Tuesday, January 6, 2026

Unexpected partners, quiche and red chili oil

There was quite a bit of cooking on a grey cold Monday morning,  crust free spinach quiche and red chili oil. I've been thinking about both for a while, and thought well why not both? 

The red chili oil is from Yeung Man Cooking on YouTube and the  quiche from a long ago internet friend (Patti, if you're reading, it's Diane's recipe!)

So many spices in play for the oil. I subbed long red pepper for the Chinese red pepper he used, caraway seeds for tahini seeds, didn't have star anise, nor ghost peppers, but I used jalapenos, same idea.  I don't make as much as he does, because it lasts a while for me. 

I used the jar my berbere had been in, without wiping, since the remaining berbere would add heat, fine.

On the right you see spices and seeds toasting in a dry pan, other items waiting around. 

Meanwhile on the other counter


The doings for the quiche. I added in mashed firm tofu with the cheese, and beat the onions and torn up spinach into the egg mixture. Worked a treat.

Here's the chili oil, red because of the red pepper in it, and the quiche ready for the oven, 350°f  for twenty minutes.

Here it is, smelling great and ready to serve 

And here's lunch 

This really was excellent, even if I do say it myself. The spices were mellowed by toasting and sauteing, and the onions and garlic, too. 

The idea just occurred to me when I realized the onions were cooked in the oil for flavor then strained out, so there they were ready to use, no need to make another lot for the quiche. A rush of brains to the head.

I was thinking about old language after the first footing discussion, and the Viking influence on the region I'm from. 

You see it in place names

And Norse words were common in the language of my childhood, particularly in the country. 
If you were tugging in the thumb latch on the back door, you'd be told "Don't rive at that sneck!". And playing out: if you go up fell, don't fall in 't beck! Translation if you're playing near the hill don't fall in the stream.

When I went to the uni I had to drop a lot of terms that the other students didn't understand, being from non Norse regions. And some pronunciation, too. 

We lived in Gribdale, outside of Great Ayton, famous for Captain Cook. The next village was Little Ayton, known to us as Canny Atton
but when I asked a farmer about that a couple of years ago, he being a new resident from the south, he was baffled. And there's Chop Gate, said as Shop Yat, and I hear that pronunciation is gone too.  

Times change and we change with them. 
Tempora mutantur et nos mutamur in illis. That's as accurate as I can get it without researching, but I don't remember who said it. 
Probably a Roman complaining the language had gone to hell since all the foreigners moved in.

Happy day everyone, you say you!

Memories of Marigold as long as we're reminiscing. This was her last night, age 16. 





44 comments:

  1. Your quiche and red chile oil are strange bedfellows. The quiche looks scrumptious, the chile oil frightening (my Mike would love it). All our quiches and pies are crustless.

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    1. Not a spice fan? The chili oil is a great way of heating up the oil with flavor so that when you use it, the seasoning is already there.
      I really bless the day I learned about crustfree, because the crust is the part I don't like.

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  2. Dratted computer! As I was saying before it so rudely interrupted, thanks for the reminiscences. Google Maps shows a great number of ...bys near Great and Little Ayton. I had no idea that ...by, ...thorpe, and ...thwaite were remnant Norse. They sound so British/New Englandish to my American ears. Thank you also for the photo of the Late, Great Marigold.
    Chris from Boise

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    1. Yes, those supposedly very English names are often Viking with Norman French added in later.

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  3. That looks tasty! Tahini is made from sesame seeds isn't it?

    It is a loss when dialect and accent disappear. It doesn't feel right

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    1. Yes, Will sometimes refers to them as sesame seeds, sometimes as tahini seeds, same thing. I avoid them because there's a sweetish flavor I don't go for. I used caraway seeds this time, surprisingly good.

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  4. I found it so interesting that the northern town Alnwick, where the rich, famous and royals used to stop off when travelling to Scotland by train, is pronounced locally as Anick. But now, I can think of many other places with similar distortions, such as Berwick and Creswick, let alone how Beauchamp is pronounced. I'll stop here before I go down rabbit holes.

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    1. I wouldn't call them distortions. They're the local language. It's what happens over time and use.

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  5. I'm a fan of crustless quiche, especially recipes that don't need cream which we don't often have in the house. Quick and easy and delicious

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    1. I don't think I've ever used cream. Mine is mainly eggs and cheese. The tofu gave it nice body so I'll do that again.

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  6. Marigold was a beauty. I hope you have sweet memories. I enjoyed this stroll down language memory lane. Fascinating how connected our language is with the long past.

