Caramelized Onion and Spinach Quiche

I don't really do well with things that are sad. I don't like that heavy pit at the bottom of my stomach or the lump in the back of my throat I get before I am about to cry. I don't like feeling vulnerable. I don't like feeling unnerved. If something sorrowful pops into my head, I tend to push it right back out. I'm sure most of you can agree to that.

I have had a pretty cushy life, so to speak. Most of my loved ones are alive and well. I have great friends and family and a job and a master's degree on the way. My mom and dad let me live at home until I have enough money to get off my feet. I've never had any major illness and all my injuries are trivial from sport.

I've never suffered that one great loss that will change you forever. And I am petrified of that day. Why so somber, you ask? There are only two blogs that I read religiously, and one of the writers has been posting for the past few days about a horrible accident that her older sister was in. Today, she lost her sister.

I think of Vanessa, the 7-year-old who was not at all happy when I was born four days before her birthday. The only person in the entire world who can relate to my upbringing, my sister. I can't imagine saying goodbye to her.

Two of my best friends have lost their fathers within the past few years. I think of my Dad, and remember how I complain that he talks too much or how he always insists on repeating things over and over. But when I got a phone call two New Years Eve's ago telling me my strong Dad had been hit by a car, or when I got to the scene and saw how feeble he looked, I remember begging God that if my dad was okay, I would never complain again.

How quickly those requests come and go, and the trivial complaints return. In times of other's tragedy, I try to put my insignificant problems into perspective, and tonight, I think I'm doing okay.

Tonight, I am posting a spinach quiche recipe (adapted from Cooking Light) that comforts the soul. In times of grieving, I have found that one of the best ways to show you care is food, and though I can't send this across the country to Monet and her family, I will certainly be sending prayers and well wishes her way, and to anyone who has lost for that matter.


Caramelized Onion and Spinach Quiche
2 teaspoons olive oil
3 cups chopped onion
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups frozen Southern-style hash brown potatoes, thawed
1 (11-ounce) can refrigerated soft breadstick dough
Cooking spray
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
1 cup milk
4 eggs
1 1/4 cups crumbled feta cheese


1. Preheat oven to 350°. Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion, sugar, and salt; cook for 30 minutes or until golden brown, stirring occasionally. Stir in potatoes, and cook for 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from heat.
2. Unroll dough, separating into strips. Working on a flat surface, coil one strip of dough around itself in a spiral pattern (like a snail). Add second strip of dough to the end of the first strip, pinching ends together to seal; continue coiling the dough. Repeat procedure with the remaining dough strips. Cover and let dough rest for 10 minutes. Roll dough into a 12-inch circle, and fit into a 10-inch deep-dish pie plate coated with cooking spray.
3. Spread potato mixture in bottom of prepared crust, and top with spinach. Combine milk, eggs, and cheese; pour the milk mixture over the spinach. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until set, shielding crust with foil after 50 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Crab Pasta in a Garlic White Wine Sauce

So, word on the street is that when you're pregnant, you can eat anything you want. I'm so game.

This is just what I've heard. I've never been pregnant. Surprise!

But though I've never been pregnant, last week, I imagine, I had pregnant woman hunger. Every day. That growling empty pit-like feeling never left. Maybe a better analogy is a garbage disposal.

Whatever. I stood somewhere between a pregnant woman and a garbage disposal, and I couldn't be stopped.

I know perfectly well why I was hungry. It was the last week before my half marathon, and between the high mileage and long days I was left ravenous at all points. And my race was yesterday, which means today was for replenishing... in a major way.

I usually never eat cream sauces. They just aren't my bag. But today, because I was feeling adventurous and well deserving, I whipped up a fantastic pasta dish that I will definitely keep on hand.

Crab Pasta in a Garlic White Wine Sauce
1 lb linguine
1 tbsp butter, divided
1 onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
1 cup dry white wine
Salt and Pepper, to taste
1/4 cup flour
1 cup milk (more to thin out sauce)
1 lb crab meat
Old Bay


1. Prepare linguine as directed on box.
2. Melt 1 tbsp of butter in a medium skillet. Add garlic and onion and cook until onion is tender. Add wine and turn heat up to high until liquid reduces by half. Add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Meanwhile in another skillet, melt butter and add flour. Cook until smooth, about 5 minutes. Add the milk slowly, just a few tbsp at a time. It will look like some sort of dough but keep adding milk and stirring and it will smooth out.
4. Once smooth, add onion mixture into flour mixture and stir. Add crab meat. Serve over cooked pasta and top with old bay seasoning.

