An Interesting start to the day

I fully intended to write my post today about my dinner last night. I'll get to that in a bit, but first a story. My father is one of 6 kids. All of his siblings, except 2 of them, have lived in the same town their entire life. Each has had 2 kids, and we, subsequently, grew up in the same small town, not living far from each other. We always shared holidays and birthdays together and were much more like brothers and sisters than cousins. Two of our cousins are a bit older than us, so we weren't as close to them. I was the first to go to college in D.C. and the next year my cousin Matt went to Univ. of Maryland. I stayed down here because of my husband, and Matt got a job, so he stayed as well. Last year, my cousin Jenna moved down from NY, followed by Matt's brother Sean. We are all so happy to be in the area together again and it is so nice to have my own family here.

So with that background, here's how my day started. I'm up by 7am because Isaiah is awake, get him breakfast, and settle into watching some news (ok, it wasn't real news, it was E!News). Sean calls me at 9 am, and I think, hmm, that's weird, why is he calling so early.


Sean: "Did I wake you up?"


Me: "Are you kidding? I have a small child."


Sean: "Are you doing anything today? I need a really really big favor"


Me: "Sure, what do you need"


Sean: "This morning I go out in the pouring rain, and my tire is flat, so I change it and now my spare is flat too. Can you come pick me up and drive me to work?"


(hmm.. he lives across town, which would be major traffic, and his work is only 5 minutes from here."


Me: "Can you take the metro over here and I'll drive you to work?"


So, I start rushing around, getting Isaiah ready and I stop to think... hmmm Starbucks is near the metro. Great Idea! Get Isaiah dressed, me sorta of dressed in sweats, go and get my much needed coffee, and then off to pick up my poor cousin. Of course, this is happens to coincide with Isaiah's naptime, so he's all cranky until I get home. Anyway, that was an adventure. Later I have to go back and pick my cousin back up, but I don't mind. At least I didn't have to change a flat tire! Actually, I don't think I even know how.


Anyway, here's what I was originally going to post. Last night I made quiche for dinner. I love, love quiche. It's great for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, and the filing combinations are endless. Here's my recipe, which has been adapted from several cookbooks and my sister-in-law's recipe.

Spinach and Swiss Quiche

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups of heavy cream

1 package frozen spinach

1 medium onion, chopped

1 clove of garlic, minced

8 oz grated swiss cheese

salt

pepper

nutmeg

hot pepper powder, cayenne or ancho

Pie crust, make your own, or cheat like I did and use Pillsbury deep dish crust

Preheat oven to 425. Defrost spinach and squeeze all water out. This is important or you will have a very soggy quiche! Saute onions and garlic, seasoning with salt and pepper. Meanwhile, sprinkle crust with a pinch of nutmeg and hot pepper, so that it looks like this:

Add spinach to onion and garlic and cook 1 minute. In separate bowl, mix eggs and heavy cream. Season with salt and pepper, then add 1 pinch (1/8 teas) of nutmeg and hot pepper. Sprinkle with cheese and then add spinach mixture. Place crust on a baking sheet covered with foil. This is the best way to do it because it will make spills easy to clean and if the crust is getting browned you can wrap foil around the quiche. You can sprinkle a little more cheese on top, then slowly add the egg and cream mixture. It'll look like this:

Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 375. Bake for another 20-30 minutes, until the top is browned, quiche is firm, and inserted toothpick is clean. Let rest for a few minutes before cutting in. Enjoy with a glass of wine (unless you're eating for breakfast).

Here are some other combinations that are really good. I'd love to hear yours if you have any!

Spinach and feta: Follow recipe as above, substitute feta for swiss, add 1 teas oregano

Broccoli and Cheese: Add 4 slices of bacon crumbled, 1 head of broccoli, chopped and cooked with onions. Use sharp cheddar cheese instead of swiss and 1 pinch of red pepper flakes.

Italian style: Slice 1 large roma tomato and let rest on paper towels. Add a combination of good quality parmesano-reggiano cheese and asiago cheese to bottom of crust. Layer tomatos and fresh basil leaves. Add italian herb mix to egg mixture.