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eggs

Breakfast Farmer's Market Freezer Meals Lunch Recipes

Squash Blossom Quiche

written by Ali

I planted one summer squash plant this year for one purpose alone: to have access to squash blossoms for this squash blossom quiche. Squash blossoms seem like they have become a thing, like kale and bacon. I suspect I was first introduced to the fact you could eat squash blossoms through reading Martha Stewart’s magazine, but I think the first time I actually tried one was at a coastal restaurant that served them stuffed with shrimp and cheese and deep fried them. At the same time, we had a farmer at our local market that would come to market each weekend with trays and trays of both baby zucchini and squash blossoms, so I decided to experiment and see what I could make of them.

The simplest preparation for these that I cook is to throw several into a quesadilla. The blossoms add a mildly peppery taste. The most complex preparation that I cook with these is this quiche. I really like the combination of egg and blossom, and this is a recipe that freezes up nicely, so is great for lunch with a simple salad to accompany it. It also makes a great weekend brunch recipe.

Squash Blossom Quiche
Serves 4

4 small potatoes (or 1 large)
1 tablespoon olive oil
5 eggs
1 cup milk
½ cup Swiss cheese (or other mild cheese)
1 teaspoon salt
Pinch freshly ground black pepper
4 or 5 squash blossoms, stamens removed

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Slice the potatoes to ¼ inch thickness. Layer them on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper and drizzle with the olive oil. Bake for 25 minutes or until both sides are slightly crispy.

Drop the temperature on the oven to 375 degrees. In a medium sized bowl, combine the eggs and milk and beat until combined. Add the Swiss cheese, salt and black pepper and stir until combined.

In a non-stick cake pan or pie pan, layer the potato rounds so that they overlap a bit and cover the bottom of the pan. Gently pour the egg, milk, and cheese mixture over the potatoes. The potatoes may float – they’ll settle into the bottom as the quiche cooks. Lay the squash blossoms on top. Bake for 40 – 50 minutes or until the egg is fully set (check for doneness by inserting a knife or toothpick into the middle of the quiche – if it comes out clean, the quiche is done).

August 4, 2016 0 comment

Breakfast

Spicy Sunday Frittata

written by Ali

This is the first weekend in over a month that we’ve been able to enjoy a lazy Sunday morning and actually cook brunch. It’s been so, so very nice. The whole weekend has had a leisurely air to it, starting with a mid-morning trip to the farmers market yesterday. It’s the season for lots of spring green vegetables – particularly my favorites of broccolini, rapini, and asparagus. I also discovered a chorizo vendor: we bought a pound of the spiciest green chili chorizo that they had. Half of it went into a brunch frittata and half of it will go into something else – we haven’t figured that part out yet.

Spicy Frittata
Serves 4

½ pound chorizo
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, diced
1 bunch broccolini, finely chopped, florets and stems separated
6 eggs
¼ cup milk or heavy cream
¼ cup salsa
¼ cup Monterey jack cheese, shredded

Preheat the broiler.

Sauté the chorizo in an oven-safe non-stick or cast iron pan until it’s browned.

Add the olive oil, the onions, garlic and chopped stems of the broccolini and cook until soft. Add the florets from the broccolini and cook for 3 more minutes.

Combine the eggs and milk/heavy cream and mix with a fork until fluffy.

Remove the chorizo and vegetable mix from the pan and set aside. Pour enough of the egg mixture on the bottom of the pan to cover the pan. Let this set, then spread the chorizo and vegetable mixture over this layer. Pour the remainder of the egg mixture over the vegetables and then put the frittata into the oven. Broil until set and top is lightly brown. Pull out the frittata and spread the salsa over the top and sprinkle with grated cheese. Put back under the broiler until the cheese is melted. Pull out and let the frittata sit for 5 minutes to rest.

May 1, 2016 0 comment

Breakfast Farmer's Market Freezer Meals Lunch Recipes Vegetarian

Morel and Asparagus Quiche

written by Ali

Morels are one of those ingredients that are a harbinger of spring for me. I first found morels at the farmer’s market three years ago. I’d heard about them, certainly, prior to that – morel recipes would often pop up in my Pinterest feed. But morels are not something the grocery stores in the areas I’ve lived carry and the first several years I went to the farmer’s market and encountered morels, I wasn’t quite brave enough to figure out what to do with them.

My first morel experience was daunting. There’s much conflicting information regarding how, exactly, to treat morels – to soak or not to soak, to wash or not to wash, and so on. What’s consistent is that morels need to be well cooked, otherwise they can be toxic. What’s also consistent is that morels are products of the wild – and such, they often come with bits of forest still attached to them: a pine needle here and there, an itty bitty white worm or two. What I’ve landed on is this: a few hours in salty water doesn’t seem to hurt them and seems to reduce the number of itty bitty white worms that wriggle their way out in the frying pan. Also, white worms are just protein – and morels are tasty enough not to worry about it too much. My favorite preparation of morels is sautéed in a lot of butter and served on a burger with bacon. Since I didn’t have time for burger or bacon this weekend, I think that a quiche with morels and asparagus will do.

