Crustless Spinach & Ham Quiche

 (with option for a gluten free quiche)

Prep Time:  15 
Cook Time:  25 min
Level:  Easy
Serves:  8 servings

Ingredients
Extra-virgin olive oil, for greasing and drizzling
2     Cups grated mozzerella cheese
2     tablespoons flour (use rice flour to keep this gluten free)
1 cup fresh baby spinach, rough chopped in small pieces
8 large eggs 
1/2 lb ham, cubed (I used 2 thick slices, all natural ham from deli counter & cubed myself)
2     teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
6     scallions, chopped
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 cup milk (unsweetened almond, rice, cow's - whatever you have)

Directions
Position a rack in the upper third of the oven, place a baking sheet on the rack and preheat to 450 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish with olive oil.

Lightly beat eggs in a bowl then add salt and pepper, grated nutmeg, chopped chives, ham, and spinach.  In a seperate bowl, toss 2C mozzerella with 2TB of flour.  Add chees tossed in flour into egg mixture.  Stir.  Now add the milk.  Use your judgement here.  The mixture should pour into the dish without splashing so add more or less milk depending. 

Pour the mixture into the prepared dish and sprinkle with paprika. Place the quiche on the preheated baking sheet and bake until the center is just set, 20 to 25 minutes.

Serve the quiche hot or at room temperature.

Photograph by Lindsey Fuller

 Copyright 2011 The Everyday Organic
All Rights Reserved

Quinoa Tabbouleh

Thanks to Chef Megan McCarthy, the dish I brought to the lake was a complete hit! Fresh cucumbers and tomatoes from my in laws garden took it over the edge. Quinoa can be used as a substitute for rice, couscous & even bulgur wheat as in traditional tabbouleh. Quinoa is gluten free which makes it a fantastic wheat substitute. It's 6g of protein for every 1/2 cooked cup also make it a good source of non-animal protein.


Here's Chef Megan's recipe for Quinoa Tabbouleh:

1C Quinoa (rinsed til the natural occurring white residue is off & water runs clear)
2C water
2TB extra virgin olive oil
3 Roma tomatoes (or 1/2C cherry tomatoes from the garden), seeded and diced-obviously roma tomatoes are easier to seed but I had fresh cherry tomatoes so that's what I used.
1 Cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
2 green onions, chopped
1/4C fresh lemon juice
Salt & fresh ground pepper to taste

Bring water and quinoa to a boil. Cover and turn down to simmer 12-15 minutes or until water is absorbed. Fluff with a fork while transferring to a bowl so it can cool. Add remaining ingredients to quinoa. Serve at room temperature (our favorite) or chilled. Serves 4-6

This is a great side dish or vegetarian meal. Leftovers are perfect for brown baggin' it to work.

Organic Mushroom Kit

We discovered The Mushroom Kit while in Berkeley, CA.. A science experiment turned business for two college guys. Huh, so there really IS stuff growin' in the guy's dorm... anywhoo, back to the root of the story. Karen, an enthusiastic endorser of the product, educated us on how these mushrooms grow in recycled coffee grounds. She appeared to be closer to my age than two college kids, which means she must know what she's talkin' about.

We bring home a kit. Now, I will pre-warn you, if you're flying home with one of these kits in your carry on bag, you might have some 'splainin to do at security. "It's a mushroom kit" isn't really enough to get TSA clearance. In fact, they might just raise their brow a little higher. Eventually, my husband told them we were in Berkley and before he even finished getting it out of his mouth, the head of security said "I should've know you were from Berkeley. Go ahead".

Once safely at home, we started the kit. Easy to follow instructions lead you to cut one side of the box, make a small cross slit in the plastic bag and then mist twice a day. Nothing appears to be happening for about 5 days and then all of a sudden, BAM, you have mushrooms growing. I meant to take a picture of the very beginning but seriously, everyday they doubled in size. It's cool and kinda weird having mushrooms growing in the corner on our kitchen counter but certainly earth friendly and budget friendly. Besides, if they're good enough for Alice Waters, they're good enough for me.

Organic Snacks

The heat is on! If you're lookin' for somethin' to help heat up your summer snackin', may I suggest A Hot Mess.  Pure Bliss Organics roasted cashews, peanuts, and puffed rice with tamari and cayenne to give your mouth a sizzle.  Don't be afraid of the heat, once our 12year old tasted it, she claimed that bag as "hers".  Funny.  

Sweetly-glazed almonds, hazelnuts, and raisins are combined with crystallized ginger making the perfect Sweet Nuttins.  Sprinkle this on top and your guaranteed to get those kids to eat their yogurt.

Pure Bliss Organics offers other NEW flavors of gourmet nuts including Pretty Good Stuff (a savory blend of nuts and cranberries) and Off The Walnuts (Walnuts dusted with cinnamon & ginger).  All four flavors mentioned here are vegan and gluten free.

Snack on!  

