yaiAnn

Just because you don't need one..

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 22:11:18 -0800

doesn't mean you shouldn't make one. I got inspired today by this discussion on the flickr quilts and quilting group, especially the video in the first response. So guess what? I finally broke down and seriously did some free motion quilting practice today. mamaFasu is a proponent of not wasting anything so I had her in mind when I decided I should use my free motion practice scraps to make something. I initially started with coasters and realized that 4x4" squares aren't good to practice on. I needed something bigger to grip and control. So lo and behold... Yes, a hot water bottle cozy. This is going straight to mamaFasu since she uses one everyday. So what did I learn? Practice definitely makes perfect. I originally started to try to do stipple stitch, but oh my lord my hands couldn't keep up. So I decided to stick with loops and figure 8s. Muuuuuuch easier and I feel like I have more control. Another tip, going a little faster helps sometimes too. You can see here where I started getting the hang of it. The curves become smoother and the stitches are more even. And here we've got all figure 8s all the time. And of course, the inside.. Yes, I missed part of the bias tape. I'll fix it. Free motion is really fun. My loops are rather tight so I think I need to practice bigger loops and figure 8s and then hopefully I can move onto stippling. But mamaFasu doesn't need another hot water bottle cozy. Any ideas for other things I can make with my free motion practice sessions?

Quilts on my mind

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 22:11:13 -0800

Two things can happen when you invite friends over for a crafty day, 1.) You gossip and chit chat and realize that at the end of the day you've either severely messed up your WIP or have barely touched it all, or 2.) You get some gossip and chit chat in between furrow-browed concentration. Today was a case of #2. (Actually, now that I think about it, #1 only happens when I invite or get invited to a crafty day OUT, like at a coffee shop or something. Every time I've had friends over, it's always been pretty darn productive.) Steph and two other friends came over today for some all day crafting. Not only did I sketch out a quilt, I cut and pieced, too. Boy am I pooped! Sad news is, I ran short of fabric and need more to make two more squares and to finish up the back. I guess this means another trip to the fabric store. That would make it three times in one month. I've been a little smitten with quilting lately. I blame it all on flickr. I mean I could point the finger at someone, but that wouldn't be completely nice, would it (It's her. Click over. Trust me, you won't be sorry.)? I mean, she inspired this.
Hi, I'm not a Steelers fan. This was purely coincidence. Cathedral windows, tutorial here. It's rather addicting. It's kind of a cross between origami and sewing. Anyways, this is just a swatch that I'll eventually just turn in to a pillowcase. But you can bet I've already got an idea for the real thing. That's all for now. Apologies for lagging on the FO fashion show. Steph was supposed to help me take photos today and we got all caught up in crafting. Note to self, photo shoots precede craft time.

