Food on Thursdays: Pies!

 Oh, Vancouver. We miss you already.

I've been thinking about this beach all day. We're in a cold spell again here and the chill has seeped into my bones. I'm trying to remember exactly how it felt to have the sun on my face last weekend, watching four little ones enjoy all that sand. I can tell you, in case it's been awhile for you, that warm sun on your cheeks feels pretty fantastic. 

Spring has certainly hit this part of Canada, despite today's colder temperatures, so I know there is much sun to come around here. But today was cold and we hid away inside. I thought of braving the day and walking with the girls to the library, but I've been sick since we got back and I wanted an extra day of hibernating. 

So instead we made pies.

I picked up leeks a few weeks ago and they've been haunting the fridge, starring me down every time I open the crisper. I chose them with a quiche in mind, but sometimes I put off making pie crust just because it seems hard. But really, it isn't. When I decided today that this quiche was finally going to happen, I reminded myself that I always dread the making of crust, but that each and every time I end up going on and on about how easy it was. (Like right now.) I stand behind Martha's pate brisee recipe and I suggest that you do, too. It calls for a lot of butter, but don't worry. It's delicious.

Since Shira was having a nap, I invited Alyce to help with the crust. The recipe makes enough for two pies, and since a quiche only requires one of those crusts, I was eager to make something else with my little one, who, obviously, was also eager to make something other than quiche (as she stated loudly). So in addition to the quiche, we decided to make two mini-pies, a raspberry tart for Alyce and an apple tart for me and everyone else. We didn't follow a recipe so much as we threw some fruit into the shells (and the raspberries came straight from the freezer) and topped them with butter and brown sugar (and some cinnamon for the apples). There was no measuring of any kind, unless you count the number of times I counted Alyce dipping her finger directly into the bag of brown sugar (you really don't want to know how many times).  We baked them for 45ish minutes at 350, though I should have had the oven at 375. The choice is yours. Either way you'll get a pie out of it.

Shira eventually woke up and joined us in the kitchen. Here Alyce is slipping her handfuls of edamame beans leftover from lunch. Alyce loves to feed Shira as much healthy, growing food as possible so that she can keep all the sugary pies for herself.

Eventually I made quiche, with no help at all from my helper. I use Tamra Davis' quiche recipe as my base because it only calls for three eggs and a cup of milk. Martha's quiche calls for a dozen eggs and I just couldn't commit to that. As for what went in the quiche, I sauteed the leeks (finally!) with some mushrooms, and of course, added a large handful of white cheddar. Next time I hope I won't let a silly crust stand in the way of a good quiche.

P.S. Did you Thursday treat you well? Did you eat anything delicious today? Would you like to share?