I am antsy because I have not seeded anything in the garden yet. It was too cold, too wet, too windy, or all of the above, and during the few suitable days, I was away. Having 75 strawberry plants in the refrigerator waiting to be planted in the new strawberry patch is no relaxing perspective neither. My records of previous years show me that by mid-April I would already have the second crop of lettuce, spinach, peas, and radishes in the ground.

Frankly, a few days won’t matter now, as there is still plenty of stuff in the freezer. Also, the herb seedlings are doing well, so that’s a start. To stop myself from pacing up and down and looking at the weather forecast every hour, I made my Zucchini Quiche for dinner on Saturday, albeit with two variations – yeasted crust and regular feta.

I used Deborah Madison’s recipe for Yeasted Tart Dough with Olive Oil from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone but only with half of the amount. For ½ egg, beat 1 egg and divide it in half, using the rest for another purpose. Reheat leftovers in the oven (a few minutes under the broiler set on low will do), not in the microwave, where the crust will become soggy.

Zucchini Quiche with Yeasted Crust

Crust:

1 teaspoon active dry yeast

¼ teaspoon sugar

¼ cup lukewarm water

1½ tablespoons light olive oil

½ beaten egg

Pinch of salt

1 cup flour

Filling:

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1. Stir the yeast with the sugar and the water until the yeast is dissolved. Let stand for 10 minutes until it foams.

2. Mix the olive oil with the egg and the salt. Stir in the yeast mixture.

3. Add the flour, starting with ¾ cup and knead to a smooth dough that detaches from the bowl. The dough should be slightly tacky.

4. Place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover. Let rise for 45 minutes.

5. Prepare the filling as described here.

6. Preheat the oven to 375 C.

7. On a floured surface roll out the dough in a circle large enough to fit a 9-inch pie dish (not a deep dish) with a ½-inch edge. Pat the edge all around to even out the height and trim as necessary. You can use the trimmings to patch other places, it won’t show in the baked quiche.

7. Spread the filling over the dough and even it out with a spatula. Bake the quiche in the preheated oven for 35 minutes.