Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Quiche for Breakfast. And Lunch. And Supper

The chickens are popping out eggs even through this unseasonably hot weather.  And I’m now milking four goats.

So, what does one do with an abundance of eggs and milk?  Make a Quiche of course!  For like every household in the county.

I make an easy oil-based pie crust and smoosh it into the pie plate (I’m too lazy to roll it out), bake it at 400 degrees for ten minutes.
Two cups of milk, five eggs, goat cheese, chives, onions, S&P get mixed together and poured into the pie crust.  Back in the oven at 375 degrees for just under an hour and it’s done. 
I guess my recipe isn’t a traditional quiche as the recipes I found usually call for fewer eggs and even cream instead of milk.  I could never get mine to set up properly when using fewer than five eggs, so this recipe is more “egg-y” than “custard-y”, but that’s fine with me.
Speaking of chickens and eggs, one of my Barred Rock hens has gone broody.  She’s been in one of the nest boxes for three or four days now and gets pretty ticked when you schooch her over to gather eggs.  Why do they pick the hottest part of the year to do this?  The coop isn’t the most comfortable place in the summer.  Maybe I can get Paul make a window in one of the back coop doors to provide some ventilation (as if he doesn’t have anything better to do).
We’re down to only thirteen or fourteen laying hens now, so I suppose it’s time to start the next batch of our omelet producers.  I started collecting nice eggs for her to set on so I’ll keep shoving them under her until there are a dozen or so.  Last year I had two hens go broody on me during the summer and out of twenty or so eggs only five hatched.  And I only have one hen to show for it now.  The rest of the eggs were either rotten or were broken by time the incubation period was over.  Not sure if it was because of the heat or that they just weren’t careful with their clutch.
On a totally different note, I’ve got another Give-Away coming up!  Check in tomorrow to see what the prize is!  Don’t hold your breath; it’s not that exciting.  But hey, who doesn’t like to win a prize??
 P.S. - Tom S., you still need to email me (carolynrenee@centurytel.net)  your mailing address so I can send you Hen and the Art of Chicken Maintenance!  It’s starting to collect dust (again) on my desk.

8 comments:

  1. That looks wonderful! I love my quiche eggy!

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  2. Would you mind sharing your pie crust recipe? I have had very little luck with pie crusts and yours sounds rather easy.

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  3. Oil Pastry (from '53 edition of BH&G cookbook)

    2 C. flour, 1 tsp. salt, 1/2 C. Veggie Oil, 5 Tbsp. ice water.

    Whisk oil & ice water together until thick. Pour over the flour & salt & mix immediately (I'm lazy and use my mixer).

    Then I just dump the entire bowl into my pie pan & smoosh it on the bottom & up the sides until it covers the entire pan. Doesn't look fancy-pants, but it works!

    I also use this same recipe for sweet pies but add about a 1/4 c. of sugar.

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  4. Can't wait to try that crust. Thanks!

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  5. I am so tickled to have found you! Love, love a farm blog and to think you are a fellow Arkansan is too sweet! I go to several blogs that practice sustainability, it's dear to my heart! We lived on a small farm when our girls were little, had chickens and ducks, cows and even a horse. We live in the country now too, but now we only have an old cocker spaniel! Thanks so much for coming by today!

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  6. I have never made a quiche.......It just seems like a lot of work. I should be more flexible and try yours.

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  7. you don't know how excited I am to see "I just smoosh it in the pan"--I am SOOO going to smoosh the next time! :)

    My mother's barred rocks when I was little always went broody, so that's what I bought--and none of them have even had the tiniest of inklings to set. :( But, now with thick coyote population, I am down to two guinea hens--that's it, and I have to cage them. I'm going to have to buy a dog (not fond of them, I'm a cat person) because I want free-range birds again.

    I grew up in the Ozarks-Branson Area--I always sigh when I go back and visit family--I LOVE the trees and hills there--though I prefer the dirt here! :)

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