Asparagus Quiche

This post is mostly just to say: HEY I MADE A QUICHE!

Unlike my intrepid gf-flour-throwing sibling, I am kinda terrified of baking. It's just such a precision activity, and I'm more of a "little this, little that" kinda gal. If I get distracted and go start rearranging furniture or something between steps 3 and 4 of a recipe, I like it to be waiting forgivingly when I wander back, all happy to see me, not preparing to throw a big nondelicious hissy fit.

But....... ahem.... I MADE A QUICHE! Two cute individual quiches, actually!

I used Deb's flawlessly simple crust, but although I parbaked it as she instructs, I didn't even try to remove it from my little corningware dishes to make freestanding quiches. I think my dishes were 4-inch rounds, and her dough recipe made more than enough to make the 2 crusts.

For filling, I made something similar to her recipe but very much simplified. I beat 3 eggs with 1.5 cups 2% milk, and added a good dose of herbs plus some thinly sliced onions & mushrooms and leftover asparagus, sauteed in butter and (of all things) vermouth, the only workable alcohol I had on hand. Poured the filling almost to the top of each crust and covered it with sharp white cheddar, baked half an hour, and that was that! It was shockingly good. Possibly the best quiche I've ever had, to be forthright.

(You'll notice Katelyn's spinach and pepita salad on the side, too.)

Cranberry Chutney

This one's from our stepmother - great with a warm brie wheel at a party - and I remembered it when I threw up the post about canning chutney last weekend:

Cranberry Chutney

1 16 oz package of cranberries

2 cups sugar

1 cup water

1 tablespoon grated orange peel

1 cup orange juice

1 cup golden seedless raisins

1 cup walnuts, chopped

1 cup celery, chopped

1 medium apple, chopped

1 teaspoon ground ginger

In a 3-quart saucepan over medium heat, heat cranberries, sugar and water to boiling, stirring the mixture frequently.

Reduce heat to low and simmer 15 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in remaining ingredients. Serve.

Canned Rhubarb-Orange Chutney (and Harissa)

Last Saturday had longstanding plans with a friend to can her surplus CSA-delivered rhubarb and my leftover-from-pie rhubarb. I have a weakness for clever tools (not to mention a weakness for tangy chutneys) and had never canned before, so I was pretty psyched. Then a heatwave hit Denver/Boulder. Not to be deterred, we decided to can in swimsuits, with frequent breaks to go outside hang out in some cool water while things boiled.

Anyway, since you can't very well mess with canning recipes all willy nilly, this post is mostly just an excuse to put up a pretty picture, and a tip to check out this book if you want to make a habit of canning.

We made the orange-rhubarb chutney and the harissa paste. Et voila!