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    1. She was so faithful to Handsome Partner in his last years, literally on or near him all the time, like a feline nurse.
      Language from a country with centuries of population movement is particularly rich, interesting to study.

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  7. What a wonderful way to have food. Love me some spice too. Just a delight.

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  8. Your ability to improvise in the kitchen is so impressive. I wonder if we plopped out younger selves into 2026 what words and expressions would be problematic.

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  9. Traces of Viking language -- interesting!

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  10. So interesting about the Viking influence. They didn’t stay in Newfoundland long enough to have influence over the aboriginal people there. To our knowledge anyway.

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    1. It was a long way to go to carry out raiding! They kept on showing up in Yorkshire. It was a good commute.

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  11. Language evolves. Chaucer would not understand us, nor we him.

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  12. Your chili oil has much in common with the chili crisp I make. The seeds and spices are left in the oil for the crisp and become part of the whole textural experience. Does that make sense? I love it. And infinitely adaptable.
    Here I suppose instead of Roman or Norse word origins for places we sometimes have indigenous words and names. "Tallahassee" being one example. And of course we use words and phrases associated with many other cultures which have found their way here. Language is fluid, isn't it? Changing and taking the shape of where it is taken.

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    1. With the chili oil you can choose whether to keep the solids in the oil. I keep the cinnamon stick and peppers but strain out the other seeds and spices.
      When you change countries you have to adapt your language usage to be understood. Total immersion.

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  13. I had read many years ago that Ireland had been invaded and ruled by Vikings long ago. It makes sense Northern England had Vikings, too.
    She was a beautiful cat.

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    1. Yes, they got around. Marigold seen here was old and sick, ready to. She was even lovelier in her prime, beautiful fur.

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  14. I didn't realize those suffixes were from the Vikings. We have a Mayerthorpe north of Edmonton. I'm teaching Jack about what a strange language English is because of all the influences on it over the years. So much spelling doesn't make sense until you look back in history and discover why things were spelled the way they were. Bloody Vikings with their red hair and orange cats:)
    In Quebec they speak French but they speak a very old type of French because they were cut off from France so many years ago. And like all languages Quebecois has continued to evolve but differently than Parisian French. Tabernac!

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    1. I wonder if that name was given by English arrivals. Or maybe Northern Irish. My France French was fluent many years ago, but never got a good understanding of the French I encountered in Quebec.

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    2. I just looked it up, the man who named Mayerthorpe was English and his last name was Mayer.

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  15. Interesting to learn of Norse word influence, especially since I haven't been around much of Norse influence in my short (ha ha) life. Loved seeing your sweet Marigold - a great name! I'm a fan of crustless quiche, and usually steam my spinach first, so am glad to see it can be cooked raw in the quiche. I may try the tofu as well next time I mix one up!

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    1. I rarely precook spinach because it wilts down fast enough to cook when you add it raw. I use it in soup that way -- just add it to the bowl before serving.

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  16. I am feeling a little better today so think I am turning the corner on this flu. Hooray.
    We have many family phrases carried over from when I was young and new ones created by my own kids. We always have a chuckle when we stop to remember them all.

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    1. Those family ones are so baffling to outsiders, too! I'm glad you're starting to do better.

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  17. First I love the way you made that crustless quiche. Wonderful. I use the chili oil often. Very interesting about the Norse words. Thank you for that information.

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    1. The quiche is pretty easy to do. I don't know why I don't cook it more often. You'll probably start noticing Norse more now that you're alerted.

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  18. Gorgeous girl your Marigold...

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    1. She was lovely. A sealpoint Burmese kitten, dumped, and I found her wandering about the paths outside the building, filthy and sick, so we fixed her right up. She never had to go through that again.

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  19. Awww, Marigold!

    Linguistic changes are fascinating, even though it's sometimes sad to see old pronunciations, spellings or meanings fall away over time.

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    1. Yes, it's one thing to theorize, another to experience that loss in action.

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  20. Visiting Northern Ireland we were told how the places were originally named by the Vikings. It was fascinating
    Your kitty looks a lot like the one I had. He was a Himalayan. All white except for the apricot colour of his ears and nose.
    Hubby bought him for me after my brother passed.
    The kids were little as well. He lived to just over fifteen. When he went we all
    Cried.

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    1. That's a great age for a Himalayan. They have nice temperaments.

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  21. Quiche is a favourite here too. A hint (that you probably already know!) - cook it in muffin tins and then you can freeze it in ready-to-eat portions. We do that and then they're easy to grab for a quick breakfast, lunch or supper.

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    1. I love the ready quiche for any meal. I don't know why I don't make it more often. Particularly now I know tofu works fine in it.

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