Summer Vegetable Quiche

“Shall I not have intelligence with the earth?
Am I not partly leaves and vegetable mould myself.”
— Henry David Thoreau

Basil tickles the senses like no other herb that I know.  Ripe heirloom tomatoes🍅 with a bit of lemon flake sea salt 🍋 makes my mouth water thinking about it in our grey weather 🌁 today in Seattle.  Sizzling  zucchini fresh from the CSA box  burps and spits at me in the sauté pan. This quiche is about engaging your senses and using up those summer vegetables that are starting to overtake your garden or your fridge.

The taste of summer☀️ lingers with every bit of this quiche; whether the vegetables🍆🍅🌽 come from your garden or the farmer's market around the corner. You are going to want to make this over and over even though the last days of summer are upon us. I say that and AUGUST has just begun. So get started now!  Go out and pick those veggies or get on your bike and head over to the market. You won't regret making this delectable summer quiche. I am thinking your sweetie or your friends whoever you decide to share this quiche with will be pounding on your door soon asking if they can stay the night and eat breakfast at your table. 😉

Ingredients:

  • Quiche crust
  • 6-8 large eggs
  • 4 large tablespoons sour cream or creme fraiche
  • 2 zucchini
  • 1 yellow or striped squash
  • 2-3 ripe red or yellow tomatoes
  • 4 cloves of chopped garlic
  • 1/4 cup of chopped kalamata greek olives
  • 5-10 basil leaves chopped
  • 1/2 cup grated parmigiano reggiano
  • 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
  • Kosher salt
  • Ground black pepper

Step 1:

Make quiche/tart crust or buy a premade from the store.

Step 2:

Slice zucchini and squash 1/8 inch thick and place on baking sheet. Toss kosher salt over each piece and let sit for 45 minutes. This allows the water to be removed from the vegetables.

Step 3:

Slice tomatoes 1/8 inch thick, place in colander and cover lightly with kosher salt for 30 minutes. This will season them up and allow for drainage of excess water.

Step 4:

While waiting for crust and vegetables, chop the garlic, olives and basil. Grate the parmigiano.

Step 5:

Preheat oven to 425 F/200 C. Then remove crust from refrigerator after one hour and prepare

Step 6:

While crust is cooking, rinse zucchini and squash of salt and pat thoroughly dry. This step is very important! After patting dry the zucchini and squash, heat a small amount 2 tablespoons of olive oil in pan and saute in batches if needed zucchini and squash. Do not overcrowd the pan with vegetables. Cooking only to allow vegetables to become slightly, but not completely tender. Be careful not to overcook them.

Step 7:

Blend eggs and sour cream until light yellow in color. Do not add salt or pepper to mixture at this time.

Step 8:

After removing pre-baked crust from oven. Begin layering process with vegetables into the crust. Place zucchini alternating with squash one layer on the bottom of the crust. Next place drained tomatoes over layer of zucchini/squash. Then sprinkle a layer of chopped garlic,olives and basil over tomatoes. Sprinkle parmigiano over this layer. Continue this pattern until all vegetables have been used.

Step 9:

Next pour egg mixture to cover all of vegetables and reaches the peak of the crust. If not enough egg mixture do to the size of the pan; mix another egg and sour cream until crust is filled with mixture. Cover egg mixture with the parmigiano making sure it is completely covered with cheese.

Step 10:

Place in oven for 25-30 minutes or until knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Bon Appétit!

Tips:

  • Purchasing parmigiano pre-grated can decrease time in the kitchen but make sure to avoid the finely grated, powdery stuff.
  • Please DON'T put Tomatoes in your refrigerator- it is sacrilege and the ruins the flavor!
  • Trader Joe's carries kalamata olives for a reasonable price.
  • Think local and find your vegetables in your area.
  • CSA box way to use up veggies
  • You might want to buy a few extra tomatoes if using heirlooms as they will probably get eaten before you have a chance to put them in your quiche.
  • Basil grows like a weed; think about planting your own.
  • Want a complete meal? Add a green salad with a homemade vinaigrette like the French.