This ooey gooey creation was brought to you by the blueberry.. and buttercream

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 11:35:22 -0800

Have a look at this scrumptious pie as I continue to distract you with all things non-crafty. I went on a weekday baking spree last week spurred by an intensive work meeting I helped plan. We figured we could liven it up with home baked treats so obviously I volunteered. And of course it's always a bonus when you can expense your grocery bill (of course I only expensed the ingredients).
Yes, that's a super fancy, hi-tech Bounty paper towel backdrop. Recipe: Blueberry pie with cornmeal crust I have only three words to describe this. MAKE. THIS. PIE. My coworker made this for the 4th and got resounding compliments all around. She made it without the lemon cream so I followed suit. Besides, I was planning on baking TWO things for the meeting, I didn't want to bother with lemon cream. So really, the crust was amazing. The cornmeal and the turbinado sugar really helps add another dimension to the flavor. And the filling, perfectly sweetened. It could very well be the blueberries, but I didn't bother tasting them beforehand so I can't really say. But really, when you're watching the darn thing burst and bubble from the other side of the oven.. the only other place you wanna be is eating it all up.. with ice cream. Yuuuum. Really, do you need make lemon cream if all that it trully begs for is the simplest of pleasures? Some really good vanilla ice cream? Doubt it. I realize I say this a lot, especially given that I say this a lot about food I've never made or even ate, but I think this is going to be my blueberry pie recipe of choice. And the coworkers, yes I think they enjoyed it, a lot. I'm hoping that this very last piece of pie that was left at the end of the meeting was because people were shy and didn't want to be that person.. you know, the one that ate the very last piece of pie. But a latecomer snatched it up. She said it was calling her name.. but really, I think it might have been calling mine.
Eat me! And and for the grand finale, chocolate cupcakes with swiss meringue buttercream. I was finally able to conquer the Martha Stewart Swiss Buttercream recipe. I had attempted her swiss meringue buttercream recipe a few months ago and failed miserably! This time around I had already executed one successful buttercream recipe from the King Arthur's Whole Grain cookbook (unblogged) and was convinced I could do it again. Recipe: One bowl chocolate cupcakes with swiss meringue buttercream, Marthat Stewart's Baking Handbook The chocolate cupcakes were pretty good. What I've noticed to date is that chocolate cupcakes made with oil rather than a butter are a lot moister but lack a lot of structure. The cake pulls apart easily which isn't a bad thing, but for certain recipes, it's also not a good thing (hi-hats for example -- what's a hi-hat you ask, good question. You will find out soon). Now the buttercream.. OH, the buttercream. It was creamy, milky and sweet, reminiscent of the frosting that accompanies the Magnolia Red Velvet cake (another one of my favorite frostings). The first buttercream recipe I made tasted like the buttercream of my childhood that I really didn't like. The kind that came on birthday cakes that really didn't taste like anything. Really, now that I think about it, it tastes like butter. This one does not taste like butter. Is it a far stretch for me to say it tastes like heaven? It tastes like heaven.. in a frosting. So where did my first attempt at this recipe breakdown? Impatience and also naivete. I didn't allow the sugar and egg white mixture too cool down enough before adding the butter. The mixer bowl needs to be almost room temperature, mine was a little warmer, but it definitely can't be hot. Thanks to an episode of Good Eats, I was properly schooled on this (you gotta love Alton Brown). Even with one successful recipe under my belt, I was a bit skeptical as I was making this, you know, with all the Martha recipe failures I've been having as of late. But you really do have to be patient. I added the butter in one tablespoon at a time and waited until each was fully incorporated til I added the next. The buttercream really didn't start coming together until I had only a few tablespoons left. Then you hear the magic. The sound of the mixture all of a suddent starts to change and before you know it.. you've got silky smooth buttercream. Great, now I'm craving a cupcake.

Can I distract you with shoes?

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 07:20:40 -0800

The photo shoot didn't go so well this weekend. I really hate taking photos of myself. At times like this I wish I had a model to wear my clothes for me so I can take the photos just the way I like! Having B taking photos for me just doesn't work. Lolly, Parikha and I had this conversation during out meet up, not about B, but about how having our significant others take our photos for us. I either 1. feel really bad about bossing them around, 2. feel really bad that I make them take 495028348 photos of the same thing, or 3. get really frustrated that he doesn't understand how I want him to set up the shot. And then he 1. gets really frustrated that I'm bossing him around, 2. gets really frustrated that I'm making him take 495028348 photos of the same thing, or 3. gets really frustrated because he doesn't understand what I'm explaining him to take a photo of. So for now, you get the best photos I took all weekend. The shoes I wore with my outfits. And yes, I tried the dress form shots. It's just not the same. I'll try again this week.

Eye Candy Friday: Sneak Peak Edition

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 06:35:07 -0800

Happy Friday everyone! Here's to successful photo shoots this weekend!

This is how you get yourself into trouble..

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 22:47:22 -0800

On July 2nd, I received an email about B's sister's annual birthday party/4th of July bbq extravaganza with menu details. I had been planning to make a pie for the party, but according to the email, his sister was going to be buying pies in lieu of her birthday cake. I responded with the following:

... I guess that means I should scrap my pie baking plans for the party, huh?

She replied:

hmmm....what kind of pie, lady?

I replied:

I'm not sure yet.. I was thinking maybe just a classic apple pie or blueberry if I could find them and maybe a chocolate cream pie. What kind of pie do YOU want?

She replied:

I was going to pick up a pumpkin & chocolate cream pie @ chow's in lafayette. Apple or blueberry both sound real yummy!

Surely I couldn't let her BUY a pie for her own birthday. I wanted to put my pie making skills to use. I replied:

...I'll see what I can do.. I make a slammin' pumpkin and choco cream too. Just let me know your preferences.

