It’s been mayhem on board for the past few weeks. The time has finally come to move off our beloved boat and relocate ashore, in our old house. As most people would know, moving is stressful and time consuming. Especially when you decide, like us, to shun the help of professional removalists and stagger the workload in stages over the course of the Easter holidays! It started easy enough, with the sorting of any unwanted and superfluous items. Some ended up in the trash, others made their way to the garage, and will probably stay in boxes for the next 2 years. Then we turned to the essentials: cookbooks and magazines, pantry items, kitchenware…what to leave onboard ( we still plan to use the boat as a weekender…for now), what to take in the house. I have lost count of the number of boxes shipped off, and while the kids have been real troopers, efficiently  packing their own cabins, I didn’t fare as well: procrastination is my enemy, keeping things until the last minute, just in case…much to my husband’s frustration.

However, since we are still officially living onboard (after all, we are coming back to it every night for dinner and a sleep), retaining a functioning galley has turned out very handy. Gourmet meals have been very few, saved for the occasional guests (more on that on a later post!) or odd times when feeling “in the mood”. Instead, it’s been basic roasts, sandwiches, salads and accommodating left overs has become part of the weekly rotation. One of our favourite meals is what I call Left Over Quiche. The family loves it, the flavour is only limited by your imagination or the content of your fridge!

The concept is quite simple really: rummage thru the fridge, look for any left over meat (roast veal, grilled chicken, Italian meatballs, lamb curry…whatever is there!), add garlic, onion and any other aromatics you fancy, beef it up with chopped vegetables (cauliflower in this case, but spinach, carrots, capsicums or even potatoes work well), moisten the mixture with something creamy (soft cream cheese or pouring cream) and fill in a puff pastry. Sprinkle with grated cheese (very important!), bake as you would a quiche and Voila!  Perfect meal on a boat or in a house!

Left Over Quiche

Serves 4 as a main course

Ingredients:

2 cups leftover veal roast, roughly chopped

2 cups leftover ham ( I buy inexpensive ham pieces from my butcher for that purpose!), roughly chopped

2 tbsp olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

2 cups chopped cauliflower (discard the leaves, use stalks and florets)

250g chive and onion cream cheese

1 cup grated tasty cheese

1 sheet frozen puff pastry (homemade is great too, if you have time!), thawed

½ cup parsley, chopped

1 cup grated cheese, extra

1. In a large pan/skillet, heat olive oil on high and brown the chopped onion. Add the chopped cauliflower and sautee until slightly golden and tender (not mushy!).
2. In a large bowl, mix all meats with the sautéed onion and cauliflower
3. In a small pan, warm up the chive and onion cream cheese until runny, add 1 cup of grated cheese and mix until combined.
4. Spread the puff pastry in a 9-inch (23cm) pie dish, fill in the meat/vegetable mixture, pour the cream cheese over, pushing into the meat to ensure it soaks in. Sprinkle parsley and extra cheese.
5. Cook in a preheated 200 deg C oven for 45-60 minutes, until top is golden brown.
6. Serve with green vegetables or a salad. Enjoy!