MAUREEN’S KITCHEN Green as a Theme

I love celebrating St. Patrick’s Day. When Easter occurs well into April, our first family dinner of the spring happens in March and often has a green theme. A green dinner can celebrate St. Patrick’s Day or focus on the budding of spring.

I start by gathering all the green tableware I already own. I make a list of all the foods and recipes I love that are naturally green, because I don’t want our dinner to be saturated with green food colouring. Children and grandchildren can help with this planning. Obvious choices for vegetables and fruit include avocados, broccoli, green beans, lettuce, cucumbers, spinach, green grapes, zucchini, pickles, parsley and olives. Some grocery stores also offer green corn chips and beverages for spring consumption. A good shamrock cookie cutter is needed for this meal. You can cut toast, pastry, or spinach tortillas into shamrock shapes (con't on page 39).

Awesome Crustless Quiche

Serve as a meal or as a side.

4 eggs

2 cups chopped spinach, steamed, or 1 (10-ounce) package of frozen spinach thawed and squeezed dry

1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons salsa

Grated cheddar cheese to sprinkle on top

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly coat an 8 or 9-inch pie plate with butter. If you like a deeper quiche, use the 8-inch pie plate. Stir together eggs, cheese, squeezed spinach, salsa, salt and pepper. Pour the mixture into the prepared pie plate, sprinkle with grated cheddar cheese and bake for 35 minutes. Test for doneness by inserting a thin knife. The quiche is cooked if the knife comes out clean.

Let stand for 10 minutes. Serve warm or cold. I usually have pastry shapes in the freezer made from pastry ends after baking pies. Garnishing a slice of crustless quiche with pastry shapes satisfies the pastry lover. It’s one of my personal weaknesses.

Make this recipe your own. What flavours do you like? If you don’t like spinach, this recipe supports two cups of your favourite ingredients.

1. Add two cups of chopped leftover vegetables and meat to the cheese and egg mixture.

2. Add a 10-ounce package of frozen broccoli (cooked), and 1/2 cup of roasted red pepper.

3. Add 1 cup of cooked chicken, 1/4 cup green onions, plus 3/4 cup of corn and a bit of salsa.