Vegetarian Baked Beans

For our family, Baked Beans are such a reminder of summer. Cookin' out after a day on the lake or the beach-there's nothin' like it. However, in our quest to eat less meat I had to figure out a way to save the flavor without the...bacon. According to my kids' reaction, I figured it out! Not only that, you cook it in the crock pot-easy easy!

3 cans pinto beans (vegetarian style)
1C Organic Ketchup
2TB Spicy Mustard
1TB Worcestershire sauce
1 Medium Onion chopped (preferably a sweet onion from Vidalia, Georgia)
2TB honey
1/4 tsp Kosher salt
ground pepper to taste

Put all the ingredients in a slow cooker on low setting, give it a stir, cover and go sit on the porch and sip some sweet tea for two hours.

Community Gardens

Gardens just make people happy and community gardens are popping up everywhere. Since the idea of prepping and turning your own soil can seem daunting, especially to urban dwellers and suburbanites, it’s a nice way to share the work load. Not only do you share the weeding and watering, you also share the fun part…harvesting!





Highland Community Victory Garden in Raleigh, North Carolina is not only serving those who directly care for the garden but excess produce is donated to “Plant a Row for the Hungry”. This allows families access to fresh produce who might otherwise go without.



Cullen Whitley is the Garden Coordinator and both his BIG heart and Masters in Horticulture help get the job done.


If you’re in the Raleigh area and interested in joining the Highlands work, it only takes $10 and a commitment of 10 hours. Though Cullen assured me that while no one is turned away because of money, everyone gets their hands dirty! Not in the Raleigh area, no worries, Find a community garden near you

Organic Strawberries

Strawberries are repeatedly on the dirty dozen list as one of the fruits with the highest pesticide residue. That’s enough to make you want to grow your own. Which is just what I did with my niece recently. We drilled holes in the bottom of old pots and buckets, dropped in some empty recycling containers so we didn’t need as much dirt in the large buckets then filled them with organic potting soil almost to the top. Gently placed the organic strawberry plants in the soil and added more around them, packing lightly until the plants were securely in place.

Grace will tell you what to do next.

"Put them in the sun, water them with water and wait til they turn red."

25$ off carpet cleaning

Get $25 off your service with Zerorez by telling them Jennifer Fuller, The Everyday Organic, sent you (tell them at the time service is scheduled). Request Matthew if he's available.

50% off Coupon

In celebration of St. Patrick's Day, Earth Fare is giving you 50% off their Hot Bar & Salad Bar. Get the coupon and Save!

Gluten Fee Cake Mix Review

After the taste test with gluten free cake mixes from Betty Crocker and Cherrybrook Kitchens, Arrowhead Mills Gluten Free Cake Mix needed a test. As far as pricing, it's about the same as the others ~$4.50/box but Arrowhead Mills coupons are easier to come by.

Just like Betty Crocker, this mix calls for eggs in the recipe. Remember, there are many options for baking without eggs. Applesauce (1/4 C:1 egg) is an easy vegan substitute for eggs. Though in this case, I made the cake as suggested on the box.

The flavor of this cake was vanilla so I have to take that difference into account (the others were chocolate). The texture of it was gritty and even though the mix was really runny, the cake wasn't as moist as you would expect. That could've been because I left it in the oven longer to make up for the liquidity of the mix to begin with...which came first?... If I tried it again, I'd use less water but I have to admit, I'm still liking Betty's mix.

Egg Substitutes-Baking without Eggs

When baking, eggs add moisture, bind ingredients together, and/or they leaven. What’s the egg’s purpose in your recipe? If the egg is the main liquid ingredient, it adds moisture. If the recipe has one egg but nothing else to hold the other ingredients together (i.e. bread crumbs, nuts, flour) the egg is the binder. If there are no other rising agents, such as baking soda or baking powder, the egg is the leavening.

The following is a list of substitutions for eggs in baking.
The amounts listed are what are needed for each egg being replaced.
Keep in mind the fewer the eggs in a recipe; the easier it will be to alter it without noticing a difference.

=1 EGG



2 TB H2O, 1 TB oil, & 2 tsp bkg pwdr

2 TB water & 2 tsp baking powder

1 TB soy powder & 2 TB water

1 average size banana-also adds flavor

1/4 C soymilk

1/4 C Applesauce

3 TB Veganaise

1/4 C Flax Meal mix-grind 1heaping TB whole flax seed until a fine meal in a coffee grinder. Add 1/4 cup cold water & flax seed to blender & blend 2-3 minutes til thick & has the consistency of eggs.

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Betty Crocker vs. Cherrybrook Kitchen Gluten Free

And the winner IS...
Cake B, Betty Crocker Gluten Free Devil's Food Cake mix. For taste and moistness.

It won with the baker as well because it was much easier to work with. The other one kept falling apart as I was assembling it. Though that didn't stop it from getting eaten...

