Southwestern Quiche with a Whole Wheat Crust

This weekend was my one year anniversary with Andrew. It's crazy how fast time flies. You always think your parents are stupid for saying that, but it does. Anyway, we had a really good time. We went to Summerfest that CD101 put on and got to see Matt and Kim. Then we headed over for a chilly patio meal at Mad Mex. Andrew made some tofu scramble for breakfast, too, that was unfortunately really good and now I'm getting a complex. He must be on some kind of roll, because he made amazing Thai curry last night. More on that later.


I've been slacking a little with posting, so here's a quiche I made last week. Honestly, before this, I've never really had egg quiche. My sorority in Berkeley would serve it, but it looked like a gooey, nasty mess in a crispy crust. Not very appetizing. But as most new things that I love go, Andrew convinced me, based on trying it once when he was 12, that quiche is awesome. And while I can't tell you this is "just like the real the thing!", I can assure you, it's delicious. Maybe even like the real thing, I don't know. The crust, even though it was whole wheat, is really flaky and buttery and crispy. The quiche filling sets nicely and gains a great firm texture. The chipotle sausages give it a little kick as well. Give it a try.

[[Whole Wheat Quiche Crust]]

1 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup earth balance
2-3 tbs soy milk
1/2 tsp salt

-- Preheat the oven to 400 F.
-- Mix the salt and the whole wheat pastry flour.
-- Cut the butter (cold) into the whole wheat pastry flour. It's best to use your hands here, or you can use a fancy food processor. Mine broke. So I use my hands. When it's ready, you should have a bunch of pea-size balls of butter mixed into the flour.
-- Add the soy milk. Start with two tablespoons and add more if the dough doesn't come together.
-- Lightly dust your (clean) kitchen counter or a cutting board with flour, and roll out the dough into a large round. Place in an 8-9 inch round baking dish. Press into the pan and cut of the excess around the rim with a knife.
-- Line the pan with two layers of foil so that the dough is covered. Bake for 8-10 minuets. Remove the foil and bake for another 4 minutes. Remove from oven.


[[South Western Quiche]]

one prepared pie crust

one block of extra firm tofu
1/2 cup plain soy milk
3 tbs nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp dried cilantro
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp onion powder
a pinch of nutmeg
2 cloves pressed garlic

olive oil
1 vegan chipotle sausage, chopped into tiny pieces -- you can get them at whole foods
1 small red onion chopped
1 small red bell pepper chopped
1 cup loosely packed spinach
1 zucchini, sliced
4-5 oyster mushrooms

-- Preheat oven to 400 F.
-- In a blender, combine the tofu through garlic. Blend until smooth.
-- With about 1 tbs olive oil, cook on medium heat in a pan the chipotle sausage until crispy. Set aside.
-- Add more oil if necessary. Cook onion and bell pepper until soft. Set aside.
-- In a separate bowl, mix together the tofu mixture, bell pepper, onion, raw spinach and sausage.
-- Remove the stems of the mushrooms. Lay the mushrooms and the zucchini flat in a pan, then flip after about 2-3 minutes. Set aside.

-- In a prepared pie crust, lay the zucchini and the mushrooms flat on the bottom of the pie crust. Pour the tofu mixture on top.
-- Place in oven and cook about 45 minutes, until set and the top looks a darker orange.