Summer Quiche

Last year, I was all about throwing things together in a pot to make risotto. So far this summer, my obsession has been quiches. Quiches aren’t new to me – I’ve been making this Chard Tofu Quiche for years. But for some reason, I’d only think about making a quiche when I had chard I needed to use, which meant I always made the same one over and over again.

This year, I was reading my CSA’s weekly newsletter and saw a recipe for asparagus quiche. Coincidentally, I had a bunch of asparagus in my fridge and many of the ingredients I needed to make a quiche, so I did it! I feel really guilty making an egg-only quiche because of the number of eggs that go in it. Tofu-only quiches don’t hold together as well as they should. So I compromise by using half eggs, half tofu, and it has worked out well.

(quiche with duck eggs, cheddar cheese, spinach, onion,
asparagus, and shiitake mushrooms)

I’m not really big on measuring things or following recipes, so admittedly some of my quiches have been a little too watery or not watery enough (in that case, I end up with veggies at the bottom and a solid tofu-egg mixture at the top). Still, it has been a great way to use up a bunch of whatever is in my box that week, and I’ve been doing quite a few weekly quiches. For reasons I can’t explain, stir-fried vegetables don’t sound like an appropriate breakfast, but vegetables in a quiche are just fine. So it’s a great way to get veggies in three meals a day.

One particularly interesting week, I had a bunch of basil, some grape tomatoes, and a few zucchini. So I shredded the zucchini and made a caprese-inspired quiche, perfect with some aged balsamic vinegar drizzled on top!

(quiche with basil, zucchini, tomato, garlic, cheddar
cheese, and mozzarella cheese)

My extremely approximate quiche recipe

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• Half package extra firm tofu (~7 oz), chopped into 1 inch blocks
• Storebought pie crust
• Shredded cheddar
• Milk
• Assortment of vegetables (spinach, asparagus, tomato, mushrooms, peas, etc.)
• Spices/salt/pepper

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350. Prebake the crust as instructed on the package.
2. Cook the vegetables as needed – this is different depending on what you’re using. You should season appropriately as well.
3. Using a food processor or immersion blender, blend the tofu, eggs, some milk, and spices/salt/pepper.
4. Put the veggies in the prebaked pie crust and pour the tofu/egg mixture over it.
5. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until firm.

~N

Hiking in Seattle’s Backyard

West Tiger 3
6 miles, 2100 ft elevation gain

I’ve done a lot of hiking over the last two years, but people are often surprised to hear that I haven’t done the popular hikes closer to Seattle, like Rattlesnake Ridge, Mount Si, and until this weekend, Tiger Mountain. Instead, I’ll drive an hour or more to go hike elsewhere.

Why? Mainly because what I get to see is more spectacular when I hike in the Cascades, and the hikes closer to Seattle tend to be extremely crowded due to their convenience.

But this time, Mike and I wanted to take a hike before going to the Seattle International Beerfest, and all the hikes I’d normally consider were buried in snow except one in Eastern Washington. So we went for the most popular hike on Tiger Mountain, West Tiger 3 – a short but challenging hike to one of the three summits of West Tiger Mountain.

The convenience of hiking close to home can’t be denied. As you can see from the map above, West Tiger is just minutes away from Seattle’s East side suburbs. A short drive + a short hike = time to do other things that day. It was a quick 1.5 hours up to the summit and about 1 hour coming down, with stops.