Taking a ride on a virtual roller coaster might best describe what the last week felt like for me. Fortunately an extreme high came after an extreme low. After learning the much anticipated August Lululemon half-marathon in Vancouver was cancelled, I was heartbroken. To say that I was looking forward to this race and trip like a five year old looks forward to Christmas, would be an under statement. Filled with grief over this seemingly insignificant loss in light of all that is going on in the world, I took all my angst out by going out for a long run to stop me from feeling I was in a free fall. But it wasn't until I took a sixty mile drive to a semi-hidden woodland overflowing with bluebells in full blossom, did I feel such heart racing joy. Lavender, blue, and pink bluebells covered the entire forest floor. The scene felt like I was standing in either an ethereal fairy land or a Monet painting. It was the first time in weeks I wept tears of pure joy, actually wanted time to really stand still, and felt real roller coaster exhilaration. Hiking through the woods on a beautiful sunny day with my camera around my neck, taking in all of nature's abundant beauty was exactly the magic elixir my spirit so badly needed. I am unsure how I will ever express my gratitude to the friend who brought me there and who patiently waited while I took photo after photo. Nothing could change the incredibleness of the day. Nothing. Not even being pushed to a fall after my friend closed the social distance gap and jumped forward when she saw a snake. The mud on my sleeves and leggings were not only a fitting end to the week, they made the day even more memorable.
Speaking of memorable moments, this Spinach, Mushroom, Swiss Cheese & Feta Cheese Quiche is one of those memory making meal dishes. And one that will definitely bring joy to your day. Maybe even your week!
Among the list of 'good' things to come out of stay at home time has been my return to making quiche. Relatively simple to make (especially if using a store-bought refrigerated pie crust) and definitely a stress-free recipe, eggs-cheese-cream-spinach-mushrooms come together to make an abundantly delicious meal. It's great served hot out of the oven, slightly warm (my personal favorite), at room temperature, or even chilled in the refrigerator. But that's not all. It's an incredibly flavorful vegetarian dish even meat lovers will find hard to resist.
When it comes to buying cheese I tend to skew to the cheesy fussytarian side. Which means I like to grate my own cheeses and buy my Greek feta cheese from the deli counter at the grocery store. Freshly grated or freshly crumbled cheese are so much more flavorful than anything you buy pre-grated or pre-crumbled.
After making several quiches in the past few weeks, I have now decided (post making this one) that I will partially bake the crust going forward. It adds an extra step, but having a crispier, less soggy crust will definitely be well worth the effort.
In addition to the crust lesson, I have learned something else about making quiche. After the quiche has baked, I now immediately turn off the oven and let it sit in there for another 8-10 minutes. Instead of drying out the quiche, it helps to solidify all of the liquids. Or in other words it prevents you from having a 'weepy' quiche.
While I may admittedly be a bit biased, I think this is the best spinach-mushroom-cheese quiche I have ever eaten. The Swiss and Feta Cheeses not only work well together, they add a great depth of flavor to this quiche. Additionally the Swiss Cheese tempers some of the saltiness of the Feta Cheese usually found in Spinach Cheese quiches served in restaurants. So much so that I may never order another Greek-style Spinach quiche in a restaurant again unless it contains both of these cheeses. Selfishly I am glad there are only two of us living in this house, because there were leftovers! Which also meant I could get off the merry-go-round of cooking meals every day!
As one my friends said to me earlier this week 'it's a really, really hard time now. It doesn't mater about 'more' significant events. Grief is personal and valid. There is so much to grieve during this unprecedented time.' Those much needed wise words of comfort along with spending an afternoon soaking up the beauty of nature were reminders of how important it is to stay connected to friends you treasure and with your passions. So take care and feed both your body and soul with the things you love, the things that bring you heart-racing, good-old fashioned exhilaration and joy.
Spinach, Mushroom, Swiss Cheese & Feta Cheese Quiche
Serves 6-8
Ingredients
1 refrigerated or homemade pie crust
3 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup whole milk
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
5-6 dashes of hot sauce (such as Cholula)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon white or black ground pepper
8 ounces (227) fresh mushrooms, thinly sliced, sautéed and cooled slightly
10 ounce (283) package of frozen spinach, thawed, drained and squeezed of it's liquid
One cup or 5 ounces (140 g) Swiss cheese, grated
One cup or 5 1/3 ounces (150g g) fresh Greek Feta Cheese, crumbled (see notes)
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees (F). Roll out or unroll the refrigerated pie dough and form into a 9" deep round baking dish. Pierce the bottom of the dough with a fork. Line the dough with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 15 minutes. Then remove the pie weights/beans and bake for another 5 minutes (unfilled). Let the par-baked crust cool while you make the quiche filling.
2. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees (F).
3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, whipping cream, whole milk, nutmeg, hot sauce, kosher salt, and pepper.
4. Stir in the grated cheeses, spinach, and mushrooms.
5. Carefully pour the quiche mixture into the par-baked shell. Place the quiche plate on a sheet pan and insert into the oven. Note: You may need to use some thongs to carefully break up the clumps of spinach/mushrooms so they are evenly distributed in the quiche. In other words, you don't want a dome of vegetables sitting in the middle of your quiche shell before it goes into the oven.
6. Bake for 55-60 minutes or until the quiche is puffed, lightly golden and slightly firm to the touch. Turn off the oven and let the quiche rest in there for 8-10 minutes.
7. Remove quiche from the oven. Let sit at least 10 minutes before slicing into wedges.
Notes: (1) If you happen to be cooking only for yourself, you can get 6 meals from this quiche. Wrapped well the quiche will keep in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. It reheats beautifully in the microwave or you could eat it at room temperature or chilled. (2) When buying Feta Cheese, choose a good quality imported Greek Feta for the most optimal flavor.
Bluebells in full bloom. Bourbonnais, IL (May 2020)
