Wholesome quiche

I don't know about everybody else, but I always found quiches a bit decadent...Buttery pastry, lots of eggs and heavy cream and possibly bacon. Sounds like heaven on a plate for some, but I have sadly come to realise that no matter how much I exercise, such indulgences are more than a passing whim...they dig themselves somewhere on my body...mostly on my hips and stomach. And after three kids, believe me, that is the last spot where I need padding.

But I love quiches and they are the perfect summer picnic fare and now that we have more chickens what better way to use surplus eggs. Ahh, don't get me started on eggs...I could go on all day about the wonder of having freshly laid eggs every day. There is something deeply nourishing about having your own chucks...and I don't mean the protein in the egg.

Anyway, back to the quiche dilemma. Since discovering Liz's easy pastry, I have been getting into making quick pies and tarts. And now I feel I can include a quiche not as a mere indulgence but the pastry now belongs to a food group...along with the eggs and light cream....yes, light.
I guess the opinions are divided about the benefits of "light" products, but sometimes they have its place. When you consider that a traditional quiche contains butter, cream and eggs, along with some bacon and the token greens, you don't need to be a nutritionist to add up the calories. And since we are no athletes training for the Olympics I see no way of getting away with such indulgence....Anyway, that is my humble approach and here is my humble, less decadent quiche recipe.

Wholemeal pastry quiche

Pastry:
2 cups wholemeal flour
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
pinch of sea salt

Filling:
6 free range eggs
200 ml light cream

fat free bacon
olives
Greek feta
spinach
lots of herbs


Blind bake the pastry. Add the filling and bake until eggs are set.

The ingredients are what I had in the fridge that day. Today I made a quiche with sauteed leek, thyme and fetta. The options are endless.

Lunchtime date with Papa

Normally, Mr. P and I meet up for lunch on Mondays.
Monday is my child free day. The idea is that I do as little as possible, indulge my every whim (like reading a book in bed all day if I want to, sit on the veranda and knit, have a workout followed by a massage) and relax..... Well, so far none of this has happened . Every week after drop-offs I do some child-free grocery shopping, which is a very pleasant experience in itself but not exactly a relaxing activity. Once back home, I clean up the breakfast mess, tidy up the rooms and put a load of washing on, fold and put away a mountain of clothes...you know, just a few little things before I really sit down with a coffee and relax....Well, you would know what comes next...its lunchtime and I've only got about 2 hours before the boys need to be picked up. If I'm organised, I should do dinner while it is quiet...blah blah blah. To cut a long story short, I have never properly indulged in anything more than a lukewarm coffee on the veranda....

But every Monday I have grand plans and one day I will have a tidy house on Sunday night and and an empty washing basket......

Anyway, because of the school holidays, we had a family picnic at the Botanical Gardens with Mr. P. The kids were very exited to go and pick papa up from work. I went all out to prepare a lovely lunch, forgetting that lunch was only 30 minutes for Mr. P and a bit rushed. And most of that time, G threw a wobbly and never got to eat his lunch .....and ruined the peace and quiet of other park visitors.....Nevertheless, the tomato focaccia was well received.

I put too much yeast in so I ended up with this soft pillow of bread. It was actually very handy to cut in half and fill it with delicious ISTRA ham and ricotta and a few salad leafs...

Later that night, we had a simple Lemon and parsley risotto followed by Vanilla ice cream with poached quinces and hundreds and thousands. It looked wicked!