Give me A Quiche To Build A Dream On And My Imagination Will Thrive Upon That Quiche

The greatest delight the fields and woods minister is the suggestion of an occult relation between man and the vegetable.  I am not alone and unacknowledged.  They nod to me and I to them.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

 If asked to name a perfect, easy to prepare dish for a family brunch, a get together with friends or a fast and easy supper for busy nights like tonight I would have to say quiche. We are expecting company tomorrow so dinner can’t be to complicated or I won’t be able to finish getting the house ready.

Quiche used to be so popular and lately it seems to have fallen out of favor. I’ve tried to update and lighten up the recipe by using only half of the allotted crust and by using mostly 1% milk. I’ve chosen to prepare a veggie cheese quiche tonight. I really hate to waste food so, I am using bits and pieces of leftover vegetables and creating a delicious and economical meal.

I cut the ice cold butter before adding it to the flour

THE CRUST

I make my own crust because it’s easy to do and I know and trust the ingredients,

1.1/4 cups flour

1 stick of butter

½ tsp Salt

4-6 tbs Water

That is all, no ingredients you can’t pronounce and it took me all of five minutes to do.

I put the salt and flour in my food processor and pulsed once or twice

Added 1 stick of very cold almost frozen butter, which I cube to help the mixing along

I add the butter to the flour and process till the butter looks pea sized.

I slowly add about 4-6 TBS cold water till the dough forms a ball and then I stop

Don’t over mix.

I divide the dough in two and refrigerate for an hour before I roll it out to the size of the quiche dish.

Notice I’ve made two portions. One to use now and one to freeze for another meal.

I roll our crust thinly, which makes it a bit less caloric and works for us. 

 THE FILLING

1 tsp olive oil

1-cup kale (I sometimes use spinach or broccoli as well)

½ onion

1/4 cup leftover leek (cleaned and sliced)

5 sun-dried tomatoes 
(if packaged in oil~ blot them)

1 roma tomato (diced)

½ cup crumbled feta cheese

¼ cup grated Parmesan

I sauté the vegetables in the oil till softened

I then completely cool them

Whisking the egg mixture

Scramble four eggs

Add

 ¾ cup of 1% milk

¼ cup half and half

¼ tsp cayenne

½ tsp salt

Add the veggies and the cheese

Blind bake the crust for 10-15 minutes till firm but not brown

Remove from oven

Cool for a few minutes

Add the cooled veggies

Add ½ cup feta

¼ cup Parmesan

Gently pour egg mixture over the top

Bake for 30-40 minutes till done

Adding the filling

Total Under $6.00 for a meal with plenty of leftovers

TA-DA

John loved the quiche. We found it to be rich and flavorful despite the thin crust and the use of 1% milk.. He enjoyed the flavor of the sun-dried tomato in the dish and said it turned out to be one of the best he has ever had.