Rice Crust Quiche Remix

Lately,
I've been trying to do a better job
of using leftovers in new ways.
It makes the food more interesting,
and it's been a challenge coming up with ideas 
to use what we have.

Earlier in the week,
portobello mushroom "burgers" were on the menu.
I don't eat meat, so this is my stand in
when the boys are eating their turkey burgers.
Two kinds of steak fries were prepared as sides.
The mushrooms were huge, so there were leftovers.

They were chopped up and added to my rice crusted quiche mixture.
Included in the deliciousness was some cheddar cheese
and Malabar spinach, 
grown by my farmer friends, Faye & Lynn.
The crust was made using instant brown rice,
instead of the usual basmati.
It's the first time I've bought instant rice,
but brown rice is something that's been
difficult for me to get just right.
The difference in texture was barely noticeable,
and the brown rice is a better nutritional boost of fiber.

You can find the original recipe for rice crusted quiche here.
The leftovers of quiche were savored for lunch 
2 days in a row.
Leftovers from leftovers!
Showing gratitude for all that we have
 includes not being wasteful with food.

"Without frugality, none can be rich, 
and with it, very few would be poor."
~Samuel Johnson

Without frugality none can be rich, and with it very few would be poor. Samuel Johnson
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/search_results.html?q=frugality

Do you like to turn leftovers into something special?

The Maple Hill Hop 142

Welcome to 

The Maple Hill Hop.

This is a hop for folks who love the outdoors.

Feel free to post about anything that's going on

OUTSIDE

in your neck of the woods,
no matter the season.

(Please share only outdoor posts.)

*Grab the button above to link back to Maple Hill 101.*

Today we return to Farm School,
where we are updating some of our recent tasks
at Faye & Lynn's 7,000 square-foot container garden.

Summertime is not our peak growing season.
Due to our heat, humidity,
and an abundance of bugs,
it's a difficult time for a vegetable gardener.
Here are three crops that are faring well
so far this season.   



About a month ago,
we showed you how our pigeon peas were doing.
They germinated well and haven't needed much care.  

Four weeks later,
you can see how much they've grown.
We have spotted some leaf rollers on them,
but they seem to be holding their own.
The insects are hand-picked and sent to their doom.
Each of these plants will grow upwards of 5 feet tall,
and provide us with oodles of podded peas.
We profiled this crop here.  

Another new crop we're trying this summer
is Malabar spinach.
Here it is newly sprouting,
about 4 weeks ago. 

With ample rain, it's coming right along.
This is a new crop for us,
so we are enjoying learning about its growth habits.
I sampled some and it is quite an unusual texture.
The tender leaves were very subtle in flavor,
and almost seem to melt in your mouth.
 

I'm looking forward to using this food source
in a variety of ways to add more nutrition to my diet.

One summer staple that Faye & Lynn
have had consistent success with is okra.
This crop is undaunted by the scorching sun
and constant soaring temperatures.
Lynn has almost 500 okra plants growing. 

 Once this crop starts blooming,
the okra is on its way.

Being a Yankee,
I never had a yearning to add this to my plate.
Since sampling pickled okra,
I'm a believer.
I plan to have this planted in my garden
during the finicky summer days of growing.
Good to know at least something can stand the heat,
even if this gardener can't.

That's what's happening where we are.
How 'bout you?
HOP to it! 

   

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The Maple Hill Hop 139

Welcome to 

The Maple Hill Hop.

This is a hop for folks who love the outdoors.

Feel free to post about anything that's going on

OUTSIDE

in your neck of the woods,
no matter the season.

(Please share only outdoor posts.)

*Grab the button above to link back to Maple Hill 101.*

Today we pay another visit to 
Farm School
to see what we've been up to 
on our weekend visits to The Hill.

Last week, we showed you how we worked on sowing
two new crops.
One was pigeon peas,
and the other was Malabar Spinach.
These pots represent some of the hundreds of seeds planted
in anticipation of this addition to the garden.

While germination was good at almost 90%,
we reseeded where a few hadn't come up in the pots.
Since we aren't familiar with this particular crop,
we hedged our bets and decided to reseed every single spot that hadn't come up.

Any small seeds sown are planted using tweezers,
to ensure seed depth is consistent.

I'd be willing to bet that these 15 or so seeds we replanted on Sunday,
come up readily by the end of the week.
What a blast getting to try a new crop.



We also tackled the job of transplanting
a couple of varieties of lettuce to larger pots.
Lynn is working on getting lettuce to grow year-round.
It's a daunting task, considering our high heat and humidity all summer long.
We're presently working on a new variety 
that is said to be able to withstand our harsh conditions.
We hope to have an update on that in the next few weeks.

Our final garden chore of the morning 
was to transplant these lemongrass cuttings into pots.
I have a couple of these plants in my garden at home and absolutely love 'em!
They grow like weeds, have no bug trouble,
and smell fantastic when they get clipped.
I often trim some and leave them on the grass 
just before Big K cuts the lawn.
Aromatherapy in a big way!

lemongrass in our garden

This lil' guy was busy wetting his whistle
while we were occupied with potting up the cuttings.

I'll bet that's some mighty good lemongrass tea he's gettin'.
So many wonders of nature surround us
as we do our work.

Some of the orchids here are savoring the summer weather.
They sure look a lot better than I do
after a full day in the heat!

That's what we've been up to.
What's happening where you are?
HOP to it!

  

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

The Maple Hill Hop 138

Welcome to 

The Maple Hill Hop.

This is a hop for folks who love the outdoors.

Feel free to post about anything that's going on

OUTSIDE

in your neck of the woods,
no matter the season.

(Please share only outdoor posts.)

*Grab the button above to link back to Maple Hill 101.*

Today we are going back to Farm School,
so that I can share a bit of an update 
on Faye & Lynn's 7,000-square foot container garden.
(You can see all of our Farm School posts under our header.)

Summer is typically a slow time for the Florida veggie garden.

Lynn grows hundreds of okra plants at this time,

as well as a variety of herbs.

He's working on keeping lettuce going through the summer

by using the shadier parts of the garden,

 and he wants to be able to offer his customers something new.

This is Red Malabar spinach, 

an alternative to lettuce or conventional spinach.

While traditional varieties of spinach do well here in cooler months,

this is the perfect time to start up a batch of this heat-lover.

It germinates within a week,

and given sufficient water, it will continue to grow

with very little help from the gardener.

Lynn seeded his plants every 2 inches apart,

and has them aligned down the center of each pot.

The trellises are already in place,

so that this climber can reach for the sky.

It's so exciting trying new crops.

Knowing that this particular spinach doesn't mind the heat,

gives us something to look forward to.

The other new crop being grown this season is pigeon peas.

We had some growing in our backyard,

and thought that Lynn & Faye might like to try them out.

(They were profiled here.)

They enjoyed the taste when we picked some for them,

and we were happy to share the harvested seeds 

so that they could start their own crop.

At right around a month old,

these babies seem to be doing fine.

For now they are unsupported,

but Lynn may add stakes if need be.

It's fabulous to have another goodie to grow during this season,
when the veggie garden slows down due to heat and humidity.
Looking forward to seeing this crop flourish!

That's what's been happening at Farm School.
What's going on where you are?
Let's HOP!

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