Cheesy Zucchini Quiche

So it's been a while since I last posted.  What have I been up to you may ask?  I've been so busy with work, physical therapy (still for my shoulder), exercise, and doctor's appointments that I just haven't had the time or energy to sit down to type.  Plus, I now have to wear a splint on my right hand which makes doing anything difficult!  I was referred to a hand specialist who diagnosed tendinitis in my thumb, carpal tunnel syndrome, a small ganglion cyst, and a possible pulled ligament in my wrist (I still have to go for another x-ray series to know for sure).  Yes, that's a lot to have going on in just one wrist, but such is my luck in life.  Hopefully the two injections that they gave me will kick in soon (3-6 weeks is a long time to wait for an effect!).  Oh yeah, and I was finally diagnosed with Fibromyalgia (I had been working on that diagnosis for probably 8 months or so) and I've been asked to do low-impact aerobic exercise (either walking, swimming, or biking, the later of which is not an option due to the IC) for a half hour every day as keeping your body in motion is supposed to help the FM.  You know, because I have plenty of time to do that!  Although, I had actually been doing fairly well with my exercise until one day I went to the Y and the only free treadmills were being reserved for a kids cardio class.  I was already just barely able to squeeze the workout into my very busy schedule as it is, and this now meant that I could not get my walk in that day.  This lead to a small anxiety attack and a poor unsuspecting trainer who was only trying to find a way to help got the brunt of my bad mood that day!  Anyway, I got discouraged and haven't gone back; I found other ways to get my exercise in, although as it is supposed to rain all day, I think today will be the day that I actually have no choice but to go back.  I give the Y a lot of credit for what they do, but sometimes it seems as if they are trying to do too much with too little!

As I said, the splint that I have to wear, called a Long Thumb Spica Splint, makes it hard to do many things, but I am learning to adjust and things that I could not do at all at first (like using a computer mouse, for instance) are getting easier to do.  I have found a way to use a knife with my first two fingers but it puts pressure on the splint in the wrong places which causes it to dig into my wrist and forearm and I wind up hurting, so I can only do this for short periods of time.  Needless to say, my inability to cook for myself right now means that I have not been following the IC diet as I should and my bladder seems to be getting angrier and angrier.  I've had to rely on take out and prepared food more often lately, but as I get more used to this splint I am becoming more and more eager to try to cook more things.  Since I have not been able to cook well, I also have not been able to create new recipes to share.  As a compromise, I thought that I would share a recipe with you that I have tried and loved!

Like many people just diagnosed with Interstitial Cystitis, the IC diet seemed very daunting and being a vegetarian made it even harder.  I was quite scared to eat any food as my bladder was at its most upset and I felt the effects of trigger foods either very shortly after eating them or the very next day.  Not wanting to incur the wrath of my bladder, I tried not to experiment with cooking and only followed recipes that I found online that were either IC specific or had little to no problem ingredients.  This recipe for Cheesy Zucchini  Quiche, which fell into the later list if only because of the onions (which I do not think that I am sensitive to), was one of those first recipes that I had tried and it was so good that it spurred a small period where I was obsessed with trying different Quiches.  I always seemed to have pie dough ready to defrost in the freezer and there were even a couple of times that I put all of the ingredients together for this quiche over the weekend and froze it for use later in the week!  Both Andrew and myself absolutely loved this recipe!  (In fact, as I am sitting here typing this, I am becoming more and more tempted to get up and run to the store for some zucchini!)

Before I leave you with the recipe, I do want to give you a couple of tips.  First off, pre-made pie dough from the grocery store will seem very tempting for this recipe.  If you do go this route, don't forget to first check the ingredients to make sure there are no problem ingredients; I'm sure store-made dough must have some preservatives that may bother your bladder.  For that reason, I use a homemade 3-2-1 pie crust that I found here and is included below as part of the recipe.  Secondly, this recipe is much easier to make if you have a mandolin; it makes it easier to finely slice the veggies.  If you don't have a mandolin, try to cut as thin as you can.  Also, I have found that once cooked, the zucchini and onion create a lot of liquid.  Each time I have made this quiche I have forgotten about that and my end product becomes extra liquidy (even though draining the liquid is in the recipe - stupid fibro fog!).  I imagine that if you were to follow the recipe the right way and you drain some of the liquid from the vegetables before adding the rest of the ingredients, it would prevent this from happening and your end result will be much more quiche-like.  And Lastly, if you are sensitive to onions, remember that you can either leave them out or substitute with either chives or scallions.  Anyway, enjoy and happy cooking!

Ingredients: 

*Green = Bladder Friendly foods; *Orange = Foods to try wih Caution; *Red = Foods to Avoid

-Pie Crust: 

*1 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour

*1/4 tsp Salt

*1 tsp Sugar

*1 stick (8 Tbsp) Cold, Unsalted Butter, cut into small peices

*4-5 Tbsp ice water

-Filling: 

*3 Tbsp Butter

*4 cups Thinly Sliced Zucchini (about 3 medium)

*1 Large Onion, thinly sliced

*2 Large Eggs

*2 tsp Dried Parsley

*1/2 tsp Dried Oregano

*1/2 tsp Dried Basil

*1/4 tsp Black Pepper

*2 cups Part Skim Shredded Mozzarella 

Method:

-Pie Crust:

Combine the flour, salt, and sugar in a large bowl and stir briefly until the mixture is aerated. Using a pastry blender or your fingers, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until it’s in pea-size pieces that are slightly yellow in color, about 4 to 5 minutes.  Drizzle in 4 tablespoons of the ice water and mix just until the dough comes together.  (Add the last tablespoon of ice water if necessary, but don’t overwork the dough or it’ll become tough).  Shape the dough into a flat disk, cover it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, then use it in the pie or tart recipe of your choice. 

-Filling:

Preheat your oven to 400°. On a lightly floured surface, roll pie crust into a 1/8-in.-thick circle before transferring to a 9-inch pie plate. Trim the crust to 1/2 inch beyond the rim of the plate and flute the edge. Refrigerate the crust while preparing the filling. 

In a large skillet, heat the butter over medium heat until melted and beginning to bubble.  Add the zucchini and the onion; cook, stirring frequently, until both are tender - the onion will become translucent and the zucchini will change color slightly.  Drain the liquid off as best as you can and let the mixture cool for a bit.  In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and seasonings until they are well blended. Stir in the cheese and then mix it with the cooked zucchini and onion.  Once everything is well mixed, add the completed filling to the prepared crust.  Bake on a lower oven rack for 35-40 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean and the crust is golden brown.  Cover the edge of the quiche loosely with foil during the last 15 minutes of cooking, only if needed to prevent over-browning. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.   

This recipe will make 8 servings.

**Original Recipe found from Taste Of Home.