JUDITH'S ZUCCHINI PIE

This summer quiche seemed like the perfect opportunity to use up some of the ever-abundant zucchini AND to try out the recipe that Judith had posted on her blog. It was also the perfect opportunity to try the recipe for the pie crust made with olive oil that I wrote about HERE. I felt quite confident that both recipes would be successful, but it turns out I was only half right.

When I made the olive oil pie crust the only difference between it and the pie crust I usually make was using olive oil instead of Crisco. Once the dough was formed and I started to roll it out I noticed that it was much more elastic than 'regular' pie dough. The two secrets to a flaky pie crust are to make sure the fat is thoroughly blended into the flour before adding the ice water, and to handle the dough as little as possible once it's formed. A few quick passes with the rolling pin, fold it in half and plop it into the pie pan - all done with a light, quick touch. This dough was much firmer and required a much more forceful push of the rolling pin, but as with every new recipe, you just forge ahead and hope for the best.

While the pie dough was resting in the frig I assembled the ingredients for the quiche. Because I was running late I squeezed the zucchini after about 15 minutes to remove most of the water. Swiss cheese had been on sale at the grocery so that's what I used, although I think a nice smoky Provolone might be good too. It wasn't until the pie was in the oven and I was putting away the rest of the groceries that I thought about using some of the green onion I'd just bought. In retrospect I can say that it would have been a wonderful addition, so next time for sure.

And yes, there will be a next time for the quiche, but NOT for the olive oil pie dough! Tough, tough, tough! What a disappointment! Here I was hoping to have found a recipe for pie dough that would save my Crisco stash for other things, but no such luck. Oh well, live and learn! If you by chance have better luck with the olive oil pie crust recipe I'd love to hear about it!

For Judith's zucchini pie recipe click HERE.

IT'S ZUCCHINI TIME!

Our local farmers market is full of zucchini, and we bought several today. If only I had known that our neighbor would later knock on our door and offer me huge zucchini like the ones on the right!! I was a little surprised, because I didn't think they would have gotten THIS big THIS fast, but still, when life gives you zucchini...well, you gotta make zucchini bread!