Spinach quiche and (bonus!) an Old-Fashioned

Neville has been complaining that he can't cook curtains, so we're back with food this time! Maybe it's the French major in me, but I have always loved a good quiche. Served with greens drizzled in balsamic vinaigrette, it is a surprisingly filling meal. One of the coffeeshops in Westfield, New Jersey, where I went to high school, has a different type of quiche every day, which I would often get for lunch as long as it didn't contain asparagus. When I lived in Aix-en-Provence last summer, I would often grab a tartelette aux épinards for a quick lunch in town. My spinach quiche still brings back memories of strolling through downtown Aix with my friends, getting fresh peaches at the market and speaking nothing but French.

Lavender fields from Haute-Provence to get you in a French mood

I started developing this recipe when I was living on $11 a day in Richmond for my poverty minor. It is quick, easy and incredibly forgiving. If you go with a pre-made crust, you can get it in the oven in less than half an hour. It calls for yogurt instead of sour cream, so it's very good for you but still has that nice tartness in the center. I use plain, fat-free yogurt; vanilla has a lot of extra sweetener added, which could throw off the flavors. The recipe is super-flexible: you can add just about whatever vegetables you feel like to it. I saw a beautiful quiche on Pinterest that had sliced tomatoes on top. When I get to it, I'm going to experiment with a quiche Lorraine (ham and cheese) like my host mom made in France, but I think that would call for nicer cheese. If you're adding a lot more stuff, cut out an egg or two so the crust doesn't overflow.

The quiches I made tonight were a little different. Andrew asked me not to use onion this time (dislike of onion is his only flaw, I promise), so I used these cute mini-tart pans to make six mini-quiches. Three had onion, three didn't. The extras will be great for lunch the next couple of days! I kept the whole process separate but equal, so his portions wouldn't be tainted with delicious sauteed onion. However, this is the regular recipe. If you're making it with the two regular crusts, I would freeze one for later once it's partially baked. As my family likes to say, it's money in the bank.

Spinach Quiche
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Prick your crust (1 deep-dish unbaked pie crust, 2 regular crusts or 6 mini-tarts) with a fork and bake for 5 minutes.

Thaw 10 oz frozen chopped spinach by running water over it in a colander or microwaving it. Squeeze out as much excess water as you can. Meanwhile, chop one small onion and 3 cloves of garlic, and sautee them in a little olive oil. Add spinach and cook until dry. Make sure to break up any clumps. If you're adding other vegetables that want to be precooked, toss them in with the spinach.

Here we have one wife working two skillets for one onion-averse husband

Beat together 5 eggs, 1 cup plain yogurt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Stir in 4 ounces shredded cheddar cheese and the spinach mixture. Pour into the pie crust.

Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Then decrease the temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 30 more minutes. Let cool before serving.

The cheese makes a delicious golden topping...

As I said above, normally I use a pie crust from the grocery store, but I was inspired to make my own for almost literally the first time ever. Fans may recall from my first post that I made pie crust by hand in home ec in eighth grade. It was unpleasant, and the ensuing apple pie was nowhere as good as ones I have made following my grandmama's recipe--with storebought crust. (My family has a thing about apple pie, but this is not the time.) Anyway, my experience with the chocolate tart and my food processor taught me that pie dough does not have to be terrifying. So I tested out this recipe, which was given to me by my BFF, bridesmaid and notorious pie lover, Eleanor! This made more dough than I needed for my mini-pans, so I will be creating a pie sometime soon...

Look how cute they are!

Pie dough from Eleanor
Mix together 4 cups flour, 1 tablespoon sugar and 2 teaspoons salt. Cut in 1 3/4 cups shortening or butter. Separately, mix 1 tablespoon vinegar, 1 large egg and 1/2 cup cold water. Add this mixture to the flour and shortening. Chill. Roll into desired shapes. May be frozen. Makes enough for 1 and a half pies.

Finally, I have a bonus recipe that comes from my very tall husband. We procured bitters this afternoon and he made my new favorite drink for me! I first tried it at the Southern Inn in Lexington after graduation. Tonight, it helped motivate me while I quiched. This old-fashioned is pictured next to a scarf-in-progress with the Trident, the symbol of W&L, knitted into it. Andrew has so many talents!

Andrew's Old-fashioneds
Put 2 maraschino cherries and a slice of orange in the bottom of a glass. (An old-fashioned glass is best, but do we need to say it?) Add 1 teaspoon sugar and a splash of club soda. Muddle everything together into a paste. Add 2 ounces of bourbon. Mix together and add several ice cubes.