I’ll take quiche over slush, thanks.

I apologize for the lack of recipes lately! What with returning to Salem and starting classes again, I’ve been rather busy. And lazy, haha. BUT. Fear not, hopefully things will start returning to normal! This semester is brimming with potential recipes to be tried and eaten (I just have to figure out what they are, haha). I fully intend to eat extremely well this semester, and graduate with full gastronomic satisfaction.

The weather in Salem has been rather ridiculous… we’ve had snow and some nasty slush that makes walking around a tad wet. I believe the weather gods have temporarily decided on rain, but you never know around here. Today on my way to class, it decided to snow heavily, except not stick. So it turned into nasty slush which got me and my feet soaked. Which I’m normally okay with, except that by the time I’d dried out, it was time to walk back from class. Mrrrggg. I’d be quite happy with snow, as long as it was somewhere I could ski on it! Are you listening, weather gods?! Send the snow to the mountains, and some rain to California. It’s a bit dry there at the moment… mmk? Good. I’m glad you’re listening.

Anyway. Quiche seems like a good way to combat the cold and ridiculousness of this weather… it’s warm, quick, and comforting. I tried this recipe out at home, and loved it, so as soon as I got back, Kira and I made our own version. It’s made excellent leftovers for the last few days as well. This recipe is great, as it’s very flexible, and is good for you :) Lots of veggies and good eggy protein. It comes together quickly as well, which is a perk when you’ve spent the last hour grocery shopping in snow/sleet/slush/rain/cold (would that be sneet? Or slain? or just ridiculous). Yum.

Pesto-Veggie Quiche with an Oatmeal Crust

Adapted from (Neverhome)Maker, here! Makes one 9″ quiche.

*Update from Feb. 20th: I made this the other day with no onion, lots of baby broccoli and spinach + bell pepper, and 1/3 c parmesan + 1/3 c goat cheese. It is AMAZING. I like this combo possibly better than the one posted below, but really where I’m going with this is that this quiche is incredibly adaptable to whatever is in your fridge!

Preheat the oven to 400, and lightly grease a 9″ pie pan.

For the crust:

• 3/4 c rolled oats
• 1/2 c whole wheat pastry flour
• pinch of salt
• 3 tbsp Earth Balance
• 3 tbsp of your milk of preference (I’ve done it once with soy and once with 1% milk, and both worked fine)

For the quiche:

• 3 whole eggs
• 3 egg whites
• 1 heaping tbsp grainy mustard
• ground pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp milk of choice
• 2 tbsp basil pesto (I like Trader Joe’s!)
• 1/2 a large onion, sliced
• 1/2 a good-sized red pepper (or a whole, depending on your preference)
• a handful of mushrooms, sliced
• a handful of fresh spinach
• 2/3 c Parmesan, grated

In a food processor, pulse oats, salt, and flour until combined. Pulse in butter, until it gets crumbly, then add milk. The dough should form into a rough ball. Take the dough out, and roll it out between two sheets of wax paper. It should be relatively thin. Press it into the pie dish, evening out the edges and making a nice top edge. Bake in preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes, and then set aside. Lower the oven temperature to 350.

While the crust is baking, heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Saute the onion, until translucent, then add mushrooms and pepper. Cook until slightly soft, about 10 minutes total.

In a bowl, whisk together eggs, egg whites, ground pepper, mustard, pesto, and milk of choice. Sprinkle the grated Parmesan over the bottom of the prebaked crust, and then dump in veggies and onion. Pour the egg mixture over the top of all this. Pop into your preheated oven, and bake for 35 minutes, or until lightly browned and set!

This is particularly good with toasted apple-crunch bread, courtesy of the local bakery and your nice apartment management’s Christmas gift. As Kira said, “It’s like they know us, or something!” (Breadaholics. At least we embrace it!)