Strawberry Rhubarb Oat Walnut Crumble | Fat and Happy

Happy Birthday to me Lushies!

That's right, you heard me, it's my birthday today! And part of my birthday this year was my parents coming to visit last weekend and bringing my most aderbs nibling, Harlee. We went business-action-lady clothes shopping, hit the American Girl Doll store, and visited the aquarium. I absolutely loved having them here and wish so much that they were closer to me. They also brought this amazing recipe, most of the ingredients for it, and a big bundle of rhubarb from my mom's garden!

So the first trick to this recipe is to have a great mom! 

In any case, I'm telling you, this recipe is amazingly delicious and so little work compared to the payout.

There are two parts to the recipe: the crumble and the filling. The crumble contains the following:

3/4 cup flour

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup toasted & chopped walnuts

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 cup melted butter

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. You make the crumble first. You mix all of the dry ingredients (flour, oats, sugar, salt, and nuts) and then pour the melted butter over top. Mix those bad boys up and set it in the freezer while you work on the filling.

The filling is just as easy:

1 cup sugar

2 Tbsp tapioca

6 cups rhubarb (cut into one-inch pieces)

6 cups strawberries (sliced)

1 Tbsp vanilla

In all honesty, I don't think I really used 6 cups of rhubarb or strawberries. I used 15 stalks of rhubarb give or take a few. I used just under 1 pint of strawberries. No precise measurements here.

You mix the sugar and tapioca. Then add the fruit and vanilla. Toss those mama jammas gently. Seriously. How fricken good do these look?

Pour the filling into a dish. Add the crumble on top. Pop the whole shebang in the oven for approximately 45 minutes. You'll know when it's done because the crumble will look all melty and golden.

Mom advises that half the recipe can be made, which would be a good choice for a lone person, since a full size crumble could be easily consumed just as quickly as a half-size, it's so good. I chose to make the full thing and split it into a crumble for myself and a crumble to take to the office. 

I highly encourage you to try it. Heck! You could even go crazy with it; my mom made a version last summer with raspberries in addition to the strawberries and it was incredible. One comment from my coworker was 'SO GOOD IN MY BELLY.' Another had second helpings. Seriously. Bitches don't joke around when it comes to crumble. I clearly don't!

The birthday morals of this story are that moms are great and crumble is serious business. Now get cracking on your own crumble and let me know how it goes!

I do it for the love,

Cait

Ham, Swiss, and Leek Quiche | Fat and Happy

I'm not sure what to say about quiche. I don't think it's particularly healthy, but it's definitely not a junk food. People seem to have a lot of opinions about quiche being 'girly,' but I don't think that's really true either. I did love the story that everyone's favorite Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond told--her husband refused to eat quiche (due to a seemingly high volume of gender norms in their family), so she tricked him into it by calling it bacon and egg pie. Trickery! Silly men. Food is food.

All that aside, the best way to feel about quiche is YUM I LOVE THAT! When made right, it will just melt in your mouth. Plus you can put just about anything you want in and call it your own personal masterpiece. That's what I did here. This recipe was inspired by having a leek, and not knowing what the hell to do with it.

This one's for you, pal.

Ham, Swiss, and Leek Quiche

Ingredients:
1 homemade pie crust feel free to do store-bought. This isn't a blog about judging people.
1 cup ham, diced finely
1 cup swiss cheese, grated or diced
1 large leek, sliced into medallions up to the light green portion I honestly can't think of a less nerdy word than medallions.
6 eggs
1 cup whole milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp paprika

Makes 6-8 servings, depending on the bellies. 

Once you've done your slicing and dicing, heat up a nice and wide frying pan with a little olive oil on medium heat. Gently place your leek slices in the pan, doing your best throughout this process to keep each one in tact. Obviously that's not going to be a 100% success, and it only really matters in the first place if you want your quiche to look like mine. If you'd rather mix 'em all up, have at it! If you're going my way, use a nice wide spatula to flip the leeks just once, so that they're browned on both sides and a little soft.

Now, while your beautiful (or not) leeks are cooling off a bit, line a deep dish pie pan with your crust. Unlike pies, for quiche I prefer to have as little crust as possible above the actual rim of the pan, and push the extra down. Layer the ham in the bottom of the crust, then the cheese on top of that.

