Friday, August 14, 2020

Impossible quiche

We're halfway into August and the pandemic summer goes on and on. It is Friday now and this week has been a routine and uneventful one. But last week felt very anxious and discombobulated. There was a COVID scare in our household, then one of our kids fell and dislodged a front tooth and needed urgent dental care. We heard from three people close to us who have all lost family members either to COVID or other illnesses. 

Most of the cooking since then has been in the form of soups, soft scrambled eggs, khichdi and smoothies because of the aforementioned dental misadventure. But one evening I took over some dinner to friends as a condolence offering- tortellini vegetable soup and quiche.  

To make the quiche, I adapted this recipe, looking through the pantry and freezer to come up with some ingredients. I found a box of frozen spinach and a container of fried onions and somehow that odd combination worked out really well. This is one of those "impossible" quiches which is crustless, but a small amount of flour in the mixture settles and magically forms a crust of sorts for the quiche. Instead of making a large quiche, I made two smaller ones, one for our family and the other, in a foil pan, to share. The quiche mixed up quickly and turned out beautifully- it sliced well and held its shape. I knew I had to jot down the recipe so I can make it again.

Impossible quiche

Preheat oven to 400F.

Lightly whisk 6 large eggs and set aside.

Grease 1 or 2 baking dishes. In the baking dish(es), divide 1 package chopped spinach (thawed in the microwave and squeezed somewhat dry), 1 scant cup shredded cheddar cheese and about a cup of fried onions

In a large bowl, mix together 1/2 cup all-purpose flour and 1 tsp. baking powder

Stir in 1.5 cups milk, 2 tsp. dijon mustard, salt and pepper to taste, whisking to make sure there are no lumps. 

Pour the mixture in the prepped baking dishes. 

Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the mixture is just cooked in the center (test with a knife tip). 

* * * 

What else have I been doing? I've surprised myself by keeping up with an exercise routine since my beloved gym classes and pools shut down in mid-March. The classes and the gym have always been a crutch for me as I maintained that I could not and would not exercise if left to my own devices. Well, now I have learned to do just that. Four or five mornings a week, I either go for a 30 minute run or do a 30 minute workout on YouTube- my favorites are Fitness Blender (there are dozens) and workouts by Lita Lewis (there are 3, and I have done each one many times over). My approach to exercise is to do it consistently and enjoy the process without any expectations. 

I've been watching a few movies that are leaving Netflix at the end of this month- Groundhog Day, which I highly recommend because it is funny and feels topical, and United 93, which tells the story of Flight 93 which was hijacked on 9/11- a hard-hitting and very well-crafted movie. 

And, tomorrow, Aug 15, 2020- Happy Independence Day, India. After many decades, I watched this video today- the original and superb Mile Sur Mera Tumhara.

How is August treating you?

8 comments:

  1. Happy independence day - we had a birthday zoom chat this morn to see one of my nieces blow out birthday candles and sing her happy birthday. Sorry to hear of your tough week! It is still hard to comprehend how many people are affected by Covid19. Your quiche sounds wonderful - I feel I have tried it and it didn't work but I should try your version because I know Sylvia would like it. I admire you keeping up your exercise - I am doing a lot less bike riding than I would if I needed to ride to work but I am planning a bike ride today. I just checked Netflix and we don't' have either of the films you mention :-( because Australian netflix is different. Our local ABC has been screening a season of Aussie movies so I have lately revisited a few golden oldies - Muriel's Wedding and Strictly Ballroom. I have also seen a couple I haven't seen before - Goldstone and My Year without Sex, both of which I enjoyed.

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    1. Hi Johanna! I had never thought to do birthday zoom calls but I think that will be our new birthday traditions since our families are far flung. This quiche is so adaptable; and not very eggy. Could be made even less eggy and heavier on the veg. Netflix is so different in different places! I feel overwhelmed by all the streaming choices. I used to love biking as a kid- we rode bikes to school straight across town- but these days I don't feel confident biking on the streets at all. Cars around here are not careful around bikers.

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  2. What a lovely post, Nupur. Short and sweet. So impressive you managed to actually write something having had such a busy time recently. This quiche sounds lovely. Hope to try the recipe some time.

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    1. SRG- Blogging feels therapuetic...sometimes, when I can get around to it :D

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  3. I'm sorry to hear about the covid scare and the dental misadventure, nupur. I hope the kids and both of you are keeping both good health. An uneventful August / Sept is all I can wish you! I too have been working out with fitness blender since March / April, having never done YouTube videos before I really like their style and simplicity.

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    1. Thank you- I too wish us all uneventful days; just normal routines sound lovely right about now. After doing random videos- picking whatever sounded good on the day- I finally bought a Fitness Blender 4 week schedule, the bodyweight one ($15) and it has been nice to have them exactly what to do on what day, including rest days built in. On day 4 and loving it so far. Good luck to you :)

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  4. Hi Nupur, sorry to hear about the Covid scare and the dental accident. hope you all are in good health. take care - Kejal

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    1. Thanks Kejal, just life with its small misadventures, we are ok, and hope you and your family are doing well too!!

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