Pumpkin Spice Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Tomorrow marks the first day of spring. We all know that right? The pansies are poking their heads out of garden pots all over and the days are getting just a little bit longer. We all remember when the winter was just beginning and now we can finally breathe a sigh of relief in that it is almost over.

I reserve most pumpkin recipes for the fall and winter. Last fall, I went through whoopie pies, lattes, pies inside cupcakes, biscotti and muffins through my pumpkin kick. Okay... maybe I am a bit of a pumpkin junkie.

So when my friend Lily asked me to devise up a pumpkin cake for her friend, I leaped at the opportunity to dust off the old can of Libby's and hop to it.

Oh-me-oh-my. Twas not disappointed! Unfortunately, I only have pictures of the full cake instead of a slice, but it got rave reviews and I will be making it again when the leaves turn back to brown.


Pumpkin Spice Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
2 cups white sugar
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups canned pumpkin
4 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 12x18 inch pan. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl combine sugar and oil. Blend in vanilla and pumpkin, then beat in eggs one at a time. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Spread batter into prepared 10 inch bundt pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 40-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.

For the Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
3 cups powdered sugar
½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla


1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter until smooth with no visible lumps. Add the cream cheese an beat until combined.
2. Add the powdered sugar, maple syrup and vanilla and beat until smooth. Be careful no to overbeat the filling, or it will lose structure. Drizzle or spread frosting on cake and enjoy!

Cookies and Cream Brownies

Patience is a virtue, they say.

I'd like to think I have it. I can easily tolerate both children and the elderly. I can listen to my Dad's long stories where he repeats the same thing over and over again. I can bite my tongue when I'm angry at someone to avoid saying something I regret.

Patience, I suppose, might be my strong point. I cannot wait for something to cool before I eat it. I have tried. I have failed. And even if I had set my mind to it, this dessert would make me fail. Because when it was oozing last night when I cut into it, it did not even stop me for one second. It was like seven layers of delicious. It was a dream come true but not for the faint at heart. And I cannot believe how easy it was (or how completely homemade you could make it... if you had the patience.)

Alex found this recipe from a blog called With Sprinkles on Top and it really is a gem. Amie and I made it last night and, wow. Honestly I need to get it out of my house because it is that good. I'm going on a diet... Monday.

We also might have definitely messed up the recipe just a bit by adding water when we weren't supposed to but we ended up with chocolate molten lava cakes and I mean, I will never complain about wonderful melty chocolate. I will list the recipe as I found it, but leave my helpful additions at the bottom.

1 box brownie mix*
Eggs and Oil as directed on box
1/4 cup hot fudge topping*
Heaping 1/2 cup cookies and cream ice cream*
Double Stuf Oreos


1. Preheat oven according to box directions and spray an 8×8 baking dish generously with cooking spray.
2. Combine brownie mix, eggs, and oil as directed on the back of the box, but do not add the water.
3. Add ice cream and hot fudge to the brownie batter and stir to combine.
4. Pour half of the brownie batter into the baking dish, layer with Oreos, then top with remaining batter. Sprinkle with crushed Oreos and bake for 40-50 minutes or as directed on the back of the box. Be sure to let these COOL for a while before you cut into them or else you will experience a mess... a delicious one, but a mess none-the-less. You can store in the fridge for faster firming!

To make this recipe as easy as possible and without overstocking my dessert stash, I used some short cuts:
*Ghirardelli Ultimate Fudge (and omitted the hot fudge topping),
**Snack size cup of Edy's Slow Churn Cookies and Cream,  

To make this recipe as difficult as possible, make the brownies from scratch and add your own homemade "sandwich cookies." And send me your result, because I bet people would go to jail for making something so amazing!

Homemade Granola

I trudge down the stairs, kicking my backpack out of my path when I turn the corner. Another long day come and gone, and I am exhausted.

My bare feet hit the hardwood and I am surrounded by the smell of cinnamon, sugar and honey. I take a deep breath and inhale as I smile at one of life's simple pleasures: freshly baked anything.

While upstairs in my room, I am a slave to George Mason University, spending countless hours flipping pages and squinting at my laptop into the wee hours of the morning.

