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Leek and Dried Cherry Tomato Quiche

Posted on June 24, 2009
Recently I started using a French crust called pâte brisée for my quiche. I think I like it better then the traditional crust I had been using. Right now I have tons of leeks so that is what I used, but later in the summer I will change the veggies depending on what is abundant in the garden. I also have dried cherry tomatoes I want to use up before this years harvests begins.

Crust:
1 3/4 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 stick butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon sour cream
1/2 teaspoon of salt

Filling
seasonal vegetables of choice
4 eggs
3/4 cup milk or soy milk
3/4 cup shredded cheese of choice

Cut the butter into the flour with a pastry cutter. Push the flour and butter mixture to the sides of the bowl, digging a hole in the center. Break the egg in the hole in middle of the bowl. Beat it a little with a fork to incorporate the flour little by little. Add the sour cream and mix again until the dough is homogeneous. Use your hands to knead the dough and form two balls of the same weight.

Place the balls of dough in plastic wraps and let them rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour before using or freezing.

Pre-heat oven to 375. Roll out one crust and place in an oiled pie pan. Freeze the other ball it use later. Bake the crust for 10 minutes at 375.

For this quiche I sauteed the leeks until tender. If I were using tomatoes or zucchini I would not saute them.

In a mixing bowl, beat eggs with milk, salt and pepper. Spread the leeks and dried tomatoes evenly over the crust, sprinkle the cheese over the vegetables. Pour the egg mixture over the vegetables and cheese.

Return the pie to the oven and bake for about 30 minutes, until the filling is set. Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving.

Posted on June 22, 2009
Part of my motivation to eat seasonally is to reduce food miles, the distance foods travels to get to my table. Now that concept is spilling over into other areas of my life, like bamboo pole miles?

Several years ago I built a gate made of bamboo poles. I ordered the poles from a place in Florida, I think they imported them from overseas, probably China. Wow, what a lot of bamboo miles.

Now I have three rapidly expanding patches of bamboo. Each a different pole diameter. Not only does the bamboo provide a great screen, but I can harvest it for use in the garden. This year I was only able to harvest 11 poles, but in a few more years I will have enough bamboo for all my stacking needs. And there should be plenty left over for building fences and small structures, such as obelisks.

Individual poles should be allowed to grow for at least three seasons before harvesting. And the best time to harvest bamboo is when the plant is dormant, like late winter. Then the poles must be cured before use. There are several different curing methods that I will not explain here, because I have not yet tried any of them. The poles that I harvested died due to extended freezing this past winter. Since they seemed hard and dry when I cut them, I put them straight in the garden to support my cucumbers. There is something very satisfying about growing some of my own garden supplies.

COMMENTS

Scrambled Eggs with Daylily Blossoms

Posted on June 16, 2009
I love summer because there are always interesting veggies and herbs to add to my eggs. I especially like mid June, because that is when I make eggs with dill, scallions and Daylily blossoms. Yes Daylillies are eatable. Last year I waited until the flowers open and stuffed them with cheese.


But today I picked the largest blossoms that had no yet opened, chopped them with dill and scallions and scrambled them in with my eggs.

COMMENTS

A Mockingbird in a Peach Tree

Posted on June 15, 2009
This morning I tackled a chore I have been dreading, thinning the peaches. I should enjoy this task, after all it is not back breaking or messy like most garden chores. But I hate it because it causes me great grief. Grief at all the peaches that will never develop. I know, that unless I remove the tiny peaches, so that there is at least three inches between each one, that they will all be stunted. But I hate throwing all those peaches out. After a few minutes I find myself counting...five, six seven. Seven peaches that will never be eaten over pancakes at breakfast. Ten, eleven, twelve ... twelve that's enough peaches for a cobbler. Oh, how I love peach cobbler.

As I move to the next tree my counting is interrupted by a noisy mockingbird perched high in a nearby Magnolia tree. Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen ...is she calling to a mate? Sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, is she mocking me? Maybe she is mad that I am removing the peaches. I can just hear her, "I was planning on eating those, now that all the raspberries are gone." Being reminded that I did no get one raspberry this year makes me angry. Twenty-one twenty-two, twenty-three, I hurle the twenty-third peach at that bird. Lucky for the bird, I'm a really bad aim, but I feel vindicated anyway. So I turn my focus back to the center of the peach tree, where I see this young fledgling, a baby Mockingbird. So that is what all the ruckus was about. Now I feel bad about throwing that peach. Then I start to think, why is this bird in this tree? Is he looking for his next meal...

COMMENTS

Potato Leek Soup

Posted on June 09, 2009
I got this very simple recipe from my friends at CheaterChef.com. Every time I make it, I am always amazed at how flavorful it is even though it is made with water rather than broth or milk.

2 tablespoons butter
3 large leeks, light green and white part thinly sliced
2 large baking potatoes, peeled and chopped
About 2 teaspoons kosher salt
1-2 quarts water


Melt the butter in a large soup pot. Saute the leeks in the butter over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the potatoes and water. Add 1 teaspoon of salt (adding more later, to taste). Simmer about 45 minutes to an hour, partially covered. Check the salt level before serving. Mash with a potato masher for a chunky soup or use an immersion blender and make it as smooth as you like. Makes 6 servings.

COMMENTS

Bolting Leeks

Posted on June 08, 2009
I harvested my leeks today, even though they were not full grown. Some of them had started to set seed. I learned the hard way, last year, that once the flower appears a woody center develops. I knew they only way to save the rest was to pull them before they flower.

So why does this keep happening to me? I think part of the problem was I planted late. This planting was from slips and they arrived late. I did a little reading today, and have decided that I should only plant leeks in the fall. Spring in Tennessee is just too warm.

COMMENTS

Blue Podded Pea

Posted on June 02, 2009
When I first started gardening, I could not imagine mixing flowers and vegetables together. And I never saw the vegetable garden as a thing of beauty. That was a long time ago. Now I have onions in the flower beds and flowers all over the vegetable garden. And most of the time my vegetable garden looks prettier than my flower beds. Sometimes I will even select one a vegetable variety over another just because I think it will look pretty. This pea is one of those. Bakers Creek Heirloom Seeds, called it a Blue Podded Pea, it looks purple to me, but pretty just the same. And it tasted great when I used it to make Pasta with Nasturtium Butter and Peas

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