In a nice big bowl, mix the eggs, milk, cream, and spices together with a whisk. Make sure there's no huge chunks of those weird egg white globs! Pour your liquid mixture over the ham and cheese. Then, as gingerly as you can, arrange the leeks on the surface of the quiche. The cheese and ham layers do a great job of holding them up at the right height, you just have to make them pretty (or not)!

I realized at the last second that it might be helpful to see what it looks like when fully assembled, so here's a quick snap of the before quiche...

In an oven preheated to 375 degrees, bake the quiche for 25-35 minutes. It took me a lot of googling to figure out the secret to really knowing if it's done or not (thanks for nothin' Martha Stewart!), and here it is: First, it should have become a lovely golden brown and have a nice crispy-looking crust. That part's easy. Then, if you think it looks good, give it a shake. When you wiggle it a little, just the center should shake along with you. And then if you're still nervous, test it with a knife! Poke it right in the center, and if she comes up clean it's time. Finally!!

I promise, it's just as delicious as it is beautiful! It's fun to get to invent your own quiche, but this is my go-to. Do you have a favorite flavor combo for your quiche? Secrets to make it a little closer to a healthy meal? Dish it in the comments!

Quiche mode!

-gu

Friday's Awesome Five

Donut you know I'm in love with donuts? Today's five is a testament to a love that will last through the ages: Gu + donuts (hey coffee, you're alright too).

1. Everyone knows that the best way to have a beach bod is to put your body on a beach. Next time my beach bod hits the waves, it'll be atop this larger-than-life donut. From Urban Outfitters

2. It may be too late to give this to your lover for v-day, but there's no wrong time to tell your sweety you love them. Say it with donuts! From MudsplashStudios on Etsy

3. You'll never love a donut so much as when it's handcrafted by your favorite Lush Scout--YOU! I made a big ol' batch of love-infused donuts for v-day (I totally made the ones in this picture! I'm amazing!), and I'll share the recipe with you this week. Yay!!

4. In the mood for an ah-dorable little project? Make balloons to remind you of your favorite treat, then throw a party and invite all your fellow donut lovers! BYOSprinkles? From Studio DIY

5. And last, if you find yourself wandering around Pike Place Market with your sweetheart, as I often do, treat them to some tiny sweets! Daily Dozen Donut Co. is right in the market, and anyone who's a sucker for mini stuff (everyone) would love a bite size pastry while they're seeing the Seattle sights. Here's their Yelp page

Thought I was a donut, tried to glaze me,
gu

Friday's Awesome Five

1. We're having a Lush Outing tonight, Cait and I along with some boyz are going to see The Coup! I am beyond pumped, putting a lot of tracks from their most recent album "Sorry To Bother You" on serious rotation. Not to mention their videos which are super fun and clever/awersome/hilarious. Who's ready to get some socialist boogie-ing on? We are! 

The Guillotine

Your Parents' Cocaine (w/ Justin Sane from Anti-Flag)

Land Of 7 Billion Dances

The Magic Clap

2. Shorts season is fast approaching! Well really if you don't live in the Pacific North West you're probably already sweating, but up here we're still just thinking about shorts most days. Currently I only have some real gnarly jorts that have been doing a great job, other than that shorts are kind of the worst in my opinion! Stay tuned for a 'gu comes to terms with wearing shorts' post. Note: that is not gu's butt.

3. Happy Birthday Week to Cait!! The only way to say that and truly mean it is with this picture of Paul Simon dressed as a turkey:

4. I'm moving soon, and have found myself drooling over hip home goods from spots like Urban Outfitters (already bought a duvet cover... so sue me) and ModCloth that probably shouldn't be priority over expenses such as, oh the security deposit or whatever. I really really love this Spotted on the Shore Shower Curtain from ModCloth! I don't know too much about Bettie Page, nor pinups in general, but I am all about girls being hot if they wanna. I don't think my dude soon-to-be-roomie Jordan will mind those curves, either.

5. As we speak I'm whipping up some vegan lemon almond scones to send to my sister all the way in NYC! We've long had a beautiful sistership, where I love baking and she loves to encourage me to bake and tell me how great my treats are. Unfortunately with a zillion miles between us, it has turned into me texting her pictures of, like, mini cinnamon rolls fresh out of the oven, and Lisa replying 'bring me soooome :(' Today's your day sis! This recipe I found was too good not to finally send to her! My general philosophy with internet recipes is to use them for their science (aka all the baking soda stuff you can't guess) and then go to town with the craziest flavors you can. Get ready for some fluffy delish treats, sis!