Pastry, Two Ways

Part of the challenge of living "in the country" is that we have limited access to food supplies. There is an Atlantic Superstore in Porter's Lake which is 10 minutes away, and they do offer some organic foods, but no organic meat.  So when we run out, we make do with what we have until I make my weekly trip into Halifax to restock.  That is why we place bulk orders with local organic farmers for beef, lamb and chicken.  We are in the process of organizing one of these orders at the moment, so until then, we buy in small quantities.  Today was one of those days where the only thing I could think of to make with what we had on hand was quiche. Which led to me making whole wheat pastry, tripling the recipe so I could make a pie too.

PASTRY DOUGH

1 3/4 cup organic unbleached pastry flour

1 cup organic whole wheat or spelt flour

1/2 tsp sea salt

90 g (6 Tbsp) chilled organic unsalted butter

120 g (8 Tbsp) organic palm oil

8 Tbsp (120 ml) ice water

     Combine the flours and salt in a bowl.  Cut in the butter and palm oil until it resembles coarse meal.  Sprinkle in the ice water and mix until the dough holds together.  Form into two balls and place in a covered dish and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

     Lightly flour your counter surface and then pat the dough out and flatten about 6".

     Roll out the dough to a size slightly larger than your pie plate.  Press the dough lightly into the plate.  Trim any excess dough, leaving just enough to slightly tuck under once we assemble the pie.  

    ** If you are using this pastry for a recipe that only requires a bottom crust, divide recipe in half and fold the overhanging pastry inwards, leaving a double crust along the side and a rounded edge on top.

QUICHE with Broccoli, Mushroom, Zucchini and Swiss 

1 cup chopped organic broccoli

1/2 cup organic mushroom, sliced

1/2 cup organic zucchini, sliced

1/2 cup organic onion, chopped

5 organic eggs

1/3 cup organic whole milk

1 cup organic Swiss cheese, grated

1 tbsp olive oil or organic butter

sea salt and pepper

1 pastry dough, uncooked in a pie plate

Preheat oven to 350*.  Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat and add the oil.   Saute onion, broccoli, zucchini and mushroom for about 5 minutes or until soft.  In a medium size bowl, whisk the eggs well until adding the milk and salt and pepper.

Fill the bottom of the pastry dough with the cheese.  Add the sauteed vegetable on top of the cheese.  Then pour in the egg mixture.  Bake in oven for about 45 minutes or until the egg has set and the quiche is lightly browned.

Prep time: Crust takes 10 minutes to make, 30 minutes to chill.  Filling takes 15 minutes to make.  

        

AUTUMN PEAR PIE with Crystallized Ginger

8 medium sized organic pears, peeled, cored and thinly sliced

3 Tbsp arrowroot powder

1/4 cup organic brown rice syrup

6 pieces crystallized ginger, diced

grated zest and juice of 1 organic lemon

double crust pastry

Method: Make the pastry and preheat oven to 325*.  Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Spoon filling into pie shell.  Gently place remaining dough circle on top of filling.  Roll edge of top crust gently under bottom crust and press edges to seal.  Pierce top crust decoratively in several place to allow steam to escape.  Bake 45-60 minutes or until filling is bubbling and crust is beginning to brown.

Prep time: Crust takes 10 minutes to make, 30 minutes to chill.  Filling takes 5 minutes, assembly takes 5 minutes.

We needed a little salad to go with the quiche so I decided to use up some leftover quinoa we had in the fridge.  Scott warned there may be frost tonight, so I went into the garden to harvest all the red tomatoes, green pepper, green onions and cucumbers so they wouldn't die in the cold.

QUINOA SALAD

3 cups organic quinoa

1 cup cucumber, chopped

1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

1/2 cup minced endive

1 green onion, sliced

1/4 parsley, minced

olive oil

umeboshi vinegar 

red wine vinegar

sea salt and pepper

Combine the vegetables and quinoa in a large bowl.  Drizzle with olive oil, vinegars, salt and pepper.