Yes, I said "slammin'" Can you feel the trouble coming? She decided on chocolate cream pie, what I was secretly hoping she'd pick because I'd been meaning to try Martha's chocolate cream pie recipe. So fast forward to the 4th of July. Here's the final dessert spread. Mouth watering, isn't it? But little does this photo show how much agony I went through to produce, not one but two desserts. I made that lemon tart, too. Let's rewind one day. 7pm, Thursday: Head to the store to pick up some butter and missing ingredients. 8pm: Mix up a batch of Tartine's pie crust recipe and decide to mix up a few different recipes to finally do that pie crust off. 8:30pm: Pull one disc of the Tartine dough out and start rolling it out.. it starts to crumble. It's not sticking together.. what in the WORLD is going on. Pull out the second disk and the SAME thing happens. This is not going to work. Toss the dough. 9pm: Mix up a batch of Martha's pie crust AND Dorie Greenspan's crust recipe. 9:30pm: Start to roll out Martha's.. This one is also not sticking together and is crumbling. Okay something really fishy is going on. Pull out Dorie's and the EXACT same thing is happening. Okay really, what is happening? Yes, I'm starting to freak out. 10pm: Mix a batch of Cook's Illustrated's Foolproof Pie Crust, yes, the recipe with vodka. The dough looks slightly wetter than normal, but I'm hoping for the best. I've already gone through 6 sticks of butter. This is the point where I start kicking myself for insisting that I make such great pies. 10:30pm: Roll out the dough, and it's looking promising.. 11pm: Crust goes into the oven. I start the chocolate filling. 11:30pm: Crust is done. Filling is done. I've made the banana cream pie variation of this filling. before. But the instructions for the chocolate version differs slightly from the banana version. The finished product seems a little loose, but I was hoping it will firm up as it cools. 2am: Fill the crust. The filling is still seeming pretty loose but I shove it into the fridge and hope again that it will firm up by the next day. I had planned to make the whipped cream at B's sisters house and finish it there. My baking was done for the day, so I thought. 2:30am: Instead of going straight to bed, I get sucked into the internet for a while.. 3:30am: A little while turned into a lotta while and at this point, I've started to obsess about that chocolate filling, a lot. As I go through the steps that Martha took me through to make the filling, I start to freak out. For the chocolate filling, Martha has you heat a milk mixture and then temper eggs into it. Then instead of returning the entire mixture back to the stove for a few more minutes on heat (as in the banana and coconut versions), she has you mix in the chocolate and then immediately cool the mixture. At this point, maybe you can blame delirium, I was afraid that there might have been a typo in the recipe. Maybe you were supposed to put the chocolate mixture back on heat. Maybe that's why the filling was so loose. The mixture didn't get more time on heat to allow the addition of eggs to thicken it up. THEN I started freaking out even more thinking that my undercooked eggs would get folks sick. Totally NOT cool for something that was supposed to be slammin'. 4am: Carefully spoon the filling out of the crust and back into the a saucepan. Put the filling back on heat and start whisking, hoping that it would thicken back up. 4:30am: I'm so screwed. I've basically got thick hot chocolate in my saucepan. Pour out the filling and return to the internet for help. 5am: Epicurious to the rescue! I find a substitute filling recipe and decide to get a little bit of sleep before I head back to the kitchen. 6am: B calls and proclaims I'm absolutely crazy for staying up all night over pie. I don't think he quite understood how much pressure I felt in having someone's birthday dessert hinge on my baking skills or lack thereof. 6:30am: I'm on my way to filling bliss as this recipe looks and TASTES so much more promising. 7am: The filling is cooling and I decided to see what else I can make with my second disc of pie dough, just for insurance. Enter Epicurious again.. here comes the makings of a lemon brulee tart. 9am: The pie has been filled and is chilling in the fridge. The lemon tart is done and is cooling. Looks like I am off the hook for now. Judgement doesn't happen until almost 12 hours later. Recipe: Lemon Brulee Tart Notes: This was a big hit among the older crowd at the party. It was really good and really refreshing. As described in the recipe, it's the perfect dessert to accompany a heavy meal. I'd qualify bbq as heavy fare. I followed the recipe exactly except I used the Cooks Illustrated pie crust instead and used a bit of lime juice because I was just shy of 1/2 of lemon juice. Overall the recipe is super easy, especially if you're already familiar with making pie/pastry dough. The filling comes together in seconds. The brulee part was the hardest. It took a lot longer than I thought to caramelize the sugar. I initially thought that it was because there might not have been enough sugar. But in retrospect, I think it was because I kept the tart wrapped and moisture developed on the top. Recipe: Chocolate Cream Pie Notes: Obviously, I, again, used my own crust, deviating from the chocolate crust in the recipe. I also used Martha's recipe for whipped cream (1 cup of heavy cream and 1/4 powdered sugar). If you decide to use regular pie crust, I'd recommend using Martha's technique for keeping the crust crisp, by adding a thin layer of melted semisweet chocolate to the bottom and sides of the crust and allowing it to harden in the freezer for 10 minutes before putting in the filling. And the verdict? SLAMMIN'! I got so many compliments that I a bit was overwhelmed (and of course I was beaming inside). Everyone said that it was better than Chow's. It's all in the filling. That recipe is a definite winner! So was it worth it to stay up all night? Hell yeah! I live for making people smile and their stomach's happy!

