I plugged in the food dehydrator later in the day, and it started up again. Thank goodness! Now all the tomatoes are done drying, and I am contemplating buying another batch to dry today. A good 15 lbs of tomatoes dried down to about a paper lunch sack full. It seems like such a waste, but what it really shows is how high in water all living things really are!

For dinner I made a fantastic quiche using a fistfull of dried tomatoes.

Crust:

• 1.5 cups unbleached, organic all purpose flour
• .5 cup flax seed meal
• 1/2 cup chilled butter
• pinch salt
• 2-4 Tablespoons water

Sift flour, flax seed meal and salt. Cut butter into Tablespoon sized chunks and then blend into flour mixture with your hands until pea-sized and smaller butter is well mixed through the dough. One Tablespoon at a time, stir water into dough. Add only enough water so that the dough forms a ball when gently pressed together.

On a floured board, roll out the dough to 1/4″ or less thickness. Place in pie plate and crimp edges. Set aside.

Filling:

• 3 fresh eggs
• 1 cup half and half
• 1 cup milk (or forget the 1/2 and 1/2 and use 2 cups milk…you’ll just get a runnier quiche)
• salt
• pepper
• fist full of dried tomatoes
• 2 cups grated cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup grated gruyere cheese (or grated parmesan)
• 1 bulb roasted garlic (yes, the whole bulb, not just one clove)
• 1/4 cup flax seed meal — yay! Highly nutritious!

Preheat oven to 475F. Squeeze pulp from roasted garlic and rub on uncooked pie crust. Fill unbaked shell with cheddar cheese, sprinkle with flax seed meal and arrange dried tomatoes decoratively over cheese.

Scald milk. As it is heating, whisk eggs together. Remove scalded milk from heat and whisk in eggs. Whisk in pinch of salt. Pour over tomatoes and cheese in pie plate. Sprinkle grated greyure over top. Grate a bit of fresh pepper over top.

Place in preheated oven and bake at 475F for 10-15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350F. Bake for another 30-45 minutes or until quiche is set. Watch for burning and bubbling over. A cookie sheet or foil on a lower oven rack will help with bubble overs. Foil lightly placed over a browned quiche will control burning as baking is finished.

Remove from oven and let cool 10-15 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!