Home made ready meals - part 2

When I was in the supermarket earlier this week I spent several minutes trying to decide whether to buy 6 eggs or 12. I figured I needed more than 6 but I didn't want as many as 12. I picked up a dozen in the end and it was just as well as now I only have one egg left in the fridge. It's been a busy week for baking.

Yesterday I continued my theme of home made ready meals by making two potato and leek pasties and a quiche. All, bar one slice of quiche (irresistable!), went into the freezer. If you have only ever tasted shop made quiche you would be forgiven for thinking you didn't like the stuff. It has a weird flavour but it is nothing like the delicious version you can make at home. I was fortunate enough to be brought up on my mum's home made version so I have always loved quiche. Unfortunately, in recent years I have developed a dairy intolerance which has stopped me eating it. Luckily, my discovery of soya alternative to cream has put quiche back on the menu. It tastes just the same and I figure with a lower saturated fat content, it is healthier too.

Making a quiche from scratch is fairly time consuming but the pastry is much better if home made. Of course, like pizza, there are any number of different versions depending on what ingredients you add to it but here's my favourite recipe.

Ham & Mushroom Quiche (serves 4)

4 oz (110g) plain flour
4 oz (110g) wholemeal flour
4 oz (110g) butter or margarine

3 oz (85g) smoked gammon or 4 rashers of smoked bacon, finely chopped
2 oz (55g) mushrooms, chopped
2 oz (55g) tinned sweetcorn
Grated Cheddar cheese
250ml soya or single cream
2 eggs
Black pepper

Sift the flours into a bowl and mix in the butter/margarine until it has the consistency of breadcrumbs. Splash in a little cold water until it is wet enough to bind the mixture into dough. Wrap in Clingfilm and refrigerate for half an hour. Preheat an oven to 190°C and grease a suitable tin or pie dish. Roll out the pastry on a floured surface and line the tin with the pastry, trimming to fit. Cover the pastry with greaseproof or baking paper and weight it down with baking beans. Blind bake the pastry for 15 minutes.

Put the ham, mushroom and sweetcorn into the pastry case and grate in some cheese. Beat the eggs with the cream and season then pour this into the pastry case. Level out the filling and grate a little more cheese over the top. Bake for 30 minutes until the filling has set. Serve hot or allow to cool, cut into portions and freeze. Thaw and reheat in the overn or microwave.