A cheddar-goat-chese-quiche washed down with buttermilk raspberry cake

"It's not as bad as it looks? It's not as bad as pepperoni? Pepperoni's beef trim. It's pork trim. It's worse than meat! It wishes it were meat!"

And so goes the delightful food-centric play Food for Thought by playwright Rich Rubin that I had the honor of directing for the Lakeshore Players Ten-Minute Play Festival. The producer somehow thought I would be a good match for a play about a vegetarian-all organic woman and the boyfriend who "cheats" on her with pepperoni pizza and Twinkies. ("It was just a one-time thing. It didn't mean anything. I didn't even enjoy it all that much.") Food and theatre combined this month to do damage to my waistline. (And the truth is, I revelled in it all - the waistline blip, the play festival and the time spent with the play and my actors.) 

Whether I'm directing shenanigans with Hansel and Gretel and the Gingerbread House or figuring out how to create a 20 scoop ice cream cone for the grade school play or doling out Mars Bars and Milky Ways for the teen play about the moon landing, I have found my theatre life awash with food and my food life filled with temptations. And a few times when I came home late enough that I was morphing into a pumpkin, I had this "cheddar goat cheese with ramps" quiche waiting. Flirting. Beckoning. And I succumbed.  As did everyone in the family.

Inspired by Floriole's Cafe in Chicago, I didn't bother with the crust - I was just mad for the filling. But if you're a "crusty" person - have it your way! Husband-person who long ago decided he was a "real man who didn't eat quiche," gave in to the charms of the cheddar goat cheese and mellow spring ramps. I trust that you will, too.

Cheddar Goat Cheese Quiche with Spring Ramps
Ingredients

• 1 cup grated or shredded cheddar goat cheese
• 3/4 cup spring ramps - chopped into 1/4" pieces
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1-3/4 cups of half and half, or a mixtrure of cream and milk or just milk
• 4 eggs
• salt and white pepper to taste

  

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 9-inch pie or quiche pan. Sautee ramps in butter until softened (about 4 minutes.) Drain ramps on a paper towel. Whisk eggs and cream until combined. Gently stir in  cheese and ramps. Salt and pepper to taste. Pout into prepared pan. Bake 35-40 minutes (until center puffs up). Cool 5-10 minutes. Carefully slide crustless quiche onto plate. Serve warm or at room temperature. It's summer - bask in the ease.

Of Muses and Meringues had a buttermilk-raspberry cake that was so light, so tender, so fluffy, I was sure it had no calories. I was wrong but let me say, it was worth it! Since toddler-hood I have been a raspberry worshiper, appreciater and lover. When husband and son were off doing the MS150 (so proud!), I was digging holes in the ground for raspberry bushes because we finally have a new sunny patch in our yard. And I will make a beeline for those berries when they come in - warding off the birds - just as I did when I was two.

Find the recipe here.It has everything you want in a summer recipe: ease, freshness, a lightness of being and the sweet without the cloying. And the bonus - you'll love Beth's blog. It's a promise.

Summer is both fertile ground for new creations and recipes that spotlight an ingredient with little fuss. Fuss in the winter.

Savor in the summer.