Crafty Bastards

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 16:15:04 -0800

Yes, you might call us that, but that's actually the name of a fun craft fair I attended while I was on a short whirlwind trip to Washington, DC (and Baltimore) the other week.
Gosh, I really need to improve my posture! You might have seen and heard about this little meet up here and here. And there's really nothing more I can add that it was really fun and really hot! I love meeting and making new friends, even though you could say we're all "old friends" on the blogosphere. I also got a chance to meet the abuser, herself. But unfortunately, no incriminating photos were to be taken (we ate a whole mess of indian food.. really, you don't want to see any photos of that). I felt like this trip was so last minute (I booked this conference right before I left for Brazil and totally forgot about it until almost the week of!) that I was glad I was able to hook up with these wonderful ladies! So the goods, yes I got goods.. This was my first yarn purchase in I don't know how long. And of course, it's gotta be sock yarn! And I got a snappy new wallet with UFOs on it. Isn't it cute? Anyways, proof of crafting coming soon, I promise promise promise.. Why does summer always have to be so darn busy?

Just a snapshot..

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 13:46:08 -0800

Brazil was amazing. I wish I had time to tell you all about it, but life always seems to get in the way. I've finally finished going through all my photos and we took about 10gb of photos and video.. yes, a LOT. Out of all this media we were able to narrow it down to 300 or so photos. Because I know you all like photos, here are some of my favorites (and I hope you're okay with the lack of narrative).

And if you want to see ALL the pictures... go here.

Food makes things happen

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 06:39:07 -0800

No craft updates just yet, but to aid in some "Happy Friday.. Is it 5 yet?" procrastination, I've got some linky love for you. It's for foodies and romantics alike. My friend sent these over my way and I can't help but spread the love. She said. He said.

Jumping back in..

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 10:25:36 -0800

I've been back for almost two weeks and I'm trying to find my crafting groove again. This is the most I've been able to crank out..
mamaFasu's Birthday dessert

Celebration cupcakes for some friends

I helped a friend make a costume yesterday and that actually got my craft genes going yesterday. It felt good to feel the hum of my sewing machine. I should get on fixing those garments for Brazil so I have something to show you. You know what else I did yesterday? Knit! I tried to start a sock, but of course, the yarn starting pooling and chucked it into the WIP basket. I will try again later. But more importantly, since I have no more events to train for (well actually one more, but it's pretty mellow) and I'm coming off a vacation where I've been a totally gluton and worked out all of ONE time in the two weeks I've been home..I need to devise a new workout plan. Details on the yummy goods to come.

Oi*

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 19:48:46 -0800

Did you miss me? I'm back, alive and ironman x2. I'm glad to be home but not so happy to be at work. I've got so much to catch up on.. give me a minute or 15 to get situated again. *Oi = "hi" in Portuguese.

The countdown is killing me..

Fri, 16 May 2008 06:34:02 -0800

So my pretties, there are 9 days left until my big day in Brazil. What's scarier? There are FIVE days left before I leave for Brazil. What's on my plate? Finishing up the McCall dress in the fashion fabric. It should get done this weekend, no problem. But that doesn't really leave me with much time to do anything else. I still need to pack and stress out ;) But you can bet I'll resume sewing the rest of the items when I get back. I still have the entire of the summer ahead of me! Onto other news! I met a celebrity this weekend! If you don't know who this little guy is, I don't know where you've been living. He was SOOOO cute and charming despite what someone may say. Hell, I'd be the same way if I didn't get my nap. But seriously, how could you NOT fall in love with a charmer like this?
I want his shirt! So if you haven't already, wish Nova, Risa (we're birthday triplets!) and Carla Happy Birthday!

