Host brother reunion and my first quiche!

Hey! Look at me posting only two days after my last update! I'm just so excited because I made my first quiche and it is absolutely gorgeous, if I do say so myself. I mean, I know quiches are super easy to make and I can't really call myself a chef or anything after one successful quiche... But for those of you who know me well, you know that I don't exactly make a habit of cooking generally. And for those of you who have lived with me, you know how completely stupid and naive I can be in the kitchen. Hence, my excitement at my creation of Spinach-Zucchini-Goat Cheese-Walnut Quiche. 

Sounds a little intense, but it's super good, I promise. And if I can do it here with nothing really resembling a measuring cup and no culinary skills, ANYONE can do it. Seriously. I got the recipe (below) from another assistant here, but for those of you cooks out there, check out other recipes on her blog: http://freezergourmet.blogspot.com/. It's awesome.

Spinach Zucchini Goat Cheese Walnut Quiche

-1 medium zucchini, thinly sliced

-1 tablespoon butter or olive oil

-1 unbaked pie crust

-2 rounds fresh goat cheese (about 6-8 oz)

-3 eggs

-8 oz crème fraiche

-salt and pepper

-2 cups fresh spinach, chopped

-toasted chopped walnuts

 Sautee the zucchini in butter or olive oil until tender, set aside to cool slightly. Wipe out sautee pan and reheat. Toast the walnuts until slightly browned... be careful not to walk away, they burn quickly! Set nuts aside. Roll pie crust into a pie dish and sprinkle with 2/3 of the goat cheese. Lay zucchini over cheese. In a medium bowl, beat eggs, crème fraiche, salt and pepper. Stir in chopped spinach until well coated. Pour mixture over the zucchini and top with remaining goat cheese and finally walnuts. Bake at 350° for 30-40 minutes.

So yeah, on to even more exciting news! I met up with my host brother, Jean-Raphael, from when I studied in Paris during my sophomore year of college. He was visiting a friend in Lyon so I met up with him, his friend, Solène, and Solène's husband, David, to watch the French national soccer team play Ireland last night. It was a big qualifying game for the World Cup, and France won 1-0 so hopefully they'll play just as well in the second round against Ireland on Wednesday and hold on to the win.

Anyway, it was awesome to see Jean-Raphael, and I mostly understood the French they were all speaking with each other. Jean-Raphael said his family is doing well, and he's enjoying his internship in Paris and might stay on and actually get paid starting in January. I'm hoping to see him again and the whole family in December when my bro and I are training to Paris right before Christmas. But the family is heading to their Normandy house for the Christmas break so I'm not sure if the logistics will all work out. I also found out that Jean-Raphael has a girlfriend (I think that's what I overheard him telling Solène) so alas, I will have to find another Frenchman to seduce... Sigh. ;)

It turns out that Jean-Raphael's friends, Solène and David, actually live pretty close to me in Lyon so hopefully I'll get to hang out with them some more. Solène spent a year in Norwich, VT in high school so her English is pretty good. After the soccer match ended, she wanted to practice some so we switched to English. She was reminiscing about American foods she missed, and I mentioned my bagel and cream cheese craving. Apparently, there's a place that sells them here so we're going to meet up to go in the next week or so. I probably shouldn't be expecting New York-style bagels though...

I slept in today and then met up with some assistants in the park to play frisbee and soccer in an off-and-on warm drizzle. Unfortunately, none of us owns a soccer ball yet and every single store in the ENTIRE city is closed on Sundays so we were forced to stick to frisbee. I still broke out my cleats since it was muddy and slippery and DAMN IT, I brought those things all this way so I am determined to get some use out of them!

Now I'm avoiding the inevitable lesson planning for the week... Blah.