Does anyone else think that sounds like the title of a French novel?
I'm always a little late getting our garden started. I see people planting their vegetable gardens in April but our area is prone to frost right up to May 15th. So I guess I'm not so much late as they are early.
I bought three zucchini plants and four yellow squash plants. They're blooming, and I finally saw our first little zucchini. I watched it, planning to use it in this dish. But last night, when I went to collect it, someone beat me to it. Now I'm not naming names but the guilty party knew a crime had been committed and ran like the dickens. Half of the purloined zucchini was left behind and consumed by his accomplice who undoubtedly intended to get rid of the evidence.
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| You remember these guys. Thief and accomplice are in this photo. |
But drat the luck. The yellow squashes are blooming and developing and – they sure look like zucchini to me! LOL! You might be seeing a *lot* of zucchini recipes from me this summer.
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| The look huge in this picture! They were about 3 inches long! |
Consequently, I used three teensy baby zucchinis in this dish. I'm not quite sure what to call it. One of my friends recently made a quiche in which she used no crust but she poured something over the top that sort of made a crust. Must get that recipe from her! So I had a crustless quiche in mind but when I made this, I thought it was really more like a pan-less frittata.
Technically, I believe a quiche is supposed to be made with a savory custard. While this is very good, and we snarfed it up, I don't think simply adding milk to the eggs before baking constitutes a custard. On the other hand, there are baked custards. Anyone have opinions?
In my Domestic Diva Mysteries, people often write letters like this to Sophie.
Dear Sophie,
My evil mother-in-law never gives me more than an hour advance notice when she's coming over. It puts me in a tizzy because I never know whether to clean or to make something to serve her. We won't even mention getting dressed. I've entertained her in my bathrobe more than once. I have begged her to please let me know when she's coming so that I can prepare something nice. I think she takes delight in her surprise inspections.
~Tired Daughter-in-Law in a Bathrobe That Needs Washing
Dear Tired Daughter-in-Law,
Tell hubby to clean (after all, it's his mom), make a crustless quiche, and you'll still have time to ditch the dirty bathrobe. The wonderful aroma will bowl her over when she walks in the door. It can be made from items in the fridge and takes almost no time to put together.
~Sophie
Sophie's Tip: Use your vegetable peeler to slice cheese quickly!
This is just the kind of recipe Sophie is talking about. It's yummy for a quick brunch, lunch, or dinner, even if you don't have an evil mother-in-law!
Crustless Quiche/Pan-less Frittata
one deep dish pie pan
butter for greasing pan
1 cup thinly sliced zucchini
1/2 cup chopped ham (or bacon!)
1/3 cup thinly sliced cheese (I used Asiago)
5-6 eggs (use 5 if they're large or extra large)
1 teaspoon pink sea salt
pepper to taste
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/3 teaspoon sage
2/3 cup milk and heavy cream combined (I just used a splash of cream)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 375. Grease the pan with butter. Combine the zucchini, ham, and cheese in a bowl and mix. Spread in the bottom of the pie pan.
Whisk the eggs with the salt, pepper, garlic powder, and sage. Add the milk/cream and whisk to combine. Pour gently over the contents of the pie pan so you don't dislodge anything. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the top.
Bake 45 minutes.
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| Mix ham, zucchini, and cheese, |
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| Spread in greased pan. |
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| Pour egg/milk mixture over everything. |
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| SprinkleParmesan cheese on top. |
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