Broccoli Quiche

Achoo! Where I live, we're on the cusp of spring allergy season, and if you're an annual victim of pollen's cruel effects, maybe you should consider eating less meat and dairy. Same if you value safe drinking water, or want to avoid lung problems or insect-borne diseases.

Why? Because animal agriculture is a significant driver of climate change, and climate change has major repercussions for human health. Longer springs mean longer allergy seasons. Heavy rainfalls and sea level rise contribute to fresh water pollution and salination, and droughts and earlier snowmelts can reduce water supply, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. Air pollution from more frequent and severe wildfires can impair lung function and increase a person's risk of heart attack, stroke, lung cancer, and cognitive decline.The burden of malaria and other vector-borne diseases is poised to increase with climatic changes to animal and insect habitats. Even poison ivy is more menacing in a warming world.

Scroll down for an explanation of the aluminum foil

By choosing plant-based foods, you are bypassing a dietary contribution to the climate change, and therefore contributing to better public health (plant-based foods are healthy for you as an individual, too). So allow yourself to feel very noble and benevolent when you make vegetarian recipes* like broccoli quiche, from "The Joy of Cooking".

Crust: see https://gomeatlessmarch.blogspot.com/2019/03/mushroom-parmesan-tart.html

Filling:

1/2 red onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

2/3 cup broccoli florets

3/4 cup grated Gruyere or other cheese

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

1.5 cups creme fraiche, heavy cream, milk, or some combo

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

pinch of nutmeg

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil until soft. Blanch and drain broccoli. Spread the onions, broccoli, and cheese on the bottom of the pie shell. Mix the remaining ingredients and pour into the shell. Bake at 375 until filling is browned and set, 25-35 minutes.

Here's a tip: If your crust starts getting too brown in the oven, which is especially likely if you blind-bake it before filling as I did, you can drape the quiche with a piece of aluminum foil with a hold cut from the center.

*Better yet, make a vegan quiche like the one I reviewed in December!