Rainy day "quiche"

It's a gloomy, soggy day in Christchurch. I really shouldn't be complaining about this, since other parts of the country are copping it much worse than we are, but it's still far from pleasant here. The thing about cold, rainy days is that you just feel like eating more. I had much the same sort of lunch today as I do every day, but by 3pm I was absolutely starving, and thinking about what I could have for dinner.

So before I left work, I flicked through my Edmonds book for something that would be quick and yet satisfying for my rainy-day stomach. Quick quiche (p97) seemed to fit the bill. It's a quiche which uses an Edmonds pancake and pikelet mix as the base. I popped into Pak N Save on my way home for some eggs, bacon, and the pancake and pikelet mix.


All was going well until I realised I'd also need some parsley, and had to negotiate my way back to the produce section, where I ran headlong into the first rush of after-work shoppers, and even then couldn't find any parsley except for the 'living herb' kind which always has way more than you need. Oh well.

I drove home through the downpour, and parked my car in the carport. Groceries in hand, I managed to jump from the driver's door right over the huge puddle that always fills up the carport in heavy rain - without dropping the eggs and/or falling and landing on my face, scenarios which my imagination handily supplied when I was poised to make the leap.

Anyway, I made it to dry land, and headed inside to make my quiche. You basically mix the eggs, milk and parsley with the pancake mix and cheese, then fry up the bacon and onion. The bacon and onion goes into the bottom of the dish, and you pour the egg mixture on top. Quite easy really, though it then has to cook for 40 minutes, which hardly fits the description of "quick".

I was annoyed to find that I had again been duped into buying a packet mix which is more expensive because it includes a packet of maple (flavoured) syrup - so useful for my quiche! I suppose you can get the mix without the syrup, but this was the only one they had at Pakkers. I must remember to look at Countdown when I'm buying these packet mixes.


Anyway, the quiche is in the oven now: I won't go as far as saying I'm feeling optimistic about it, but it was looking quite good last time I checked it. I'll find out very soon how it's come out.

- 30 minutes later -

It's hard to say whether I can call this a success or not: 

Has it risen? Yes.

Is it cooked through? Yes.

Did I follow the recipe correctly? Yes.

Would I call it a quiche? Absolutely not. 

I'd call it a weird sort of savoury cake, with a slightly soggy bacon and onion layer on the bottom.

It doesn't taste bad. You could liken it to those cheesy specialty breads you get with bits of onion and stuff in them - except that the texture is very much that of a cake. It's just odd. And now I have a whole dish of the stuff to get through.

I did think it was strange using a flour-based cake mix for a quiche, but was willing to give it a try. I won't be making it again though - by the time you've bought the pancake mix, bacon, eggs and cheese, it becomes quite expensive. And anyway, it's just weird.