Ahh…. August

Life in France can be a challenge in August.

I've described mon mari's inability to grasp August in the past.

We've learned that one needs to plan ahead for supplies for work planned in the summer.

If one needs to order something, floor tiles from Italy, for example and one hasn't done it by the end of May, one might as well wait until September.

June is too late.

If one orders it in June, it won't be ready for shipping until July which means it won't be ready for delivery until August and everything is closed in August and it can't be delivered so the whole thing is put off until September anyway so one might as well wait.

Follow that?

I made a decision when we got the puppies that I would feed them quality puppy food rather than the supermarket stuff…. Get them off to a good start and all that.

Except premium puppy food is expensive…. about 4 times what the supermarket stuff costs.

I bought one bag and contemplated my options. 

Remember, I have two, very big puppies.

A friend told me about an online store with great prices.

I found the same dog food for 25% less… And, if I ordered 2 bags, and there was no delivery charge.

What a deal!

I ordered 2 bags and they were delivered 4 days later.

Two 15kilo (35lb) bags last us 4 weeks.

The last week in July I ordered 2 more bags.

I foolishly thought it would be delivered, even though it was very close to August.

I was wrong.

We went to the local garden store (which is where one buys premium animal food) and they had a new kind that they said was better than what we had been feeding them, and it was 35% cheaper. 

Hot damn!

Bought a bag and the pups loved it.

Went back two weeks later and the shelves were empty – a common occurence by the middle of August.

Went to two more garden stores before we found anything at all to feed puppies, it was more expensive than the first kind, they only had one small bag, and the pups refused to eat it.

Last week we went to Bergerac in search of puppy food.  We finally found a store that carried the brand we liked….

And they had one bag of the puppy food left.

We should be able to make it until September when all the shelves will be miraculously restocked and life will be back to normal.

Even better, our friend from Spain is coming for a visit in October…. He's bringing us 100 kilos (220 lbs) of his premium dog food made by a big Spanish discount supermarket chain. 

The cost?  25% of what I would have to pay – and it's 25% meat (rather than corn).

Of all the things I thought about when getting the little darlings, the challenge of feeding them was not one I considered.

If only they could just eat quiche.

 
Sausage and Zucchini Quiche

1/2 cup brown rice, quick-cooking
1 cup chicken stock to yield 1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
3/4 cup (3oz, 90gr) shredded cheese, total  Colby or Cheddar 
4 eggs, total
1 tsp olive oil
6oz (180gr) sausage
1 medium zucchini (courgette)
2 tomatoes, thinly sliced 
2 tbs fresh oregano leaves
1/4 (2oz, 60ml) cup Greek yogurt 
3/4 (6oz, 180ml) cup milk 
olive oil

The rice: Cook the rice in stock. If doing in advance, refrigerate until needed. If doing now, spread the rice on a plate to cool for 5 minutes before making crust. 

The crust: Lightly whisk 1 egg. Mix cooked rice, 1/4 cup cheese and egg. Pat into a lightly oiled quiche or 10" (25cm) pie plate, working it up the sides a bit for the edges. Bake in 400F (200C) oven for 10 minutes.

The filling: Slice zucchini into 1/4" (.5cm) rounds.  Heat 1 tsp olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add zucchini slices and sauté until transparent and tender. Remove to a plate. Add sausages and sauté until cooked through, breaking it up as it cooks.
Whisk 3 eggs, yogurt and milk together. 

To assemble: When crust is done, remove from oven. Spread zucchini slices evenly over crust in a single layer. Spread sausage on top.  Sprinkl oregano over sausage, top with tomatoes and sprinkle with 1/2 cup cheese. Pour egg mixture over all. Bake, 30 minutes, 400F (200C). Remove from oven and let rest 5 minutes before cutting.

Quiche is done when center no longer 'jiggles' – it doesn't need to be solid but should be fairly firm. 
Note: I usually put the quiche dish on a baking sheet to make it easier to handle – it gets kind of full.

Right now a storm is coming in – gotta run, find the puppies and disconnect the internet!

I'm so glad August is almost over…..