Happy National Mushroom Day!

What good fortune that I found out today is a holiday AND I had a carton of mushrooms!  Hurray!  Let's cook...

So I made this with real eggs, shhh.....!  I was out of egg beaters, and now I'm out of eggs.  I think this would be better with a few more eggs, but alas I only had 5 and I didn't feel like going out to buy more.  Anyway, it's still so good, I was surprised that it was so good without heavy cream or lots of cheese.  I lightened this up with almond milk instead of milk and cream and parmesan cheese instead of swiss or cheddar or something.  It's a little veggie heavy, which is good, I love veggies, but some more eggs might balance it out.  And there is no crust because carbs are not our friends and I never really understood why it was necessary.  I never make crust for quiche.  I considered using some kind of almond meal and flax seed crust, or using crumbled lentil sausage, but then I was like meh, it can be amazing without it.  And then I made that happen.

This morning I read in my daily HG email that today is National Mushroom Day, and I actually had fresh mushrooms!  So I was thinking about what to make, and decided something with eggs that can be breakfast for the rest of the week (to eat with my VEGETARIAN BREAKFAST SAUSAGE, of course).  During my boring afternoon class I plotted.  How to make something that is traditionally fatty and high in calories lighter and more healthful, but still delicious, hmmm....  So I decided that it's time for SCIENCE, BITCH!  I broke out my copy of The Science of Good Cooking by Cook's Illustrated and read up on quiches.  There's a lot of science that goes into quiche!  Well for all you tl;dr types - the secret is corn starch!  Their recipe calls for 8 eggs, so I scaled it down to 5/8 scale.  Math, bitch.  And I added a few little twists of my own, enjoy!

Spinach, Mushroom, and Parmesan Quiche

5 whole eggs (or more if you'd like something firmer and eggier)
1 3/4 cups plain, unsweetened almond milk (I prefer Almond Breeze - refrigerated and unsweetened.  I don't like the Silk brand as much, it has a weird taste, in my opinion - use whatever kind you find tastiest!!)
1/4 cups water (or more almond milk... I ran out, oops...)
2 medium onions (regular old cooking onions, the yellow kind)
1 16 oz package frozen spinach
1 8 oz package sliced mushrooms (whatever kind you like)
1 cup Parmesan cheese (the powdery Kraft kind from the jar, I used Parmesan/Romano/Asiago (?) mix - the one in the purple jar!)
1 tablespoon corn starch
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon minced garlic

So start with the onions first.  Thinly slice them (I used a food processor with a slicer attachment - best gadget ever!), then add some EVOO and salt to get them going.  But only if you want, I did, but I did NOT include oil in the nutritional values, because honestly you don't need it.  I wanted to caramelize them, but I got a lil distracted and this happened....

Be vigilant in your cooking!

That's not caramelization!  But whatever.  I let it go a little more, but not to caramelization.  Caramelized onions are insanely good, like so weirdly sweet.  But it takes soooo long.  I have only successfully done it once.  I have seen on pinterest that you can make like a ton in the slow cooker at once and then freeze portions to use later, but I'm kind of afraid that it would make my house STANK like onions and ew I don't want that.  Maybe I will get the courage and try it soon.  I'll keep you posted....

K, so you've got your onions going and you already thawed your spinach in the microwave or whatever and then squeeze out as much water as possible with paper towels, cheese cloth, coffee filter, whatever.  This is important!  Put them in with the onions, add the mushrooms and garlic as well.  Let it cook until the mushrooms shrink down and get softer and darker (that sounds... odd) and try to lose a lot of moisture without burninggggg anything.  Turn on the oven to 350F to preheat at some point.

Meanwhile go back in time to when the onions were still cooking.  Using the food processor (or a whisk, whatever) to mix up the milk (and water if that's what you're using) and corn starch.  Gotta get it smoooooth.  Then add the eggs, mix it up, silky smooth.  Then put it in a bowl and whisk in the spices and cheese.

Time to combine everything in your baking vessel!  I used a 9x13 glass Pyrex dish.  I was not sure how much it would cook up and if a smaller one would work.  I overestimated.  It would be better thicker.  Maybe use an 8x8 (?) Pyrex or that smaller rectangular one if you have a set.  What I really wanted to use was a round ceramic Corningware dish, but I don't know where my large one is.  I used to use the large one to make quiche, but now I only have the smaller one.  But I still have the glass lid for the larger one.  Hmmm probably left it at someone's house.  Let this be a lesson, write your name on your shit!  Anyway, if you have my dish, send it back!  Unless I broke it and forgot?  But why would I keep the lid!!  Life is such a mystery.

So take your dish and oil it or line it with parchment paper or aluminum foil or something.  I used my EVOO sprayer (of course).  Pour in the egg mixture, then carefully add the veggies, stir it up a little to evenly distribute everything, then slowly put it in the oven.  I emphasize the slowly part because once I was feeling lazy and made my egg cupcakes as a cake and it was just egg whites and spices in the pan and it splashed back on me when I put it in the oven.  I should mention that I was a dumb ass and did not use a baking tray under the silicone pan.  Ughhh.  It was good that I was wearing an apron, but there was egg whites EVERYWHERE!  All over my apron, my jeans, my feet, the floor, the oven door.  So bad.  Learn from my mistakes!  Label your belongings and slowly handle eggs.  Got it??

We're safe!

Alright now bake that for like half an hour.  Or until it is not jiggly and looks dry and baked enough to your satisfaction.  The book said to not cook it until completely set, but I don't trust regular eggs, they are not pasteurized like eggs in a carton.  I fear foodborne illnesses! Let cool a bit so you can neatly cut it, or just dig in, whatever.  I let it sit til it cooled then put it in the fridge to firm up so it would cut nicely for the shoot.  Do you like my props?  No, I will not be drinking wine with my breakfast quiche, but I think this would make a great dinner.  And out of all the wines I have right now that riesling is probably the most fitting (and it's from the Finger Lakes!  Yay NY!!), but for real what do you pair with eggs?  White seems appropriate.  Who knows!  And fyi that is totally my scarf.  And I also tried the chenille throw from the chair in my living room.  I need to invest in some colorful towels and napkins...

dirty lens.. oops :)

I will give you the run down.  Slice this bitch into 8 equal pieces.  Each piece will have 151 calories, 8.2 grams of fat, 6.6 grams carbs, and 12.3 grams protein.  Not bad at all!  You could try this with egg substitute and less cheese if you'd like to get it even skinnier.

Ok well, that's all.  This recipe is a winner.  It's totally going from my notebook to the tried and true, plastic sheet protected three ring recipe binder.  It's great, try it!  Now tune in tomorrow (or whenever I get around to posting again) - I have big and delicious ideas.  Just for you.  Dear reader.  You will love it.

Until next time,
JDB