Happy New Year and Tofu Quiche

Happy New Year!  I'm not actually a big New Year's person ... I don't really like going out to the big parties, and for some reason it always seems like the one night a year when I don't want to stay up late.  But I did anyway and found out yet another thing I don't like about our new apartment in Silver Spring - you can't see any fire works from the balcony!  In our old place in Baltimore we could see the fireworks at the Inner Harbor, plus at least a couple of other smaller fireworks shows going on around the city.  But even though we're just as high in Silver Spring, no such luck on the view.  We could definitely hear the pop of fireworks, but not a one in sight.  Bummer! 

 

I also don't tend to participate in New Years resolution-making.  I figure if it's worth doing at all, then you should resolve it the moment you think of it and immediately begin to execute (or save for the appropriate time to execute if it's not an immediate kind of thing).  Want to lose weight?  Start today!  Want to get a new job?  Start the hunt now!  So what are my ongoing resolutions that will continue through 2014? 

1. Continue to exercise regularly and eat healthy.
2. Continue to explore fun and tasty vegan recipes - and take every opportunity to share with others!
3. Spend time with Josh and Panda (hopefully doing fun and interesting things ... well, not with Panda probably!)

Meanwhile, I'm still playing major catch up with Christmas-centered and other posts still to come.  I made this tofu quiche a few days before Christmas, but it was so incredibly delicious and surprisingly quiche-like that I had to post about it.  While the recipe called for sun dried tomatoes, mushrooms, and spinach, I would definitely be excited to try this recipe again with other vegetables.  I'm thinking broccoli, bell peppers, or asparagus! 

 

I followed the recipe almost to the letter, but I decided to add in a not-so-secret ingredient of my own that I picked up from Amazon a while back and had been looking for just such an occasion to use ... black salt!  Black salt has a pungent smell due to a high sulfur content ... less scientifically known as "eggy smell".  And with just a pinch in my tofu quiche, I also got a very distinct "eggy taste".  I was pretty worried about overdoing the flavor, so I really used just a small amount, but I was amazed at how far just a bit went. 

 

The quiche was a bit involved, requiring me to make a crumbly crust in addition to the tofu "egg" and veggie filling.  But the results were more than worth it.  The quiche turned out firm and easy to slice, plus delicious and relatively healthy-seeming.  Hey, tofu's got to be a lot healthier than eggs, right?

 

Plus one tofu quiche made for six generous slices - enough for three meals for Josh and I.  And the leftovers were just as good as the first slice.  Probably one of the few times Josh didn't grumble at eating leftovers ...

 

I can't wait to make this again.  It would make a great addition to a big brunch meal, and I really think any non-vegan would still love it.  (And I plan to test that theory very soon!)