There are a few things worth mentioning about these gluten free mixes. The Betty Crocker mix requires 3 eggs and 1 stick of butter (I used 1/2C oil) while the Cherrybrook Kitchen mix is dairy and egg free. That means even if dairy allergies aren't a concern, you still only need water and oil for the mix. The price of each mix is about the same, ~$4.50 each. Another important note; when buying gluten free cake mixes, the boxes are the same size as any other cake mix box, however, they only make one layer. Not two like conventional cake mixes. So when making a layer cake, you'll need two boxes making the cost ~$10 for each cake in addition to frosting.

After drooling over these pictures, you're gonna want the recipes for the Chocolate Mousse Cake and Ganache.

Chocolate Mousse

Classic French Style
8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/4C unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
3 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons rum
5 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1. In a heavy saucepan, combine the chocolate, butter, and water. Stir occasionally while over low heat until chocolate melted and smooth. Stir in the rum. Remove from heat and let cool for ~2 minutes.

2. When chocolate feels comfortably hot to the touch, add the yolks all at once and stir quickly-you don’t want scrambled eggs in your mousse.

3. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until frothy. Add cream of tartar and continue beating until soft peaks form and hold their shape.

4. Using a flat spatula fold one-half of the beaten egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Then fold that chocolate-egg mixture into the remainder of the egg whites gently folding in until no streaks are visible.

5. Carefully, so as not to deflate the mousse, transfer the mousse to a serving bowl or divide into serving dishes, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, until firm. If using for filling in a cake, you can refrigerate it in the same both you mixed it in.

Serving: Bring to room temperature (~5 minutes) before serving.

When using as a cake filling. Let cake layers cool completely. Put the first layer on your serving plate, top with the chocolate mousse. Gently place the 2nd layer of the cake on top of the mousse. Press on top layer only enough so it sets. DO NOT smash the chocolate mousse. You worked very hard to get those egg whites fluffy, don't crush them. You can now pour your ganache over the cake letting it run down the sides. Use a butter knife to smooth the ganache over and along the sides. Let stand at least 15minutes before serving.

You may refrigerate this cake before serving but be sure to wrap it so it in plastic or foil (be sure to recycle afterward) doesn't dry out.

Chocolate Ganache Recipe

*This basic recipe can easily be converted to Vegan Chocolate Ganache

1pkg (~15oz) chocolate chips
½ C almond milk

I used Ghirardelli chocolate. You can use non-dairy chocolate to make this completely vegan. Rice milk, coconut milk, even cow’s milk all work.

You can use an official double-boiler if you have one. I use a make shift one by bringing about 2C of water to boil in a medium-sized heavy saucepan. Then turn the heat down to a very gentle simmer. I place a glass bowl on top of the saucepan, carefully making sure it sits securely on top.

Then pour chocolate chips in the bowl on top of the pot of simmering water. Add 1/4C almond milk. Gently stir the chocolate and milk. Be careful not to let the chocolate burn so don’t rush this. As the chocolate melts, add more almond milk until desired consistency. Once the chocolate’s almost completely melted, turn the heat off and stir until it’s smooth and shiny. Then pour or spoon over cooled cake. Ganache will need about 15 minutes to set.

You can also dip strawberries or fruit in the ganache at this point and let set on a piece of parchment paper.

Be sure to lick the spoon…

The Best Gluten Free Cake Mix

It's on; Cherrybrook Kitchen vs. Betty Crocker! Which gluten free cake mix will win the taste test tonight? Two chocolate mousse cakes with ganache frosting are ready to go. Both are gluten free but will both win the favor of my finicky family and friends? We shall see. Stay tuned for the results!

Cherrybrook Kitchen Gluten Free Dreams Chocolate Cake Mix

Betty Crocker Gluten Free Devil's Food Cake Mix

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Does ZEROREZ® Work?

The carpet is dry & the results are in on our all natural carpet cleaning from ZEROREZ®. Keep in mind these photos are of the toughest spots and as I told you before they were up front about the challenge of getting tea stains out. As you can see, it's still there. Overall though I have to say I'm very pleased. The first thing my sister said when she came over was "Wow, did you get your carpets cleaned" DON'T YOU READ MY TWEETS?! Anyway, here you go:

Tea Stain-still there...:(

Ink spot in office-MUCH better & not noticeable unless you knew it was there.

Stairs-FAB

Top of Stairs-not noticeable unless looking for it.

Daughters' room-MUCH better and overall looks great.
Does ZEROREZ® work? Yes
Would I use them again? Yes and in Atlanta, I'd ask for the technician Matt (very professional and paying his way through college so help out his education)
Am I happy to have clean carpets and NO chemicals? OH YES!
For all of you wondering, NO, this is NOT a paid advertisement and NO, I didn't get a discount on my carpet cleaning b/c of this blog but I better in the future :).

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YEAH! Carpets are being cleaned.

EWE N ICK! The AFTER water...