Pairing:

A nice glass of chilled Prosecco pairs nicely with this summer quiche. Not savvy to Prosecco? Check out this site.

Pie Pie Pie

“A woman cannot ever be sure of not being married till she is buried, Mrs. Doctor, dear, and meanwhile I will make a batch of cherry pies.”
— L.M. Montgomery

My Artisan Cherry Pie made in class with  A La Mode

All of my pie experience stems from eating Pie.  Specifically pie that comes from handmade goodness.  Sour cherry season being around the corner and having attempted my own version of a sour cherry pie in the past I decided to find some experts in the business and bump up my game so to speak.  Besides who doesn't like eating pie on a weeknight because you have too.

Pie tastings are fantastic and filling.  Who needs dinner?

 Watching the master Baker/Owner Chris show the small class of six hands techniques, all the while making pie jokes, made for an evening of amusement.  

Three pie choices to choose from to make that night included:

  • Star Sour Cherry (my choice obviously)
  • Toasted Coconut Creme
  • French Apple

Thanks to our class not being all completely similar in choices the opportunity to watch, try and taste all three made for a more instructive class.  

Crust was pushed, cut, smooshed, par-baked, rolled, baked, and I promise I didn't look in a thesaurus under pie crust;) The final destination:  three different kinds of pie.

Sour Cherry has a traditional crust and rather than criss-cross with lattice work I used the pre-cut dough stars that had been made by the staff at A la Mode.  My rolling pin got to work it's magic though to flatten and roll a piece of dough into a circle and slowly ply it's way over the roller and into the pie dish.  (As a side note I brought my own pretty pie pan and roller which Chris was happy to see!)

Star Cherry Pie in the process at A La Mode

Flour was flying while we rolled out the cherry pie dough but not so with the French apple pie.

 A simple mush and push kind of dough, Chris said "it's a great first time pie baker's kind of pie!"  No rolling needed just fingertips and love.  

The apples fill the pie but not as high as  a traditional "Mountain Apple Pie" so called for the mountain look they invoke. (In case that wasn't obvious;)  The star of the French Apple however is the crumble.  It's the messy pie that delivers a big punch of flavors.

Chris-Owner and Instructor of the Pie Class at A La Mode

Chris-Owner and Instructor of the Pie Class at A La Mode

Toasted Coconut Creme Pie had me a little leary as cream pies don't tend to be my favorite but the ease of cracking eggs and cooking the "custard" as well as the many many flavors this pie can become changed my mind.

 The crust is baked and then filled with fresh coconut creme.   All became masters at tasting as the decision was made to add more coconut flavor.  Of course we knew Chris had the final say in the matter:) 

Like Top chef's at work every pie was our masterpiece and as they baked and dripped and bubbled we ate slice after slice of pie.

  • Marionberry
  • Apricot-rasberry
  • chocolate pecan
  • key lime
  • coconut creme 
  • mexican chocolate

The list of tastings was just too long to be able to list all of them but made for tummy explosion kind of night.

Our group included date nighters, Dads and sons, and others like myself to learn a few more tricks to put in my pocket for my future pie baking days ahead.

Would I recommend  taking a class at A la Mode pies in Seattle? Bien sûre! Who wouldn't?  

What food classes have you done?  Want to do? I'm intrigued and wondering if it is in my neck of the woods...ideally closer than the Olympics however;)

Happy pie Making!

I have included only the Star Sour Cherry Pie below as this is the pie I made.  Recipe and Instructions from Chris at A La Mode!

Ingredients for Sour Cherry Pie

Filling

  • 5 cups pitted semi-thawed cherries

  • 1 cup sugar

  • 1/4  cup potato starch

  • 1 tsp almond extract

  • pinch of kosher salt

Crust

  • 2 1/2 cups AP flour
  • 3 tbsp sugar
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 16 tbsp cold butter (2 sticks)
  • 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp cold water

Egg wash

  • 1/2 cup water mixed with  1 beaten egg

Step 1-crust

  • In a food processor combine flour, sugar, salt, and butter.

