Now that we’re dependent on our three hens for all of our egg needs, I count eggs before planning meals. For example, tonight I’m planning to make breaded Dover sole (1 egg), steamed asparagus, hot Kashi (a mix of 7 whole grains), and a French lemon tart (Julia Child recipe, 5 eggs). Tonight’s meal will use six out of the seven eggs that I have on hand. We’ll get more eggs sometime tomorrow, but we won’t be having eggs for breakfast.

That got me to thinking about the various ways in which I plan to use our eggs. Ova, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. 

Fried 

Scrambled 

Omelettes 

Frittatas 

Eggs Benedict  

Pancakes

German pancakes

Potato pancakes 

Boiled and put into a spinach salad, salad Nicoise, or shrimp salad 

 Egg salad and egg salad sandwiches 

Deviled eggs  

 Quiches (esp. leek quiche, see recipe below)  

Souffles (cheese, garlicky grits and cheese, chocolate, lemon) 

Baked in corned beef hash nests  

Poached and put into nests of chard, carrots and rice  

French lemon tart  

Pies (key lime, lemon meringue, chocolate meringue, banana meringue, pumpkin, pecan)

Cakes  (Esp. angel food and sponge cakes)

Cookies

Muffins

Brownies

Quick breads such as nut bread

Yeast rolls

Fritters 

Tamago yaki (Japanese sweet eggs with Mirin)

Oh, my, so many delicious ways to use eggs. And those are just off the top of my head. I suspect that now that we have our own hens, we’ll be eating more eggs for lunch and dinner (and even less meat).

I grew these leeks from seed, planting them last January. These are the first I harvested. Each of those floor tiles is a foot square, so those are some pretty nice leeks.

Here is a recipe for Leek and Mushroom Quiche with a Potato Crust. I will definitely be making this recipe again. I modified it from one I found at gourmetfood.about.com, which was in turn from King Arthur Flour. And yes, I used King Arthur flour. Love their “white whole wheat” flour. Whole wheat nutrition without the denseness of whole wheat flour.

CRUST

1/2 C finely chopped onion

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp thyme

1/4 C King Arthur white whole wheat flour

1.5 lbs potatoes (about 5 small), peeled and grated

FILLING

1 T olive oil

1 T butter

2 medium leeks, sliced thinly

1.5 C sliced brown mushrooms

1 C grated cheese (recipe called for fontina or Swiss. I used sharp Vermont cheddar and Madrigal, a French Swiss-type cheese)

5 eggs

1/2 C milk

1/4 tsp Worchestershire sauce

smoked paprika

Preheat oven to 450 F. Grease a 9-10 ” deep pie pan or quiche pan.. Mix onion, flour, thyme and salt. Grate potatoes into a strainer and squeeze out any excess liquid. Combine with onion mixture, mixing to combine. Press the mixture into the pie pan and up the sides. Bake for 25 minutes to let steam escape. Brush with olive oil and bake for another 15 minutes. Remove from oven and turn oven down to 350 F.

Unbaked potato crust in quiche pan

Brown sliced leeks and mushrooms in a 50:50 mix of olive oil and butter

Heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add leeks and mushrooms. Cook until liquid boils off and vegetables are brown. Season with salt and pepper if desired.

Put hot vegetables into the pie crust and sprinkle cheese on top.

Leeks and mushrooms in pre-baked potato crust

Whisk eggs, milk and Worchestershire sauce and pour slowly over vegetables. Sprinkle top with paprika. Bake at 350 F for 25-30 minutes, until center is high and set. Remove from oven, cool for ten minutes, serve warm.

Adding the cheese should bring the contents just barely to the top of the crust. No worries, the egg mixture fills in the spaces. Sprinkle paprika on top and bake.

Finished quiche should be puffy all the way to the center, with the center "set."

(To read more of Lou Murray’s environmental writing, see her weekly column, Natural Perspectives, in the Huntington Beach Independent at www.hbindependent.com /blogs_and_columns