Zucchini Quiche — The Mother’s Day Breakfast Worth Sitting Down For

Mother's Day. Dave made me breakfast. The toast was less burnt than usual, a small quiet improvement I noticed and filed. The kids gave me cards. Josie's card had a pop-up in it. Tyler's card said, "Mom. Thank you." Three words. From Tyler, three words is a sonnet. Justin's card was a store-bought card with a bird on it that said "For a Special Mom" and he had written, "I mean it" underneath the preprinted text. Amber's card was a handwritten letter, four pages, about her life with me. I read it in the sunroom after breakfast with the door closed. I cried for an hour. Dave did not come in. He knew.

The letter talked about her. About the year she came to live with us (she was 8, I was 35, she had been my sister's daughter for a full eight years and suddenly she was mine). About the specific memory of me brushing her hair at night when she could not sleep in those first months. About the time she threw up in the bathroom and I held her hair. About the first time she called me Mom (Christmas 2013; she said it at the dinner table; I had not cried at the time, I had nodded, but I had gone into the bathroom afterward and wept, which she noticed). About the bracelet from Gayle. About Darla. "You loved my mother," she wrote. "You love me as a daughter. You have not once confused the two. You have not once made me feel I was a replacement. You made it so I could have both. Thank you, Mom." That is the sentence. That is the whole thing. I will keep the letter forever.

Drove a Lincoln run Tuesday. Uneventful. Ate a sandwich. Listened to an audiobook about the Dust Bowl that Amber had recommended. Came home.

The Minneapolis morning show producer called again Thursday. I said yes. I am going to do it. Dave is coming with me. We fly June 14. They are going to fly us in business class — Sarah negotiated this — and put us up in a hotel downtown. My book is going to be on TV. I am going to be on TV. I told Gayle Friday. She said, "Brenda. You are going to be on TV." I said, "Yes, Ma." She said, "I don't know what to say." I said, "Me neither, Ma." She hugged me. She does not hug often. She hugged me.

Sunday dinner: I made a roast chicken. Because it is my signature. Because it is the easiest beautiful thing. Because after a week like this, a 44-year-old woman needs a roast chicken and she needs to carve it at her table for her family and she needs to know that the world, whatever else it does, will let her do that at least.

Dave’s toast was sweet — it really was — but after a morning like that, after Amber’s letter, after an hour with the door closed in the sunroom, I kept thinking about what I would have made if the kitchen had been mine that day. Something warm and worth sitting down for. Something that fills the house with a smell that says stay. This zucchini quiche is exactly that — golden and savory and unhurried, the kind of thing you cut at the table and pass around while the coffee is still hot. Next Mother’s Day, I might just beat Dave to it.

Zucchini Quiche

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 45 min | Total Time: 1 hr 5 min | Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 1 9-inch pie crust, store-bought or homemade
• 2 medium zucchini, thinly sliced into rounds
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup shredded Gruyere or Swiss cheese, divided
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• Pinch of ground nutmeg

Instructions

1. Preheat and blind bake. Preheat oven to 375°F. Fit the pie crust into a 9-inch pie dish and crimp the edges. Line with parchment paper, fill with pie weights or dried beans, and bake for 10 minutes. Remove weights and parchment and set crust aside.
2. Cook the vegetables. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and zucchini and cook until the zucchini is tender and any excess moisture has cooked off, about 7–9 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
3. Make the custard. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, heavy cream, 3/4 cup of the cheese, thyme, nutmeg, and 1/2 teaspoon salt until smooth and well combined.
4. Assemble the quiche. Spread the cooked zucchini mixture evenly across the bottom of the par-baked pie crust. