Recipe: Gluten-Free Impossible Quiche

You don't have to make the crust for this one.  While not quite the same as a quiche with a crust, this is very good and you can just mix it up and pop it in the oven.  Go pull some weeds while it bakes.

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups evaporated (canned) fat free milk
2/3 cup brown rice flour or gluten free baking mix
4 large eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp black pepper
2 Tbsp oil (canola)

About 2 cups of chopped vegetables.  I like to use any of the following: bell peppers, onions, broccoli, spinach (blanched), kale, Swiss chard (blanched), asparagus, tomato.  Whatever is available and liked by you.
About 1/2 cup sliced ham, optional.
1/2 cup shredded cheese, whatever you like.  Sometimes I use feta crumbles. 
Chopped chives for topping.

Directions:
Set oven to 350
Spray a 9 inch pie dish with oil.  Place desired vegetables and ham in bottom of the dish.
Mix the first 7 ingredients in a mixing bowl with a whisk until well blended.  Pour mixture over the vegetables and ham.  Sprinkle the mixture with cheese, if desired.  Bake 50-60 minutes, uncovered, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.  Sprinkle with chives.  Let it cool a bit before eating.  I like it with a slice of gluten-free toast and a green salad if you want to get fancy.

We Planted Some Seeds

Last weekend was so warm and dry, I moved up my planting date by one week.  On Saturday, the two kids and I prepped the garden area with a fresh sprinkling of fertilizer and a good cover of compost.  With the two little helpers, I planted three square feet of loose leaf lettuce, 6 square cages worth of peas (shelling and snow), and three short rows of Swiss chard.  Our Easter lunch was our "impossible" gluten free quiche with ham, a bunch of freshly picked Swiss chard and two asparagus spears, right from our garden.

Last night was pretty exciting around here.  We found 5 asparagus spears ready to harvest.  One for each of us!  OK, so we made baby share his.  I sauteed the spears in peanut oil with a bit of salt, then added a sprinkle of brown sugar and cooked them until nice and caramelized.  The candied asparagus went over well with kids and adults alike.  The asparagus was a side to our basil pesto pasta with chicken, peas and broccoli.  The pesto was from the frozen basil cubes husband and I made last summer.

We will wait a while before planting any of the summer vegetables, but we do hope to see some lettuce or peas popping up soon.  There are several more asparagus spears growing out there.  I think I will start a tally to record exactly how much asparagus we can get this year.  Nine so far!

I Had Asparagus Last Night

Last night, there was still enough light after dinner to send the children outside to play.  After putting the baby down to bed, I had some time to play too.  I assigned the children to pulling weeds as I went about surveying the growth of the asparagus.  I found two spears tall enough to cut.  After getting the older two into bed, I set about stir frying my two lovely asparagus spears.  I remember when I first put the roots in the garden, I was questioning myself if I really wanted to plant something that would take so long to see results from.  The answer is, I am so glad I did. 

We have some new alpine strawberries scattered around the original strawberry patch.  They don't make all that much fruit, but what they do make, they spread throughout the spring, summer and fall.   I don't mind the kids picking whatever they want from the alpine strawberries.  I remember when preschooler was not yet two, he would go about the yard, saying, "zezez."  His way of saying strawberries.  It breaks a mother's heart that he now says, "strawberries."

I had the hardest time getting chives to start in my garden.  I think it took a few years before I could get any seeds to sprout, and even then the plants looked to tiny and useless.  Now they are abundant and I need to start thinning them out to make room for something else.  Unless I want to get a table at the farmer's market.  "Get your chives here folks!"

We harvested our over-wintered kale!  I steamed it, which may have not been the best way to go.  The kids didn't like it.  I forgot the soy sauce.  But we ate it up anyway.

The Swiss Chard is taking off again.  Lots of new growth.  It's going to go into my Easter quiche on Sunday.

Happy to Harvest!

What a joy to harvest an entire side dish right from my own little garden, in March!  Beets, pulled from the garden in the afternoon and roasted for the evening meal.   I planted these beets last summer and they had been sitting in the garden all winter.   Also, one shallot!

 How I roasted the beets:
I peeled them, cut off the leaves, and cut the larger ones into little chunks about the size of the smallest beets.  Then I got out a little ramekin and poured in about a Tablespoon of Colavita Balsamic Vinegar and maybe a teaspoon of canola oil.  Then a dash of salt and freshly ground pepper.  I whisked that up with a fork and then drizzled it on the beets and tossed it all together.  I had the oven preheated to 425 F and placed the seasoned beets in my little casserole dish.  I think it took about 45 minutes for them to finish.  I started checking them after about 25 minutes, poking them with a fork to know when they got tender, but it does take a while to roast beets.  Pretty yummy!

So, what drew me out to the garden yesterday?

I wasn't planning on harvesting anything.  This past weekend, I stopped in at the grocery store with preschooler for some last minute items and was lured by the June strawberry starts they had on sale.  Yes, how terrible to buy my plants at the grocery.  But I had the fleeting chance to be out among civilization and who knows the next time I could make it to the store without one baby strapped to me in a front pack and two hyper children pulling at the cart.  So, I bought the plants then and there.  Six Totem and five Hood starts.  It should have been six Hoods also but I was in such a hurry, I failed to notice that one cell was empty.  Oh well. 

