Eggs+-+Caroline

= Light and Fluffy Spinach Quiche =

**Prep Time: 20 Min** **Cook Time: 1 Hr** **Ready In: 1 Hr 20 Min**

Original Recipe Yield 1 - 9 inch quiche

**Ingredients**
 * 1/2 cup light mayonnaise (substituting vegenaise)
 * 1/2 cup milk (substituting rice milk)
 * 4 eggs, lightly beaten
 * 8 ounces shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese (substituting full fat mild cheddar)
 * 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry (using fresh baby spinach, sauteed mushrooms and canned artichoke hearts)
 * 1/4 cup chopped onion
 * 1 (9 inch) unbaked pie shell (substituting crust from recipe below - Eggless Tofu-Pesto Quiche)

**Directions**
 * 1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a cookie sheet with foil.
 * 2) In a large bowl, whisk together mayonnaise and milk until smooth. Whisk in eggs. Layer spinach, cheese, and onion in pie shell, making several layers of each. Pour in egg mixture. Place quiche on prepared cookie sheet. Cover quiche with foil.
 * 3) Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes. Remove cover, and bake 10 to 15 minutes, or until top is golden brown and filling is set.

**Eggless** **Tofu**-Pesto **Quiche**
from vegan-food.net

Process the tofu and food processor until smooth. Arrange the mushrooms and tomatoes on the bottom of the pre-baked pie crust (see below). Pour in the **tofu**-pesto mixture. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 35 minutes to 45 minutes.
 * INGREDIENTS:**
 * 1/2 pack soft tofu (16 oz)
 * 1 Cup Sliced Mushrooms
 * 1 Cup pesto
 * 1/4 Cup fresh chopped Tomatoes
 * **2 Cups Hash brown Potatoes (using fresh grated potatoes)**
 * **2 Tablespoons Margarine**
 * **2 Energ Egg Replacers**
 * **Salt and Pepper to taste**
 * METHOD:**


 * For the crust:**
 * Mix the potatoes, margarine, and ever-g, dash of salt and pepper and press into a pie pan that has been sprayed by non-stick cooking spray. Bake at 350 for approximately 20 minutes or until lightly brown.**

Add other vegetables, like Broccoli as desired.

Recipe provided by Port D'Hiver Bed and Breakfast
 * NOTES:**

Actual preparation of this quiche:
Here I substituted a grated potato crust for the unbaked pie shell. This was done because it sounded tastier. This change did cause the egg mixture to be absorbed a little more into the crust which caused the "crust" to be more integrated into the quiche. This happens because eggs are a binding agent (emulsifier).



I sauteed some mushrooms to add to the quiche which added some protein, fiber, riboflavin, niacin and other vitamins and minerals. And of course, flavor!



Other vegetable fillings included sauteed baby spinach (organic) and canned artichoke hearts. The spinach also added some protein and fiber but is very high in vitamin K, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium and iron among others. Spinach is a powerhouse of nutrition! I did saute the spinach but only until just wilted thereby retaining many of it's nutrients. Artichoke hearts add dietary fiber, vitamin C, vitamin K, folate, magnesium, potassium, copper, manganese, niacin, vitamin B6, iron and phosphorus. There is obviously a lot of good stuff in artichokes too.



Here is a picture of all the ingredients together.



This picture is the mixture of the rice milk, vegenaise and the eggs. You can see the light foam from the eggs being lightly beaten. This beating process adds body (air) to the eggs and makes the quiche lighter and fluffier. The rice milk and the vegenaise adds creaminess to the quiche. I don't think there was any drawbacks to using the vegan alternatives. The addition of the thick vegenaise made up for the thinness of the rice milk. Eggs have a good amount of complete protein (6 grams per egg), riboflavin, B12, selenium, and phosphorus.

[|Video of lightly beating eggs]



Another picture of all the ingredients ready to get put together. The recipe said to layer all the veggies and cheese but I just threw everything in.



The picture here is right before putting it into the oven. I changed the pan because looking at all the ingredient and the size of the pie plate, I realized that we might have some overflow and I definitely didn't want that. You can see that the egg mixture is very light yellow but the consistency was pretty thick because of the vegenaise. Adding the egg mixture filled up the pan and surrounded all the veggies with eggie goodness.



Right out of the oven. You can see the deeper yellow color and the darker golden color around the edges due to the potato crust and the maillard reaction.



Cutting the first piece out. The eggs are set. This is due to the coagulation of the proteins in eggs. When heat is added to the egg mixture, the proteins in the eggs begin the unfold (denature) as cooking continues the proteins come back together trapping liquid (coagulation). It is very important to not overcook eggs because they will become rubbery because of the continued coagulation which pushes the water out from between the protein molecules (syneresis).



The recipe came out awesome even with all the modifications. I would be curious to see how the vegan quiche would turn out using the tofu instead of cheese and eggs.


 * References:**

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Light-and-Fluffy-Spinach-Quiche/Detail.aspx http://www.vegan-food.net/recipe/1494/Eggless-Tofu-Pesto-Quiche/ http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2482/2 http://www.great-workout.com/nutrition/vegetables/artichoke-nutrition-facts.cfm http://www.livestrong.com/article/279471-baby-spinach-nutrition-information/ http://www.bhg.com/videos/m/32071632/slightly-beating-eggs.htm http://www.edinformatics.com/math_science/science_of_cooking/cooking_temperatures.htm http://www.elmhurst.edu/~chm/vchembook/568denaturation.html http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/dairy-and-egg-products/111/2 https://www.msu.edu/~lentnerd/NewFiles/Egg%20Products.html