Holding Patterns

At the end of May I'm always just waiting to be able to cook right out of the garden. Some years I've managed to avoid the grocery store, for daily edibles at least, from mid-June through early October. This year we'll have beans, eggplants, tomatoes, green peppers, broccoli, brussels sprouts, corn, snowpeas, greens, carrots, garlic, cukes, pumpkins and squash, as well as raspberries and blackberries, so there are going to be a lot of great meals.

But today the only thing I could harvest was some young radish greens (can't even use the green onions anymore, as the new neighbor is dumping chemicals onto his roses just on the other side of the fence, keeping his roses weed-free but incidentally poisoning my food).

So I chopped up the greens, added some onions and bacon, and added them to this old-faithful quiche, from The Vegetarian Epicure. I use purchased, frozen crusts, but feel free to make your own.


Basic Quiche
3 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups cream or half and half
6 to 8 oz. of gruyere cheese (they say cubed, but I like to grate it for a smoother texture)

Some additional ingredients that I have added to this in the past:
Sauteed chard, bacon and onions, chopped fresh basil or parsley, sun dried tomatoes and feta cheese

Saute the additional ingredient, as appropriate (bacon, ham, onions, greens). Sprinkle them on the bottom of a crust. On top of this, spread the cheese. Now combine the eggs with salt and pepper and beat til frothy. Add the cream and beat again. Pour this mixture over the cheese. Bake for 15 minutes at 450, then turn the heat down to 350 and continue baking another 10 to 15 minutes, or until top is lightly browned and a knife comes out clean.

Let sit until it cools enough to retain its pie shape when cut. This can also be served cold.