Herb Quiche

Summer rolls around and CSA shares overflow weekly with large bunches of herbs. One trick to using your herbs is to remember that they are by and large just as nutritious as any other leafy green (some are more nutritious that some greens). So count them as the new exciting vegetable in your diet!

Herb Quiche/Fritata
Yes, this recipe can be done in a conventional quiche crust, but is also delicious crustless.


Equipment
This recipe is for a 9x13 pyrex baking dish. but the same mixture could be spread thinner in a larger lasanga pan, or cut in half and make it in a smaller square dish or a pie pan. I used the 9x13 because I had a lot of herbs to cook with and was bringing it to a pot luck.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup of milk or 1/3 cup of yogurt
• 2 tbsp dijon mustard (optional)
• one plum or beefsteak tomato for slicing thin (option, but very pretty)
• 10 eggs (this can be made entirely with egg whites or with a combo. You will need ~14 whites. If you want to reduce the overall amount of eggs, you can use more yogurt, and decrease the total amount of eggs up to 25%)~4 stalks scalions or one very small red onion finely chopped. (if you have extra time you could saute a red or white onion) (the onions of any sort are optional, but if you dont use them you should make it up w more herbs for more volume and more seasoning)
• 1 tbsp crushed garlic, or 5 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 - 2/3 cup shredded cheese (I like sharp cheddar, but mozarella, jack, munster, swiss, etc all work fine). also optional.
• salt & pepper to taste
• 3 tbsp olive oil

Herbs:

• You want a total of 2- 3 cups of herbs. more if you want a "veggies with a touch of eggs & milk" effect, a little less to get a fritata/standard quich effect.)
• I used: 1 & 2/3 cups dill, 1 & 1/3 cup parsley, and whatever basil leaves I had around

herbs to consider:

• dill
• parsley
• basil
• chives
• (Im a huge cilantro fan, but havent tried it in this dish. If you do, let us know how it works)
  

herbs to skip:

• rosemary (small amounts of sauteed rosemary is fine. but dont try and use it like a green)
• mint
• basically anything you wouldnt want to eat a large amount of in a salad
  

Directions

• preheat the oven to 375 F
• wash the herbs and let them dry in a collander, salad spinner, or by wrapping them and patting them in a clean hand towel
• chop the herbs finely, including the stems.
• whisk eggs and milk or yogurt into a mixing bowl.
  
• add the mustard, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper, and wisk
• add the herbs, and mix.
• grease the baking pan (unless youre using a crust)
• add the mixture to the pan and spread it out evenly
• slice your tomato very thinly, and place the rounds ontop of the mixture.
  
• bake in oven until it is golden brown around the edges (time will depend on the depth of your dish. Took ~30 min in my oven, but could easily be +/- 10 minutes in yours.

Short Cuts:

• skip the mixing bowl and whisk eggs directly into the pyrex along with all the other whisking ingredients. then add the herbs in and mix.
  
• if you're not sure how much egg you want, place all the herbs into the baking tray. start whisking 3 eggs with the rest of the whisking mixture, and pour that over the eggs. Add one whisked egg at a time until you get the consistency you want.
• NOTE- these short cuts will ruin any crust.
  

cream of parsnip soup- without any cream

Winter CSAs come with so many parsnips. And while I love a good caramelized, roasted parsnip, there are only so many roasted vegetables I can eat in a week. Thats why I was so excited to find out that parsnips make a great creamy/starchy texture when used as a soup base, much like potatoes.

This recipe is very flexible, and you can substitute about 1/2 the parsnips for turnips, and replace some or all of the parsnips for potatoes, but I love the savory taste the parsnips give.


equipment:

• immersion blender/stick blender
• large soup pot
  

The recipe:

• 3-4 large parsnips, chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3-4 cups milk or soy milk
• 1-2 cups vegetable broth or water (if you are using water, you will need 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp turmeric, and be generous with the other spicing)
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• 2 tbs dried sage (or 4-6 fresh sage leaves)
• 1 tbs dried dill (or a few sprigs of fresh)
• fresh ground pepper to taste
• olive oil or butter for sauteing

optional:
can add more parsnip for a thicker texture, or some turnip, potato or carrots.
another variant is to put in greens, such as collards, chard, kale, or spinach (fresh or frozen). You can put in a little or as whole huge bunch of greens. I've even put in some frozen peas at points. If you put in the greens, the soup will have the look and texture of a pea soup, as opposed to a cream of potato soup. Both are delicious, just have different tastes and textures.

Directions:

• heat the butter or oil in a large soup pot
• saute the onions in the bottom of the pot until they are soft & translucent.
• add the rosemary and stir
  
• add the parsnips (and other root veggies if you are using them)
• after the parsnips soften a bit and are coated will in the oil
• add the rest of the spices
  
• add the greens and/or peas if you are using them
• add the water or veggie broth so that it covers the veggies (if you are adding greens, it only needs to cover the parsnips- the greens will steam on their own)
• when the parsnips are very soft, turn off the flame and add the milk or soy milk. Add more for a thinner soup, less for a much thicker one.
• use the immersion blender to liquefy the soup.
• return the soup to the flame for a few minutes to let it simmer with the milk.
  
• salt before serving. enjoy!
  

Yood Family Sauteed Cucumbers

This is a family recipe that Sara and her brothers fought over constantly when their mom would make it. Many people don't know that you can cook cucumbers, but you can and they are delicious!

Ingredients:
2 large or 6 small cucumbers, peeled and seeded
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp chopped fresh dill, or 3/4 tbsp dried dill
salt
pepper

1. Cut the cucumbers once lengthwise. Cut the cucumbers into 1/2-inch thick slices width-wise. Put the cucumbers in a colander and sprinkle with salt. Let sit for 20 minutes to drain some of the water out of the cucumbers.
2. Melt butter in a large sautee pan. Add the cucumbers and dill, and sautee for 5 minutes, until warm and slightly tender. Season with pepper, and serve.