Rich and Chris are out of town visiting family, and I have a whole house to myself.  It feels pretty empty.  I have been cooking something new every day, just to try things.

Two days ago, I made a quiche.  This was my first quiche, and the first successful crust I have ever made.  It was delicious!  I had to share it with others, as an entire quiche was WAY too much for me to eat on my own.  The quiche was homemade crust, asparagus, goat cheese, lemon zest, dry oregano, and eggs.  I brushed the crust with just a touch of dijon mustard before putting all the goodies in.  Here are some photos from quiche making:

Perfect!  …and by the way, Mary – yes, this is my food processor’s inaugural recipe.  I am so ashamed…

Today, Mindy and I hiked to Corona Arch, and when we got home, I started today’s cooking project.  I braised some bottom round steaks in red wine and whole-grain dijon mustard.  I bought bottom round steaks because they were cheap.  My mom said the best way to make them tender would be to braise them, so that’s what I did.

First, I put some red wine in a pan, and let it boil to reduce.  I dusted the steaks with a little flour, and seared them until brown on both sides.

After they were brown, they went onto a plate, and red onions went into the pan to brown.  When they were brown, they went into a bowl, the steaks returned to the pan, and the wine reduction (with dijon mustard added) went into the pan, too.  The steaks simmered for an hour, then I added the onions, and they simmered for another hour.

The end result (served with roasted cauliflower, roasted asparagus, and brown rice) was amazing.

I love cooking, and I LOVE when something I cook comes out better than just really good.  The quiche and the braised steaks were both SUPERB.  If anyone is interested in recipes or techniques, post a comment!  If not, please comment anyway!