A Quinoa Salad for Melissa

Last week I hosted a bridal shower for my daughter Melissa.  I made the decision to have the party at my home for a few reasons.  If Melissa had her way, she would be getting married in our backyard...The yard where she napped in the shade of the maple tree as a wee little baby...The yard where she spent countless hours on her beloved swing trying to touch the sky with her toes and swinging upside down from the trapeze...The yard where she and the neighborhood kids played red light green light, caught fireflies and splashed in the pool...The yard where she had her Sweet 16 and discovered that the four person hot tub could really hold ten.  But a wedding?  I can't make that happen, but a shower on the other hand, I could handle.

I also knew that Melissa would appreciate a mostly vegetarian menu that I could create, keeping her likes and dislikes in mind.  I was right.  I'm not going to lie, it was a lot of work and thank God for my good friend Barbara whose help was invaluable.  I owe her big-time.  This was truly a labor of love and I enjoyed every minute of it.  I wish I had taken photos of the process, but I knew that playing photographer would slow me down.  Everything was homemade with the exception of the rolls, which were purchased at a local bakery and the mini cupcakes, courtesy of Mike's mom Diane.  In the end, it was all worth it.  It turned out to be a beautiful day and Melissa has yet another backyard memory.

Zucchini, Bacon and Gruyere Quiche or Zucchini Explosion Part lll

Are you tired of zucchini yet?  Yes, like everyone else who has a vegetable garden, we've been eating a whole lot of zucchini.  When zucchini isn't the star of the meal, we've been eating the obvious side dishes: grilled zucchini, sautéed zucchini, zucchini with tomatoes sprinkled with a little feta cheese and on and on and on....
So the other night when Paul said, "I don't think we have anything in the house for dinner."  
I quickly replied, "Are you kidding, we have zucchini!"......  I thought I heard a groan.
I poked my head in the fridge and saw we really didn't have much in the house.  There was a small piece of Gruyere, eggs, milk, a little bit of cream, a few strips of bacon, some berries, salad greens, cucumbers, and two bottles of Guinness that have been hiding in the back for several months.  I opened my freezer drawer and saw a pie crust from...I don't know when.  Looks like we are having quiche.  Having a pie crust in the freezer made it a no brainer.   Although I would usually prefer to make my own crust, it was a warm humid night and even with the AC on, it wasn't the best of conditions to start messing with pie dough.  We were hungry, not picky.  It was already 6pm, so I defrosted the frozen dough in the microwave, grabbed the Gruyere, eggs, milk, cream, bacon and a few shallots I found hiding in my onion basket.  By 7:15 we were enjoying a piece of silky quiche, green salad and glass of Pinot Noir.  Not bad for having nothing in the house!