Quiche of Greens

So far, the first 2 weeks of the CSA have been fun. Week 1 was really just a warm-up for what week 2 had to offer...after about 4 hours of sorting, having a veggie "photo shoot", cleaning and figuring out exactly where these chock full o' vitamin-goodies would live (fridge AND cooler on back porch, and that's after I divided the share for our CSA Buddies), I finally had it under control. However, I'm beginning to feel the pressure of locating/devising enough new recipes to use everything up and to make sure we won't be turning green after the week's end.

While I'm busy reading more cookbooks and hunting the interweb, here is a tasty quiche recipe, adapted from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook (1990 Paperback version), that I used to produce two glorious quiches. One has been devoured, the other is in the freezer.
Confession: I cheated. I used a pre-made crust. But next time, It's all from scratch, baby.

Quiche of Greens

by Nic. (adapted from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, 1990)
Makes 1 Quiche. I doubled the recipe and then poured into two shells...

Preheat oven to 425degrees.

You'll need:

• 1 pre-made OR partially baked pie crust (you're on your own for the "from scratch" version for now)
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups whole milk (recipe calls for light cream. i felt less guilty using whole milk, or a combo of half and half and 1%. it still sets well, and comes out light and fluffy.)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• Pinch of cayenne pepper ( I like to live on the edge, so i sprinkle till it looks like it's enough, and so far, so good)
• 1/2 cup of cheese, grated (I used a combo of jarlsberg and parmesan. i'm a fan of mix and match.)
• 1 cup of chopped and cooked greens*

Sprinkle cheese evenly on bottom of crust. Combine eggs, milk, salt, nutmeg and cayenne in a large bowl, and whisk thoroughly. Add your cooked, DRAINED, greens to the mixture and stir. Pour into pie crust. (Your filling will come right to the top of the crust.)

Bake quiche for 15 minutes. Then, turn down the heat to 350 degrees, and bake 30 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. (Or, look for the center of the custard filling to be set, and the crust a golden brown).

Remove from oven and if you're planning on storing for a later use, let quiche cool completely before refridgerating. My suggestion for freezing is to wrap the quiche in plastic wrap, then either wrap again in aluminum foil or place in a freezer bag.

*Greens I've used are spinach, bok choy, tatsoi, mustard greens, komatsuna (a japanese mustard spinach), and mizuna. Heat up a little olive oil or butter, if you're feeling decadent, toss in some scallions from your CSA and an onion, sliced, and saute your greens. Use a combo or keep it simple. I measure my 1 cup of greens after they cook down. And I'm generous...so really, just throw in 2 cups of greens.

Tip 1: I like to put my pre-made pie crust and it's little tin in a pie dish. The dish catches any accidental overflow and makes it look more presentable for the table.

Tip 2: If you or someone you know is of the belief that "real men don't eat quiche", cook up some bacon (I dunno, 5-10 pieces?) crumble it up, and add it to the mix. Done and done.

Tip 3: Quiche is tasty hot or cold, and can be served for breakfast, lunch or dinner. What's better than to serve it with a salad of....greens!