowed to myself that one day I would polish it. That day was today.
I brought along tape, a tin of "Brasso" and a soft cloth for buffing up. Do you think I am mad? After all, I never met Wendy Billing and I do not know any of her family or friends.
Anyway, I did the job and afterwards I sat on that curious bench, chomping on my apple and drinking cool water from my flask. Here's the newly polished plaque...
I will share other pictures of my walk in tomorrow's blogpost. I bet you can't wait!
How sweet of you to clean up the plaque. Her relatives (if she has any remaining ones still alive) may not even live near enough to know what you have done, but others who walk by, or sit for a minute on that bench will know that a nice someone cared.
ReplyDeleteIt would be nice if someone noticed.
DeleteThat was a lovely selfless thing to do, YP. Quite touching.
ReplyDeleteI like the word "selfless". Humans can be very selfish but we can be selfless too.
DeleteTwo bravos today! For the quiche and for the good deed. You're a champ, my friend.
ReplyDeleteDon't you mean "chump"?
DeleteNoooooooooo.
DeleteWell done. I'm proud of you.
ReplyDeleteThanks Carolyn.
DeleteGood for you to do maintenance ion the plaque.
ReplyDeleteWhere should I send my bill?
DeleteYour quiche looks amazing! I haven't made a quiche in years. I used to make a crab quiche which was always best eaten cold with a side salad. Also good eaten hot, but we preferred it cold.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you polished that plaque.
Mmm... your crab quiche sounds yummy mummy!
DeleteWhat a kind gesture. I hope her family see the results of your efforts there.
ReplyDeleteI like quiche but alas too much fat for my poor battered old body.
Has Lord Peregrine been thrashing you again with his cricket bat?
DeleteYou have given me an idea......where I walk with the dog there is a seat dedicated to a man I used to be acquainted with .....I am sure that the little brass plaque could do with a shine!
ReplyDeleteIsn't it time for another quiz? I keep hoping.
Yummy looking quiche!
Okay Aunt Frances, another quiz will be along real soon. It will be all about the fascinating history of Harpenden.
DeleteThe quiche looks great! I never blind-bake, and usually I am too lazy to pre-cook anything the way you did. My quiche is mostly the classic Lorraine, with just grated cheese and diced bacon under the egg and cream mix, and if I serve anything at all with it, it‘ll be a leafy salad.
ReplyDeletePolishing the brass plaque was a touching and deeply humane gesture.
A friend of mine in Ludwigsburg regularly polishes plaques around our town in memory of victims of the Nazi regime.
I am glad to learn that I am not alone in my urge to polish meaningful plaques -to honour those we have lost..
DeleteMaking the world a little bit better, one polish at a time.
ReplyDeleteYou see the act clearly David.
DeleteThat was a kind act and will surely be appreciated by other walkers if not the family themselves. The quiche looks delicious, I have become lazy and buy the Lidl one.
ReplyDeleteThe LIdl caramelised onion one is nice but though I say it myself, mine was far superior!
DeleteIt would benefit from new screws, too.
ReplyDeleteShould I contact "Screwfix"?... "Hello, Madam Fifi here. Which service do you require?"
DeleteThe quiche looks very tasty, an excellent first attempt.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely gesture to buff up that plaque, perhaps every walker should go prepared with brasso and a buffing cloth!
Buffing up is an underrated pastime.
DeleteDo you fancy a job cleaning my brass and copper ornaments and kettles YP?
ReplyDeleteYes. Just pay for my travel to West Cork and I will be over before you can say "Mr Muscle"!
DeleteWhat a lovely thing to do for a stranger. It reminds me of when I discovered my great-grandparents' graves for the first time on a recent visit to what was originally East Berlin. The headstones were covered in green algae and had probably been like that for 11 decades, so I was able to wipe them clean.
ReplyDeleteI am glad to learn that I am not alone in polishing memorial plaques.
DeleteThe quiche looks good. (I make quiches now and then, but I've never heard of "baking beads"?) Well done with polishing that plaque.
ReplyDeletePerhaps you can ask for some baking beads for Christmas or your birthday.
DeleteThat's an awesome looking quiche! And what a Good Deed to clean the memorial plaque! I like that you have done this.
ReplyDeleteI am not such a bad guy after all Debra.
DeleteGood cook and a good human, you are, sir!
ReplyDeleteJust call me Saint Pudding!
DeleteBeautiful quiche! And yes, real men not only eat it, they also make it.
ReplyDeleteI like to think that the spirit of Wendy called to you to buff up her plaque because she knew you would get the job done.
I have seen pictures of her on the internet. She had just one child - a son and she was a high ranking orienteer. Orienteering was her passion.
DeleteThe quiche looks great and so does the little plaque. Well done, Neil.
ReplyDeleteAs usual - you are so kind Ellen. Thank you.
DeleteCongrats on the successful quiche! And I think it was very kind of you to polish up Wendy's plaque. I wish more people cared about small things like that. Somehow I missed your original post about Wendy and her apple-core bench; I can't think how.
ReplyDeleteMaybe because you were under the cosh in your library at the time..."Check! File! Shelve! Weed! Scan! Stamp!...Again!"
DeleteMmmmm! You just gave me my dinner menu.
ReplyDeleteThat will be twenty dollars then Melinda... definitely Canadian ones!
DeleteI enjoy making quiches, too. It's a good way to use up bits and pieces from the vegetable bin. What a kind gesture to clean the tarnished plaque. It had been on your mind to do it and you knew it was time.
ReplyDeleteI love quiche and that's a beauty. It's such a customizable dish.
ReplyDelete