Adventures with muslins

Sun, 04 May 2008 22:54:10 -0800

Instead of sewing Vogue 8468 as planned, I got hold of McCall 5620 during a wonderful 99cent sale at Joanns. They're the same basic shape except the McCall pattern uses pleats instead of gathers. Besides, those pockets on the Vogue pattern aren't even functional. I swear, why bother faking it if it's not functional? I don't get these patterns sometimes. Aside from the point, I decided to make a muslin because the ease on this dress is insane. I'm taking like 18 inches of ease. I decided to make a wearable muslin out of some seersucker in my stash. I went down south this weekend for a race and decided it would be a great opportunity for a fun photo shoot "on location." On the way back home, we decided to make our way up Highway 1. The weather was most uncooperative as it was mostly overcast and cold. We were running out of beach and coast fast but luck was partially on our side as the sun was blazing in Santa Cruz. Unfortunately, the wind was in full force as well. So it made for nicely styled photos with proper drape and detail absolutely impossible.
Yes, please plaster the dress all up on my body. Yes, the wind was most uncooperative. I kept telling B to wait til the wind stopped blowing to take a shot. But the wind never seemed to stop blowing. So after a while, I decided to screw around. It made for a fun time though, channeling being an airplane and all. But at the end of the day, all you will get are stand still like a manequin shots on the dress form. Pattern: McCall 5620 Fabric: Some Synthetic Seersucker (true content unknown -- more detail on this in the notes)
Back Notes: The cut of this dress was inspired by Christina's fabulous Patrones shift dress. I decided to experiment and cut the front and back on the bias to make a chevron effect. Generally speaking, I'm not super happy with this dress for many reasons. But in considering that it's a muslin, it is what it is. So here goes my laundry list of unhappy thoughts, many of which I have learned from and hope to remember in the future.

Get to know your fabric well before pattern placement and cutting: While I was able to get my chevrons to line up on both the front and the back. I neglected to see that the seersucker stripe pattern consisted more than just one light stripe sequence and one dark sequence. There are actually two different dark stripe sequences offset by one light stripe sequence. Fortunately it lined up perfectly on one side, which happened to be the back. Hi, we're fraternal chevrons.
Take notes while fabric shopping and label all your fabric: This was my second time working with seersucker and I assumed that it was the same as the cotton seersucker I used to make B's shirt last summer. Yes, don't ever assume. As I was pressing the garment during construction, I noticed the seam edges doing funny things, like shrink and distort. Hello yaiAnn, we're not made from cotton. Down went the temperature setting on the iron. It's a good thing I realized this early in the sewing process. I should have listened to myself earlier, however, when I noticed that the fabric started puckering more in places as I was pressing the fabric before cutting.
Bias is fun. Bias is frustrating: Cutting the dress on the bias made such a cute effect on the finished product. However, it made it so much harder to handle because I didn't want to distort or stretch the fabric. What should have ended up as a dress with a very smooth silhouette, turned out to be very balloony, not to mention, it didn't make hemming very fun either. Puff in the front and puff in the back tapers down to the hem. Don't look at me, I suck!
Lining and underlining can be your friend: I think the balloon issue could have been solved by either lining or underlining. The seersucker is pretty light and sheer and I was just really eager to sew to be bothered to find fabric for lining or underlining. Cidell is currently working on a seersucker vest and is underlining it instead of interfacing it to give it the structure that it needs. This dress definitely needs a tad of structure. I'm opposed to garments with drape or that are "loosey goosey," but balloon action is not what I'm looking for here. But structure aside, there's no way I should be leaving the house without a slip on underneath this dress (FYI, I had shorts on underneath -- hence the odd lines).

So despite my problems, the dress is done and is wearable. And at the end of the day, my muslin question has been answered. The dress fits and no modifications are necessary. But the one burning question I have is, will this dress, once made from the actual fashion fabric, look maternity? You've all seen this swatch. This fabric is a polyester/lycra blend with a lot more weight that the seersucker so it definitely won't poof out. The black border on the bottom of that photo is column that runs down the length of the fabric with a coordinating motif that runs along one of the selvedges. I plan on having that black column run down the center front of the dress with the black border as the hem all the way around. (I'm sorry I don't have a photo of the entire pattern repeat of the fabric to show). Should I move ahead and cut into this or save myself the trouble?

Just teasing

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 09:44:27 -0800

I know it's not nice to tease, but I'm so excited right now I have to share just a little bit. I was hoping to have these two pieces done by Saturday so I could wear them to a baptism (and also do a photo shoot) but the odds were against me.
Topstitching has never made me so nervous!