Downstairs in my kitchen, I decompress. My usually-very-structured self lets her hair down and I breathe. If you knew me, you would know if I have twelve hours in a day I fill eleven of them to the brim. When I cook, though I do enjoy the company of a friend or my mother, I do it for me.

While we all know I adore a monstrous brownie or three tier cake, there are also moments where my body needs something earthy. Something that will fuel me instead of just fill me.

And for that, I present you this granola. What starts as a lonley two cups of old fashioned oats evolves into a crunchy, sweet and salty combination sure to become a star on top of your yogurt, sprinkled on your cereal or grabbed in full handfuls straight from the container. The good thing about this recipe, adapted from Better Homes and Gardens, is that you can change things here and there to fit your taste.

I happen to be on a major sea salt kick, so with every bite of sweet honey and spicy cinnamon, you have the contrast of big salty crystals. Divine!


Homemade Granola
2 cups regular rolled oats
1 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup shelled sunflower seeds
1/4 cup toasted wheat germ
1/4 cup ground flax seeds
2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
1/2 cup honey
2 tbsp cooking oil
1 cup dried fruit (we used golden and regular raisins and cranberries)
2 tsp sea salt


1. Preheat oven to 300F. Grease a cookie sheet and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the oats, almonds, sunflower seeds, wheat germ, flax seeds and sesame seeds. In another bowl, combine honey and oil. Stir into oats mixture, making sure entire mixture is saturated.
2. Spread entire mixture evenly in the prepared pan and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake in oven for 30-35 minutes or until light brown, stirring at 20 minutes. Remove from oven after cooked and stir in dried fruit.
3. Spread on a large piece of foil to cool and store in an airtight container for up to one week.

I am off to a Mary Kay makeup party, oh sheesh. Happy weekend!

GW 10K... My First Road Race

I am in class right now. I'm listening to my teacher repeatedly say "a cup is a cup is a cup" but not in Kenya. Oh no. In Kenya, a banana is not a banana is not a banana, and fruit is not a food. I am so far gone. Ahhhh am I really in class on a Friday night?!

I'm in nutrition assessment, and needless to say, Friday night classes are not for me. I cannot wait to go home and go to bed. By 9:00 pm. Don't hate the playa, hate the game.

I meant to post this a while ago, but last weekend, I ran my first 10K (so did my friend Lily, from the gym!) and my knees and hips still feel like I'm an arthritic 80-year-old. Despite my 23-year-old self stuck in a feeble old lady body, I actually placed for my age group, and I'm proud because I haven't run a race since I was 16.

The 10K was just a little appetizer for the National Half Marathon in DC in March and eventually the Chicago Marathon October. Yikes!

The plan is to run with this lil’ QTπ, my friend and former roommate and fellow grocery store enthusiast, Diz.

She is a running machine. In fact, I’m a little nervous about running with her because she’s already ran a marathon (and qualified for Boston cause she's a machine) and a handful of halfs and she’s one of those people who can run and run and run and be cool as a cuke.

So, I ran it in 45:17 and felt pretty good about it. I think I was 68th out of almost 600, and 13th for women. The 12 girls/women ahead of me were unreal. Jealllousss!

And Susie and Dick were excited to see me competing again, because it's been oh-so-long.

And I was excited to be done and eat a big breakfast in La Madeleine. Because the post-game/race/competition meal is always a wonderful experience!

But this weekend, I get to pick up my prize! HOO-rah! Well, I should probably get back to paying attention. Cheers to Friday! 

Penn State THON...FTK!!!

I wrote this February 2008. It still holds true today and it's the best thing I've ever written about. Please read this story and open your eyes to the most important weekend of the year for scores of families at the best place on earth....


She sits tall and vivacious on the shoulders of a student, and from the electric grin on her face to the sparkle of her big blue eyes, she looks as if she has just unwrapped her dream doll house on Christmas morning. But no, it is not Christmas, a birthday, or even the perfect present making this child so elated. She is at Penn State’s THON for the fifth time, and this weekend’s 46-hour dance marathon meant so much more to the State College family than it ever has before.

Isabella Messina, the 6-year old daughter of Pat and Renee, and sister to little brother Jack, is the reason why.