So, the hyper children "helped" me hoe, spread compost and fertilizer, and finally plant the new strawberry starts.  Baby woke up from nap halfway through the process, causing me to dash out to the van for the stroller so I could strap him in and let him watch us finish our gardening before the rain started up. It was in the midst of preparing the strawberry plot that I noticed the beets, and in an effort to clear some space, I popped them out. 

Strawberries are in.  Beets are (mostly) out.  Compost bags are used up.  It's going to get busy around here. 

Winter's End

 Our sweet little crocus flowers are in full bloom now, tucked into the edges of the back yard where the children can discover them while at play. 

 The Witch Hazel tree along the back fence is also blooming and gives us a reason to head out on these cold days, across the lawn to smell it's strange yellow flowers. 

 I love this little row of crocuses out in front of the miniature daffodils I planted a few years back.  It is such a joy as a new gardener to see these multiply a bit more each year. 

 Preschooler convinced me to photograph his favorite plants in our yard, which happen to be toadstools growing among the moss.  Actually, most of our back yard is moss at the moment.  Something that doesn't bother us in the least.  It gives the kids a cushion when they fall.  Which happens.  A lot. 

Asparagus is growing, giving me a reason to get out there with some slug bait, and soon!  The asparagus is such a magical gift.  From a little bare spot in the garden, a delicious food suddenly appears.  No inedible leaves, no extra bits.  Just pure food, rising up out of the soil.  The whole family loves it, much to my surprise.  The children will actually ask for more!

So that is today in my garden.  

I am currently contemplating buying fresh strawberry plants, maybe a June bearer so we can get in a full harvest before that terrible new fruit fly wakes up for the summer and starts ruining our berries. 

Two years ago, I planted raspberry plants and last year was our first year to harvest.  Then that terrible fruit fly spotted wing drosophila attacked ruined my dreams of fully ripe raspberries being harvested from our garden.  We had a few good pickings before we discovered the larva in the berries.  I kept the news from the kids and let them continue picking at will when they were in the yard, but I stopped picking berries for our table.   

So now I wonder, do I just cut out the raspberries and grow beans there instead?   Do I give it another try and hope our freezes a few months ago took out the population of flies enough to give us a reasonable picking?   And so, that I why I am for the first time considering June bearing strawberries.  They would ripen before the spotted wing drosophila really woke up for the summer, as they like to breed at higher temperatures than we typically get in June.  We wouldn't have the fun of such an extended harvest, but we would have a better chance at unblemished fruit (I did find a few "larva" in our late summer strawberries last summer), and we could freeze or make jam with the extras.   Whatever I decide, it is always fun to study those seed and plant catalogs when it's still below 50 outside. 

What's Growing in January?

 So, today is January 1, 2013.  What could there be growing out in the garden?  What is ready to harvest?  More than one might think.  But bundle up and harvest quickly because the weather outside is chilly.  A quick peek and I found some beets ready for digging, tucked among our plentiful parsley.  I've found that beets keep fine in the garden until the weather warms up and they start to bolt (go to seed).  Once that happens, they start to get woody inside and not so good for eating.

This kale plant is not phased one bit by any of the low temperatures it has faced so far.  What I find more interesting is that this particular plant is over a year old.  I chopped it down last spring to harvest, but left the roots in the ground.  It sprouted back to life from the old roots!

 Swiss chard.  I planted it because it's said to be a good cold weather crop.  But then I just watched the plants grow for a while, unsure of how to eat it!  Finally I got brave and harvested some for eating. 

 I blanched the leaves in boiling water for about two minutes, until they shrank down.  Then I put them under cold water and drained them.  Next I chopped them up. I mixed up a batch of eggs for for crustless quiche (also known as impossible quiche) and poured it over the chard leaves with chopped ham, just like I would with any other veggy I put in quiche.  I topped it with feta cheese and baked it about an hour, and a new favorite was born in our house.   I'm the only real soup-eater in the family, otherwise soup would be an easy place to use chard.  The baby leaves are also great in salad. 

Can you believe this rose?  Picture taken December 30th, 2012.  No kidding.  Must be the south facing side of the house that keeps it going.  Gotta love that south side.  

Just me, curled up on the couch this cold first morning of 2013, with my cup of coffee and brand new Territorial Seed Catalog.  Getting perhaps a bit too inspired by their color photography and energetic descriptions.

Happy Winter Gardening!  Anything growing where you are?

After taking a year off (and baby makes five), I look forward to returning to my garden blog.  Unfortunately, at the time of my return, there is not much happening in the garden.  It is presently cold and raining, which is great for our new plum tree. 

We are growing a lot of parsley right now.  Most of it was self-seeded.  We have the addition of two pet bunnies, so they are enjoying the abundance of parsley.  There is a healthy kale plant sitting out there, as well as several bunches of Swiss chard.  

We look forward to early spring, when we hope to see a reasonable harvest from the eight asparagus plants, as it will be their third year in the garden.  This past spring, I would bring in a spear or two every week to split with the family.  Maybe we will get more healthy portion sizes of asparagus in 2013!