Quiching in the Dark

Everything went black. It had been a cold and blustery evening. Maybe the wind caused a tree to fall across our power line; no one knows for sure. While the quiches were waiting for the wall-oven to come up to temperature, the whole house went pitch black. So black that we had to grope our way around the room to find the drawer with the lighter and the door to the laundry pantry where our candles and lanterns were shelved.

My husband reminded me that our commercial oven runs on propane, so all was not lost. By the glow of lanterns and with me holding the flashlight, he got down on his hands and knees and lit  the pilot light, then set the oven to pre-heat to 425-degrees. With a glass of pinot noir in hand, we sat by the glow and warmth of the fire to wait. Quiching in the dark and eating fashionably late turned out to be quite lovely under the circumstances. The quiches turned out perfect! Photo made possible  with fluorscent lamplight (blue cast), flashlight and white paper to bounce more light on the subject....

Bavaria Mills in Vancouver Washington makes specialty baked goods, including 9-inch gluten-free pie crusts. The pastry is made with white rice flour, palm oil, brown rice vinegar, eggs, chickpea flour, potato starch, water, rice vinegar, Xylitol, salt and xanthan gum. Quite good!

We picked the chanterelles ourselves in the woods near our home, but that story will be one of my next blog posts. Here is my recipe for "Quiching in the Dark" Chanterelle and Feta Quiche:

Ingredients:

1-1/3 cup chanterelle mushrooms, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup scallions (not green onions), finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup feta cheese
6 eggs
1/2 cup cream or Half & Half
1 pie crust
olive oil or butter for sauteing 
sea salt, a pinch

Directons:

1. Lightly saute the onion, garlic and chanterelles for a couple of minutes in a little olive oil or butter. Let cool.
   
2. Whisk the eggs and cream together.
3. Fill the pie crust first with 1/2 of the feta cheese, followed by the mushroom saute and the remaining feta.
4. Pour the egg and cream mixture over all and sprinkle a pinch of sea salt, some fine Parmesan cheese and paprika over the top.
5. Bake in a pre-heated 425-degree oven for 20-30 minutes; until set like a custard. If the center remains a little too liquid, turn off the oven and let the quiche set; check in 5-minute intervals.

I recommend not adding herbs or spices, as the delicate flavor of the chanterelles along with the tang of the feta are wonderful to experience without overpowering the taste with aromatic ingredients.  

Serves 2-4