Eggs – Page 5 – Southern Fusion Cooking

Ham Quiche with Fresh Greens and Herbs

Having scored a pillow sized bag of greens and some fresh pasture-raised eggs from our local farmer’s market, at the Festhalle, we decided it was quiche time again. We had our own fresh herbs to add to the mix. This is my old recipe, with a fresh local twist.

Ingredients

1 Creole Pie Crust

8 ounces Swiss Cheese, cubed

1/2 cup Ham, cubed

One handful of Greens, shredded (We bought Collards)

4 organic Eggs

Heavy Cream (Enough to fill the Crust)

Fresh Herbs, chopped (We had Chervil and Parsley)

Salt and Pepper

Nutmeg

Again, crank your oven up to 400 degrees F, as this pie crust goes in uncooked. Add the chopped pieces of the cheese into the uncooked pie shell, and then the ham. Saute the greens in butter until soft (my wife prefers collards to be boiled, but I was cooking). Mix the cream and egg mixture together, with the sauteed greens and chopped herbs, and season. Pour that over the filling in the pie shell, season with nutmeg, and bake. Ours cooked for 65 minutes. The result is as close to edible green eggs and ham as you will ever get, and will even make you feel good about eating all that cheese and cream.

Starting with Chickens

Despite the fact that we have every vermin imaginable around here, from raccoons to rednecks, we are venturing into the chicken growing hobby. The birds live inside a coop inside a bigger coop and another enclosure. They will eventually have some free range time, if the foxes and hawks don’t get them first. We have an entire population of light phase red tail hawks, and assorted accipters as well.

So it isn’t easy being a chicken. These five week olds are Barred Rocks, and we plan on adding a couple of Rhode Island Reds. These are for egg laying, though if it comes down to it, in the words of young Lily Kingsolver, founder of Lily’s Lovely Layers, “We’ll only kill the mean ones.” Enough said.

Farmer’s Omelette

What we have here is a slightly southern-ed up version of the classic German all around dish. Though it is thought of as a breakfast item on this side of the pond, it is excellent at any meal. This is a meal for two here, but it can be scaled up to practically any level.

Ingredients

One Slice of Bacon

One Large Potato, cubed

One-Half of an Onion, chopped

Two Eggs

Salt and Pepper

In a heavy cast iron skillet, cook the bacon until it is crisp. Remove the bacon from the skillet, and add the cubed potato while the bacon fat is still hot. If necessary, add some olive oil, though this is usually not necessary. Salt and Pepper. Fry the potatoes until brown, and add the onions. At the same time, pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees. Chop the bacon into small pieces, and add when the onion is almost softened.

Here’s where the Southern accent comes in. Instead of beating the eggs, place the eggs-fried egg, sunny side up style, on opposite sides of the pan. As soon as the eggs begin to set, pop the whole thing into the 400 degree oven. Keep a close watch, and serve while the yolks are still runny, if you want a dish where there won’t be any leftovers. It’s easier to clean up that way.

The variations on this dish are limitless. Add country ham, chives, scallions, garlic, green garlic, chopped tomatoes, fresh herbs, or anything else that you have on hand. Adapt it to the seasonal ingredients. That’s what good cooking is all about, anyway.

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