Morel and Asparagus Quiche
Serves 4-6

¼ pound morel mushrooms, soaked for 2 – 3 hours in salt water, then chopped
2 cups chopped (2 inch or so pieces) asparagus
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup milk
5 eggs
½ cup shredded cheese (I used a combination of parmesan and mozzarella)
1 teaspoon salt
A few grinds of fresh pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Melt the butter in a non-stick pan. Add morels and sauté until they are soft. Add water as needed if they start to stick. When morels are soft, add the asparagus and sauté for another five minutes or until the asparagus has softened.

While the morels and asparagus cook, measure out the milk in a bowl or large measuring cup. Add the eggs and beat until smooth. Add the cheese, salt, and pepper and combine.

Put the morels and asparagus in a well-oiled baking pan (a glass 8×8 dish works well). Pour the egg, milk and cheese over the vegetables.

Bake the quiche for 35-40 minutes or until set. A knife inserted in the middle will come out clean when it is set.

This freezes well, so makes a good lunch meal.

April 19, 2016 0 comment

Farmer's Market Lunch Recipes Salad

Roasted Asparagus and Egg Salad

written by Ali

I have an obsession with chickens. I blame my formative years of watching The Muppet Show and being particularly fond of Gonzo and his chickens. Someday, when I’m landed in one spot that allows for urban hens, I’m determined to have my own chicken flock. For the time being, however, in a rural agricultural area, it’s easy enough to have conversations with others at work that have, or have had, rural or urban livestock. I was fortunate at my past job to have a co-worker who raises hens and also has guinea fowl. I had the chance to hear many stories about her flock, including quite a few stories about the guinea rooster who has a propensity for chasing after the chickens. I don’t think it’s a guinea rooster who is going to be long for this world because of his bullying behavior, in fact. The guinea hens, however, are apparently champion layers. One day a few weeks ago, my co-worker offered to bring me a dozen guinea hen eggs, and of course, I accepted.

Guinea hen eggs are smaller than chicken eggs and a bit pointier on one end. As I did some research to figure out what to do with these, I learned that one major difference between guinea hen eggs and chicken eggs is that the former are have much thicker shells, so can be tougher to crack. The actual eggs are described as having a deeper yellow yolk and as being creamier and more egg-y than chicken eggs.

I’m not sure why there is something a bit strange to me about eating an egg that didn’t come from a chicken. I’ve passed up duck eggs and geese eggs at the farmers market before, but I think I’m a convert now for non-chicken eggs. The guinea hen eggs are spectacular – the yolks are golden, and I think I may use the seven eggs I have left and make some homemade pasta with them. As is, they boiled up beautifully. Indeed, the only challenge was that I had to really whack them to break up the sh

ells – the shells are so thick!

This salad could definitely be made with hard-boiled chicken eggs as well. If you happen to have access to a different kind of bird egg, though, I encourage you to try them.

Roasted Asparagus and Egg Salad
Serves 2

4 hard boiled eggs, peeled
½ bunch asparagus, ends trimmed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread the asparagus in a single layer on the sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt. Bake for 10 minutes and then flip the asparagus. Bake for another 10 -15 minutes, until asparagus is a bit crisped and soft. Plate with the hard boiled eggs on top and drizzle with lemony avocado dressing.

Lemony Avocado Dressing
Juice from ½ lemon
½ avocado
2 tablespoons olive oil

Combine all ingredients in a blender. Add a bit of water or more olive oil if the dressing is too thick.

February 18, 2016 0 comment

Lunch Recipes Salad

Not a Niçoise Salad

written by Ali

This week, I had a serious craving for a robust salad for my lunch. I also wanted smoked salmon, but then became enticed by a smoked trout I found at our local grocery. I’m a fan of a mix of interesting vegetables in a salad and had created what I thought was a Niçoise salad last summer, complete with roasted potatoes, salty kalamata olives, and blanched baby green beans. After doing some research today, I learned that this isn’t strictly a Niçoise salad. So I’ll own up to it not being such a thing and let it stand on its own for just being a great lunch salad.

The smoked trout was a bit too teriyaki-tasting for me and clashed a bit with the pesto dressing. I think either canned tuna or baked salmon would have been a better choice, so have included those as options here

Pesto Lemon Dressing
Easily dresses 3 salads

3 tablespoons pesto
¼ cup olive oil
Juice from a small lemon
½ teaspoon salt
A few grinds of fresh pepper

Combine all ingredients in a small jar, cover with a tight lid, and shake vigorously.

Not a Niçoise Salad
Serves 3

3 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and cut in half
1 package smoked steelhead trout, smoked salmon, or one can canned tuna, or a small fillet of baked salmon
One head endive
One small head romaine lettuce
5 or 6 radishes, sliced
½ cup kalamata olives
1 can quartered artichoke hearts
6 or 7 baby potatoes, quartered and roasted (see below)
Drizzle the baby potatoes with 2 teaspoons of olive oil and roast in an oven at 400 degrees for thirty minutes, stirring half way through.

Divide ingredients among three plates or containers. Dress with the pesto lemon dressing.

January 19, 2016 0 comment

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