Cranberry Almond Osgood Pie

I was left with some of the pie dough from the quiche I made some time ago and I really really wanted to make a real pie and since none of the apple pie recipes I found caught my attention, I decided on an "osgood pie" I made twice last year. Why Osgood? Well, that's because it's OH-SO-GOOD... According to one explanation anyway.

And it's true. This pie is good, slightly sour and substituted dried cherries with dried cranberries and altered the recipe slightly. Since the pie dough part is the same as for the quiche, I've just copied it.

At the Gates of Loyang

The first time I saw At the Gates of Loyang was when I was still in Barcelona, it was sitting on a shelf in a games shop. The box’s crimson colour caught my eye and I recognized the art as similar to Agricola’s. Agricola is one of my favourite games that even my parents like to play too. So I imagined that Loyang, a game by the same designer – Uwe Rosenberg, might be similar in terms of enjoyment and complexity. It even uses one of the principles of Agricola – sowing and harvesting – “plant one, harvest multiple over time” element of the game which is a really smart concept that makes you think about your future progress.

So, I bought it about a month ago and played it several times since with various people (and even solo once) and I can tell that I’ve had enough time to make up my mind about it. First, even though that the game is practically just one part of Agricola expanded, it is not Agricola-lite by any means. Also, it’s not necessarily faster than Agricola, even if it lasts only for 9 rounds. And, I’m quite sure my parents don’t enjoy it as much as they do the game with sheep, boars and cows.

Sweet Vanilla Quiche

Another French recipe and again it's custardy like the last one. Originally, I set out to make a pie but then I came across this delicious looking, egg-and-milk sweet quiche and I simply couldn't resist.

Now, this was the first time I'd ever made a quiche so I wasn't entirely sure what to do. By the recipe, it seemed like a hybrid of a pie and a cheesecake. The quiche demanded a pie crust which is probably the easiest and most satisfying thing to make with your hands. Seriously, forget food processors and get personal with the dough (a trick that my mom taught me - get the sticky gobs of dough from your fingers with a butter knife). Anyway, since the dough needs to be refrigerated - from 2 hours to overnight - I suggest you plan baking this in advance.