Welcome Spring with Tofu Quiche!!

The Spring Equinox — March 20th — happened while I was in Seattle. So I didn't get a chance to properly celebrate the first day of my favorite season. I had a makeup day last Sunday instead.

You see, I HATE, HATE, HATE winter. Hate the cold. Hate the ice. Hate the snow. Hate the grey skies. Hate the dead things and the lack of fresh tomatoes and basil and corn and watermelon. And all that hate makes the coming of spring so much more special. When I start to see the little buds on trees and the first daffodil blossoms, I get so excited. On the first day that I can wear a tee-shirt and my little black flats without socks or a jacket, I'm beside myself with joy.

So yea, I'm a pretty happy girl right now! On Saturday, we had what I hope will be our last cold snap. At night, the temperature dropped to 40-something, and I had to pull out my winter coat again! But on Sunday, temps were in the high 60s, and even though it wasn't the first day of spring, it felt like it to me. It was a perfect time to celebrate. And what better way to celebrate the fertility of the earth than with the ultimate fertility food — eggs! Okay, well vegan eggs. I made this Vegan Quiche Lorraine.

Since I'm working on my vintage vegan cookbook, I figured this would be a great time to develop a new recipe for this oh-so-1960s recipe. Traditional quiche lorraine is made with bacon and Swiss, and it was a fixture at 1960s dinner parties. Look at this awesome old ad for Robin Hood flour with a quiche lorraine recipe!

I'm saving the recipe for my cookbook, but I can give you the basics: I used a silken tofu-chickpea flour base instead of eggs, and I seasoned it with black salt for that eggy flavor. I used Sweet Earth Benevolent Bacon, but any vegan bacon will do (even homemade tempeh bacon!). And instead of vegan Swiss, I used vegan mozzarella. But Daiya vegan Swiss would have been good too. I just figured the recipe would be more accessible with vegan mozzarella since it's more widely available.

I enjoyed my quiche with my Sauteed Garlic Kale recipe, also going in the book (1990s chapter). It's a quick saute with kale, garlic, mirin, and soy sauce.

Happy Spring!