Hummus...Interrupted

Did it really turn out?

The perfect quiche. How do you describe this amazing flaky crust, smooth filling, with the perfect variety of vegetables? That is, the perfect variety without having too many flavors colliding and grappling for your tastebuds’ attentions. You may do everything right. You may have each ingredient prepared perfectly. You may have spinach barely wilted, scallions freshly cut, cleaned and fresh from the farm—all of this should make the perfect quiche. I’m convinced you can taste the difference between free range eggs and styrofoam crate, beak burned eggs from the Pick N’ Save.

You may work your whole life taking each, careful step to ensure that your ingredients are fresh. You try to be perfectly ripe, but not yet turned and certainly without too many preservatives, but what happens when you don’t turn out exactly as planned? If the presentation isn’t exact, is the end result still a masterpiece?

I made a quiche the other day that tasted great. I adored each bite, each flavor, each moment. But the crust was all wrong. The crust, a vegetable one, with carrots, broccoli and parsnips playing in my mind, tasted amazing. Not as doughy as my last crust, I was sure I had it right this time. Just as planned was the only way. I thought it would be amazing, perfect, magic. Maybe a little too much pressure for one crust, but I expected the best.

I was certain I had the bull by the horns, or maybe the egg by the shell. With bravado, I added the vegetables and filling and then remembered the key. The forgotten step: the boundary. The thin layer of cheese that separates the permeating vegetables from the crust, keeping the crust strong, crisp and intact. Funny how you put things into place and they come out a little soggy. Almost like that perfect hair day. I think it rained, but splashing around was fun. Of course the mushrooms soaked through and made my beautiful crust a pile of goo. I hope the parsnips at least tripped a little bit, but I doubt it.

The thing was, my quiche was amazing. It may not have turned out like a cookbook (or storybook) quiche, but it turned out. It had the perfect blend of flavors that only a crust battling to hang on can have. Perfection or not, while my quiche may not have belonged on the Food Network, it was mine. It was mine and it was good.