I swear I cook more than just breakfast food. Actually I’m not going to own up to that right now because the other things I’ve been eating only fall under the categories of grilled foods, salads, cold sandwiches (usually from Rockin’ Rolls) and hummus + things I dip in hummus. And none of that really feels like cooking.

So yes, it seems safe to say that I don’t cook anything other than breakfast food right now. But it makes sense. Life on the farm is nuts. My Carrot wakes up around 6, grabs a cup of coffee and a bowl of yogurt and devours both from the truck on his way to the field. I linger at the house a little longer, doing dishes, paying bills, and just generally trying to make sure the house doesn’t fall down around us. By 9 or 10, I’m joining him in the fields and we’re at the farm until the sun decides to set and kicks us out, which lately is pretty damn late. (Hello summer!!!).

It makes sense then that we’re seeing a lot of brunch foods in our households right now because if I don’t get to cooking before 10 o’clock in the morning, I’m probably not going to have a chance to cook at all. So it goes. It is June on the vegetable farm after all. It’s just shy of absolute chaos.

This quiche though. It’s a godsend to a couple of busy farmers. It’s super quick to make, heats up well and is hearty as can be. Plus it does a great job of using up all the greens we’re harvesting right now! We put arugula, spinach and kale in our quiche, but you could use 9 cups of whatever greens you’ve got in your fridge. I think turnip or mustard greens would add a great spiciness. Chard would also be lovely.

I always make the pie crust the day before (in the food processor!) and toss it in the fridge to chill overnight. If you’re able to do this, it really is a snap to whip up the rest (with only a couple dirty dishes!). I then pre-bake the crust while I saute my garlic, mushrooms and greens. By the time the crust is ready for filling, I’ll have all the other steps finished. Then I’m free to throw the whole dish in the oven and run down to the field to get 28 minutes of weeding done before my phone timer is going off.

I feel like a non-farmer throwing a leisurely weekend brunch could follow these same steps and then spend their 28 minutes sipping a mimosa or preparing a fruit salad or doing a crossword puzzle or some less frenzied activity than farm work.

Lots of hyper spring love,
Your Leek

P.S. I am enthusiastic supporter of the locally grown and milled organic all-purpose flour from Meadowlark Organics for this pie dough– and pretty much all doughs I make. Check them out and enter LEEKLARK20 at checkout for 20% off your order!

Mushroom & “Lots of Greens” Sheet Pan Quiche
Inspired by Smitten Kitchen
Because this is a sheet pan quiche, it’s a little trickier to use store bought pie crust. I promise you that following the techniques below, you can make pie crust from scratch, but if you really don’t want to or don’t have the time, you could do this quiche in two store-bought frozen 9″ pie crusts. Trader Joe’s has really stellar frozen pie crust! You can also go crustless entirely and just make a delicious egg bake in a well-greased pan.

Takes 1 hour, 45 minutes if making the crust from scratch (much of it inactive) or 45 minutes with store-bought (or no) crust
Serves 12-16

Pie Crust:
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1 cup water
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt

Filling:
2 tablespoons butter
2 green garlics (3-4 garlic cloves will work if you don’t have green garlic), white and pale green parts only, minced
12 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced
3 cups arugula, roughly chopped
3 cups spinach, roughly chopped
3 cups other spring greens (turnip greens, beet greens, chard, kale, etc), roughly chopped
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
6 ounces cream cheese, softened
2/3 cups whole milk
6 large eggs
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup finely grated parmesan

1. Begin preparing your crust (if you plan to make it; if you don’t skip to step #8). Cut the butter into small cubes and place in the freezer until ready to use. Fill measuring cup with 1 cup cold water and place in the freezer.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt. If you have a food processor, combine flour, sugar and salt in there. This is my favorite way to make pie crust and it whips up in a snap!
3. Add butter to bowl and use your fingers to incorporate the butter into the flour (or add it to the food processor and pulse until the butter is mostly broken up). You will pinch the butter cubes into smaller pieces until they are about the size of peas and uniformly incorporated. Some pieces of butter will be small and some will be larger; that’s absolutely fine!
4. Remove the water from the freezer and pour in half. Use a rubber spatula to press the dough together. If it’s still dry (it likely will be) continue to add water until the dough comes together. You may need to knead with your hands a little bit. (Here is where a food processor comes in great, turn the food processor on as you pour in about 3/4 cup of water and just leave it running until the dough begins to come together. It should take about 30 seconds, add a little more water if it seems to not be coming together).
5. Wrap pie dough in plastic wrap and place in freezer for 20 minutes or in the fridge overnight.
6. Remove dough from the freezer and roll out to an approximately 12×16-inch rectangle. Carefully, fold it in half and then in half again. Move the dough to a 10×14-inch baking sheet and unfold. Press gently into pan. Remove any excess dough from the edges. Prick the crust with a fork and place pan in the freezer.
7. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and while you wait for it to preheat, begin slicing your mushrooms and chopping your greens!
8. Once the oven is preheated, line your pie crust with foil and fill with pie weights (or dried beans or rice you don’t plan to cook). Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and weights and bake 5 minutes longer. If using store-bought crust, follow package directions for pre-baking.
9. While the crust bakes, melt the butter for the filling in a large, deep saute pan (the larger the better, you’re going to be throwing a lot of greens in here– if you don’t have a large saute pan use a soup kettle) over medium low heat. Add the green garlic and cook for a couple minutes until fragrant. Add mushrooms and saute until soft, about 10 minutes more. Add all the greens, water, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to your pan. Saute until the greens are well wilted.
10. In a large bowl, beat softened cream cheese with a wooden spoon until smooth. Add the milk and whisk until smooth. Add the eggs, two at a time, again whisking until smooth after each addition. Stir in sauteed mushrooms and greens along with the cheeses.
11. Pour filling into the prepared, prebaked crust and bake until filling is set, about 30 minutes.