  • Pulse 4 times

  • Add water

  • Quickly pulse until dough comes together. (Do not over do in mixer- you should see marbling)

  • Wrap in plastic and chill 4 hours or overnight.

Step 2- Filling Procedure

  • Strain semi-thawed cherries if using frozen but fresh come in August at the Ballard Market if you are in the area.  Don't miss it though the life span is usually only 3 weeks!

  • In a large bowl combine, cherries, sugar, starch, almond extract, and salt.  Make sure there are no starch clumps left in the mixture.

  • Add filling to unbaked pie shell that you have rolled out.  Place star cutouts to the top of the pie, sealing the edges well.  Once done, carefully brush with an egg wash, leaving no bare dough.

  • Place on a greased foil-lined baking tray and bake at 350F degrees for 40-50 minutes or until filling is thick and no longer watery. 

Tips

  • Separate eggs by hands if you want yellow and whites
  • Roll out the dough but don't worry about measuring- Artisan is also known as "Handmade"
  • Put foil under the pie on a baking sheet and as if the pie crust starts to brown too quickly tent the foil over the pie from the four corners leaving it open to breathe
  • Creme pies are basically a custard and then you can add the flavors you want...chocolate mint, you name it you've got it.
  • Almond extract and cherry are a pie's best friend

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Happy Pinning and Pie Making!

Coffee and Me

“Don’t ever let anyone tell you that fairy tales aren’t real. I drink a potion made from magic beans every day, and it brings me back to life.”
— Nanea Hoffman

I like coffee.

No, I love coffee.

I purchased recently some pj's from Target that said  "Late Nights. Black Coffee."  Only coffee addicts do that, right?

I tried once to go a whole month without drinking the black stuff and didn't make it.  Big Surprise.

Mindless coffee drinking, rings on the desk and morning rituals, make me think I am working hard at something even when I am mindlessly drifting through Pinterest in search of that super cute mug. I'm working, I'm working right? I have coffee, a computer and a desk doesn't that mean I am in a profound state of activity?  

Maybe not, but I like to believe that's what it means.

 Functioning is one thing with a cup of joe by your side but experiencing that black aroma in your nostrils, the dirt trodden terroir of freshly roasted beans or the heating and science of what is the best method for those little cracked seeds of noir has me intrigued.  

 Being that multiple brewing methods are everywhere in Seattle makes it easy to dwell upon coffee preparation.  You've got:

  • pour over
  • french press
  • aeropress
  • espresso
  • drip
  • chemex
  • siphon
  • etc. etc....

I promise I am not exaggerating.

 This list does not touch upon the myriads of coffee connoisseurs methods of brewing, extracting, producing, or whatever you want to call it ways of having that black morning cup or afternoon hit.  

 Discovering the siphon method was not new for me, Blue Bottle has had it whipped for years as do others, but the Starbucks Reserve Roastery does things just a little bit different as the guy behind the pots of glass will inform you.  I was there for the show and learned some scientific stuff along the way.  Do you know why they use halogen heating and not real fire?  Basically they don't want to burn down the building that had to have cost more than as the saying goes a pretty penny. It was an interesting show and made for fantastic photos, but the real question is: Was it the best coffee I have ever had?

It was good for sure and the price tag $12 for one cup (you read that right) made me inclined to believe it better be, but coffee is also about where you are, what you are doing, and who you are with while you drink it.  The experience isn't just in the method, or the taste it's in the life behind it.  

My home brewed espresso shot on a fog filled wet morning can taste as good as the siphon blowing clay cup of single-origin that I had at Starbucks that day.  But the friend at my side is what made the moment.  We sat, we sipped and we watched the people and pups go by through the large glass windows and my experience was made memorable.  

So I love coffee but I now know it is because I love my memories of coffee whether alone or with others.

 Did you have your Cup o' Joe today?  Who did you enjoy it with and why?  Were you alone if so what memory did you make? What is your best coffee memory?

 I am bringing to the table my French Press, want to share with me?