Garden Vegetable Quiche

It's no secret that I'm a big fan of quiche. Quiches are incredibly versatile, full of protein, and a great way to use up leftover vegetables (and eggs!).

Right before we jetted off to Mexico for my friend's wedding last week, I realized we had almost a dozen eggs left in our refrigerator. So, I made this quiche and we ate it for several dinners and breakfasts before we left.

The catch to making this quiche extra rich and protein-packed is Hood cottage cheese. Hood contacted me to see if I'd like to try some of their new, savory flavors - Garden Vegetable and Cucumber Dill - and the Garden Vegetable was incredible in this quiche. Each of Hood's new flavors contain 13 grams of protein per serving, and the Garden Vegetable flavor combines cottage cheese with carrot, bell pepper, onion, green onion, and cucumber. (I loved dipping sliced cucumber into it for a quick snack!). For some added nutrition and flavor, I also threw some fresh tomatoes and red onion into the quiche.

Garden Vegetable Quiche
Yields: 4-6 servings
-2 tablespoons olive oil
-1/2 cup diced red onion
-1/2 cup grated Parmesan
-2 small heirloom tomatoes, sliced
-8 large eggs
-1/2 cup Hood Garden Vegetable cottage cheese
-Salt and black pepper
-Pinch of grated fresh nutmeg
-1/8 teaspoon dill weed
-1 store-bought pie crust

Directions:
1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.) In a medium saute pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes.
3.) Place the store-bought pie crust in a 9-inch pie plate. Once onions have cooled slightly, spoon them on top of the crust; sprinkle over Parmesan cheese. Lay sliced tomatoes on top of cheese and onions.
4.) In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and cottage cheese. Season with salt, pepper, nutmeg, and dill weed. Pour egg mixture over onions, cheese, and tomatoes.
5.) Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until center is set. Let cool slightly before serving.

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Now that the weather isn't super muggy and unbearably hot (I just jinxed it...), it felt nice to turn my oven on again and make this quiche. It also came in so handy for quick, satisfying meals before we went on vacation...yet again.

What's one of your favorite dishes to make when you need to use up leftovers? 

I received coupons for the Hood cottage cheese, but all opinions are my own.

Cascade Brewing | Portland, Oregon

On one of our last days in Portland, Oregon, we stopped in at Cascade Brewing Barrel House for some beers and a snack. (Clearly, we made our rounds when it came to Portland breweries).

If you enjoy sour beer, Cascade Brewing is the place to go when you're in Portland.

They've termed their Barrel House the "House of Sour," where 18 rotating taps are available for your sipping pleasure - the majority of them being sour beers.

Cascade Brewing's beers are so good that they even have a 100% score on Beer Advocate right now - an extremely rare score to achieve. 

In addition to their solid brews, Cascade Brewing Barrel House also offers a simple yet impressive menu (with recommended beer pairings to boot). We weren't super hungry when we were there, but we did manage to eat every last crumb of the Artisanal Cheese Platter ($14).

Piled high with local and imported cheeses, this was one of the more outstanding cheese plates I've had in a long time. I loved the accompanying baguette slices and large, thin crackers, as well as the medley of pickled vegetables. The slices of fresh watermelon also added a necessary sweet bite to the mix. 

Cascade Brewing also has a second location in Portland called the Raccoon Lodge & Brew Pub. We didn't visit that location, but if it's anything like the Barrel House, you won't be disappointed.

Are you a fan of sour beers? 

Beer and Local Cheese Pairing at Formaggio Kitchen

Beer and cheese are two of my favorite things. While I've eaten the two together before, I've never stopped to contemplate how they can complement one another. Thankfully, Formaggio Kitchen did the work for me last week at their Beer & Local Cheese Pairing with Smuttynose Brewing Co.

I attended this event as a part of my partnership with Eventbrite, and I have to say - despite a few unorganized details (i.e. no pens for note-taking) - this was one of the most informative pairings I've ever been to.

The pairing was led by Formaggio's domestic cheese buyer, Sarah, as well as Smuttynose's head brewer (he's been their head brewer since 2001). The event was held at Formaggio Kitchen's Classroom Annex, and the classroom setting provided an ideal atmosphere for enjoying six flights of beer with six different kinds of cheeses. Here is the line-up of what we tried:

Flight #1: Opus 42 (cow's milk) from Rockport, ME with Vunderbar Pilsner (Czech-style pilsner)

Flight #2: Cabot (cow's milk) from Greensboro, VT with Finest Kind IPA (American IPA)

Flight #3: Reading (cow's milk) from Reading, VT with Wheat Wine Ale (hybrid beer)

Flight #4: Coupole (goat's milk) from Vermont with Bloom (Belgium-style pale ale)

Flight #5: Bayley Hazen (cow's milk) from Greensboro, VT with Gravitation (quadrupel)

Flight #6: Boston Post Dairy Tres Bonne (goat's milk) from Enosburg Falls, VT with Robust Porter (American porter)

Although I thought all of the pairings worked, my favorite of the evening was #4. Smuttynose's Bloom is a beer they brewed with the chef from Black Trumpet Bistro in Portsmouth, N.H. The head brewer and the chef actually went out and foraged flowers in order to make this brew. The beer had a wonderful, almost earthy smell and flavor, and it paired beautifully with the tangy goat's milk cheese.

All in all, this was a really fun and informative event. I highly recommend attending a Formaggio Kitchen class - especially if you're a cheese fiend like me.

Have you been to any fun food events lately?

This post is part of an ongoing partnership with Eventbrite Boston. Eventbrite enables people all over the world to plan, promote, and sell out any event. It's also a destination for people to discover awesome events going on in THEIR city! Whatever your desires, hobbies, or interests - from photography workshops and wine classes to food festival and industry conferences, there's an event on Eventbrite for you to attend! Keep up on the goings-on in Beantown by following Eventbrite Boston on Twitter or liking them on Facebook! Planning an event? Go ahead and create an account to get started.