Two down (almost -- I have to make a few adjustments to the brown piece) and ... nine to go.

Charge it and don't chuck it!

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 11:16:07 -0800

So a little good news and a little bad news. Since my last post I was able to trace out three patterns! Wooohooo! But since then, I haven't done anything, not even wash and press my fabric. I'll get on that this week for sure. Slowly but surely, this wardrobe is going to come together. So the real bad news is, my camera is dead. Okay, really it's not dead, dead. The batteries are dead. I got this camera almost two years ago and it came with rechargeable batteries and they finally gave out a few weeks ago. So what's a girl to do? I can't take photos and refuse to buy regular disposable batteries now (part of my green living quest). And who came to save the day, green LA girl! She posted about battery chargers the other day and I've been looking for it ever since! I tried to order it from Amazon and they had an estimated ship date of May 31st!! WTF? Okay, I can't live without a camera for that long. I did some searching around and ordered them (and some new rechargeable batteries, of course) yesterday and they're coming on Monday, yahooooo! So one of my short term goals, have a FO to shoot by the time it gets here. Yeah, I put myself out there. So let me leave you with of the final shots from my camera before my rechargeables decided to leave me camera-less. Recipe: Orange Oatmeal Currant Cookies, Tartine Cookbook Notes: So very yummy!! This was my first try at an "icebox cookie." The recipe calls for you to roll the dough into logs and chill them overnight. I'm not sure if it was me or the recipe, but the dough was pretty sticky and I had a bit of a hard time rolling them up because the dough was so malleable. Even when I sliced them after freezing, they didn't quite hold their shape (they're supposed to be ovals). I have a feeling it has to do with the currants and the rolled oats preventing a clean cut. But despite these minor issues, the flavor is amazing! They're not crispy or firm (something I'd expect since they were frozen), rather they're soft with a bit of texture from the currants and oatmeal. Yum, seriously, yum!

Recipe: Tofu Quiche with Leeks and Asparagus, Real Food Daily Cookbook Notes: Let me give a little background before I go on about this recipe: A few weeks ago, I went to a training weekend with my triathlon club to prep for an upcoming race. It's a pretty big affair with rented out cabins, coached workouts and fun social time. Anyways, our cabin decided to do a potluck and I set out to bring quiche. This was my first quiche ever (and I'm really sorry I don't have any photos.. well wait, actually.. you can see in the left corner of this photo) and I was surprised to find out that it has a lot fewer eggs in it than I thought! I used the recipe for the Asparagus and Scallion quiche from the King Arthur Whole Grain Baking book. The entire recipe called for only 2 eggs. The rest of the custard was made with half and half, cream cheese and goat cheese. Can you say heart attack city? HEART ATTACK CITY! HEART ATTACK CITAAAAAAAY!! Well first thing's first, it was amazing, AMAZING! It's the kind of thing you eat once in a while, with a HUGE green salad and like no dessert *sniff*. So anyways, since then I've been on a quest to find a healthier quiche recipe, either something with more eggs or tofu and less dairy. Here enters the Real Food Daily Cookbook recommended to me by a coworker. So now onto the recipe. It's a vegan tofu-based recipe with no butter or dairy. So silly me, thought that I was going to get a healthier quiche recipe tasting like the full screaming fat dairy version. So when I tasted it, I was floored and really disappointed. I was complaining to friends that I didn't like it, that it wasn't absolutely horrible. It just wasn't what I was hoping it would be (the full screaming fat dairy version). I was so disappointed by it that I actually considered chucking it. What stopped me was that I didn't want to waste all the ingredients just because it didn't turn out as I expected. So the next day, mama- and papaFasu said to me, "Hey, you're pie is good!" That caught me totally off guard. I decided to give it another try, and indeed. There was really nothing wrong with it at all. It wasn't the best quiche ever, but it also definitely wasn't close to being the worst. I think because I was so set on having it taste like my first quiche, it felt like an utter disappointment. You definitely won't fool any meaties into thinking that what they're eating is really quiche. There are definitely a lot of recipes out there that you can use to "trick" meaties into eating vege, but this is probably not one of them. Like I've read before, there is seriously no real substitute for eggs and dairy, but there are certainly a lot of things that can come quite close. Either way, I'm still on a quest for a better, heathier quiche recipe.