Gerry’s Quiche by Gerry Dugan

by Gerry Dugan

The pie crust: think of it as the physical structure of St.Paul’s: sturdy, withstood time, adapted, and well maintained by many paid and volunteer individuals. It is the beginning, and sometimes the end, of a spiritual journey for some – and a lot in between.

The cheeses and liquid (the solidifiers): Noah, Laura, Erin, and most recently Theodore who are always available with a listening ear, guidance, thoughts and spiritual guidance. The visiting clergy, “retired” clergy, and the deacons who continue to share their spiritual gifts with us. And, most definitely, a parish support staff that is always present, helpful and guiding.

The filling: that’s all of us. Diverse as we are, we appear to pull it together for whatever the project, need, or cause there is. There is definitely not a lack of opportunities that could use our diverse talents, expertise or combined knowledge and attention. We look at the overall picture and then pour our souls into the project.

So, when we take that slice from the whole, we see diversity in size, shape and color distributed throughout and held together by a solid foundation. At the end of the day, it makes no difference, in my opinion and in most situations, if the carrots are near the zucchini, the corn or the onions. That’s how I see a faith community. THE place to go that holds us and the community surrounding us together.

God loves you. No exceptions. How terrific is that?

Ingredients

1 unbaked pie dough sheet to fit the pan you’re using. Usually a 9″ pie pan. Yes, store bought is fine. Who’s going to know anyway?

About 2.5 cups milk. Whole milk works best. No flavored ones. Cream if you want to make it over the top.

4 eggs hand beaten with fork or whisk until smooth

2 8 oz blocks of cheese.1-cheddar. 1- Monterey Jack .Yes you can use pre-shredded. I prefer to shred mine.

Open the refrigerator hydrator drawer. See what’s in there:

5 renegade baby carrot’s

zucchini ?

stalk of celery?

halves of colored peppers?

piece of onion or spring onions or shallots?

you get the picture

Preparation:

You can prepare the veggies the day before. They should be cooled so they don’t melt the pie dough or cheese. Chop veggies into small-ish pieces not strips. Sauté everything until al dente. Nothing goes in this quiche raw. You need about 2-3 cups cooked veggies. Cool.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Drape the pie dough in the pan. Do Not Stretch.!! Should go slightly over the edges. Put a layer of the cheeses, layer of mixed veggies. Layer of cheeses, layer of veggies – you get the idea. Until you get to about 3/4 of the way up.

Mix the eggs and milk together well. Gently pour about a cup over the pie. Take your finger and poke holes over the mixture to allow the liquid to reach the bottom. Repeat until you feel there is liquid throughout. Depending on your pan, you may have too much or too little liquid.

Too little? Mix another egg with some milk

Too much? Make scrambled eggs.

But, it is very important that the liquid be throughout.

You should not be at the very top of your pan yet. Trim and fold under the rimmed pie dough. Place in the middle rack.

DON’T EVEN CONSIDER BAKING THIS UNLESS IT’S ON A RIMMED BAKING SHEET or comparable set-up – trust me on this, it balloons as it bakes.

BAKE about 45 -60 mins depending on pan and check doneness by tapping the center ofquiche so see if it’s firm to touch. Remove from the oven . LET REST 15 MINS OR SO. You can reheat slices at 50% microwave power – not full power. You can freeze slices, and this can be made the day before, refrigerated and gently reheat at 250 in the oven.