This weekend marked the 36th anniversary of THON, the largest student-run philanthropy in the world that strives to assist the Four Diamonds families who have children receiving treatment for pediatric cancer at the Penn State Medical Center in Hershey. THON weekend is the culmination of a year of work toward helping these families. All that work paid off when a record $6,615,318.04 was unveiled yesterday afternoon to more than 700 dancers, 200 families, and a Bryce Jordan Center littered with students.

The Messinas are just one of the 2000 families that have been helped by the fund since 1972, and their involvement started five years ago.

On March 27, 2003, when Isabella was only 20 months old, she was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. She was treated in the Hershey Medical Center for eight months, and received an early remission, meaning all signs and symptoms of her leukemia disappeared, and there were no abnormal cells in her blood. Despite this, and her positive attitude, her mother never felt like she could be off of her guard.

“It never goes away. Not a day went by that I didn't look over her skin for bruising or question fatigue or aches and pains in depth,” Messina said. “Isabella grew very tired of it and used to try to reassure me that she was fine and could explain any bruises she had.”

All throughout this time, Isabella was continually seeing doctors to have her blood counts checked and things started to look up as she entered her fourth year of remission. A fifth year would classify her as cured. Last November, however, at a routine checkup, her pathologist was weary of some atypical cells in her blood counts, and urged the family to get the labs redone.

The family planned to have the labs redone within two weeks but “didn’t make it that far.”

Two days after the check up, Isabella complained of pain in her legs at night, a symptom of Leukemia. She was rushed to Hershey where she was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia.

“It was our worst fear,” Messina said.

Because of everything that has happened in the last four months, the THON experience this year has been a little different for the family.

Annual THON activities include a family picnic in Hershey in September, Harvest Day at Harner’s Farm in October, the THON 5K in November, the family carnival in December and the THON Hoops basketball game in January. Usually, the Messinas never miss any activities, but, “with the current circumstances, we only made it to Harvest Day this year,” Messina said.

The big event, as everyone knows however, is THON weekend.

“We were fearful that we might not be able to attend THON this year due to her bone marrow transplant, but we just found out it is scheduled in March.”

The bone marrow transplant will impact more than Isabella. Despite the odds of one and four, her little brother Jack is a perfect match for her. She will have to be hospitalized for a month after her transplant, and for the next three months she is required to stay within 15 minutes of the hospital.

Because the family lives in State College, and they want to maintain “as much normalcy as possible,” one of the parents will live in Hershey with Isabella, while the other will stay in the area with Jack.

“I am not sure how it is going to work out,” Messina said, “but we will make do as best we can.”

The Messinas receive a lot of help from the Four Diamonds Fund. They have been given medications that insurance was not able to cover, assistance with meal passes at the hospital while Isabella was inpatient and scores of gas vouchers for the 200-mile round trips to the Hershey Medical Center. Also a blessing for the family was a clinic that opened in State College, which helped cut down on the trips. During Isabella’s four years of remission almost all of her appointments were able to be held locally.

As every THON passes, the two children begin to grasp a little bit more about their situation.

“It is very different this time around,” Messina said. “We have Jack now to worry about too. More importantly though, is that Isabella is now 6, and everything required some explanation. The hospitalizations, medicines, hair loss, and why she could no longer attend school.”

It is a lot for a child to comprehend.

“She has been incredible,” Messina said. “She now understands much of what is going on and why. I try to explain what I can, and feel she needs to know in terms that she can understand.”

The organization that dances for Isabella is the Student Athlete Advisory Board, and every year, the dancers cannot get enough her.


“She is such a sweet kid,” said David Gray, an alumni and one of the SAAB dancers from last year. “She was so active herself, that it was hard for me to ever feel tired.”


The Messinas got ready for the big weekend with a pre-THON “Thanksgiving” dinner, which happened two weeks ago. It is a chance for them to get acquainted with the dancers, and for the dancers to get acquainted with the children.


Zoey Bouchelle, a senior and one of the five dancers from SAAB developed a quick bond with Isabella.


“She hung onto me all weekend,” Bouchelle said. “Looking down at her during the last few hours was the only thing keeping me on my feet… It was pretty amazing.”


The inspiration that the children and their families give the dancers is most definitely a two-way street, however.


“It is such a special weekend for us,” Messina said. “It is quite possibly one of the best times of the year.”


To all the THONers (especially Deece, Jackie, Kristie and Dtones), KEEP ON DANCING! Together Without Limits. I am so so proud to be a Penn Stater this weekend.