In these particularly depressing economic times, I think everyone is trying to make changes to the way they spend. One of the things we (the husband + me) are really bad about is wasting food. I always have the best intentions when I store leftovers but inevitably we forget about them and they become something akin to a science experiment and weeks later we draw straws to choose who gets the job of cleaning them up. I'm also guilty of letting things expire without using all of it. I know it's extremely wasteful and last month I read a column from our local paper's food & dining columnist about "Eating Every Bite." It inspired me to start trying to do this myself. I can't say I've done well lately but I'm making an effort and that's a start at least.
Yesterday I spent a lot of time working in the garden and by the time 5:ooPM rolled around I was tired and hungry. I hadn't set anything out to defrost so I had no meat for an entree but I did have some staples. I knew I had eggs that we going to be going south soon, so my first thought was quiche. But I was feeling way too lazy to actually make a crust so I Google-d 'crustless quiche' and found this recipe from Mark Bittman (of "How to Cook Everything" fame). I was out of cheese but I did have a handful of fingerling potatoes and a yellow onion - jackpot. I cut the potatoes and onion into bite-sized pieces, sauteed them with a smidgen of oil, salt, pepper and tarragon until they were golden.
Then I mixed up the eggs and cream and added the potato mixture. I buttered two mini-tart pans and one little bee cup from Bridgman Pottery (I finally used them to cook with Melissa!). After I buttered them I dusted the bottoms with very fine breadcrumbs just to soak up any extra moisture. I poured the mixture into the pans and sprinkled the tops with a tiny bit of fleur-de-sel and popped them into the oven for 35 minutes.
Yesterday I spent a lot of time working in the garden and by the time 5:ooPM rolled around I was tired and hungry. I hadn't set anything out to defrost so I had no meat for an entree but I did have some staples. I knew I had eggs that we going to be going south soon, so my first thought was quiche. But I was feeling way too lazy to actually make a crust so I Google-d 'crustless quiche' and found this recipe from Mark Bittman (of "How to Cook Everything" fame). I was out of cheese but I did have a handful of fingerling potatoes and a yellow onion - jackpot. I cut the potatoes and onion into bite-sized pieces, sauteed them with a smidgen of oil, salt, pepper and tarragon until they were golden.
Then I mixed up the eggs and cream and added the potato mixture. I buttered two mini-tart pans and one little bee cup from Bridgman Pottery (I finally used them to cook with Melissa!). After I buttered them I dusted the bottoms with very fine breadcrumbs just to soak up any extra moisture. I poured the mixture into the pans and sprinkled the tops with a tiny bit of fleur-de-sel and popped them into the oven for 35 minutes.
They came out perfectly, the one in the bee cup puffed up beautifully, like a souffle. They were tasted great and were perfect individual-sized servings. It's a really versatile recipe, I'm already thinking this would be a wonderful entree for say, a Mother's Day brunch? Maybe with baby greens and fruit salad on the side? The best thing is besides being tasty, I was able to use up eggs, heavy cream, potatoes and an onion that were coming to the end of their 'shelf-life'. 
3 comments:
I'm so trying to not waste food. Fresh herbs are the worst for me. Oh, and buttermilk.
We don't buy food at Costco anymore. It's only two of us and we don't need that much food in the house. I also try to limit my fresh fruits and vegetable purchases.
The quiche sounds delicious.
yay! it is all meant to be used!!
Very nice! I can't wait to try this myself. ;)
We too waste way too much food. Thank you for the inspiration. I have some spring greens, broccoli, and strawberries that will be finding their way into a recipe soon...VERY soon.
Post a Comment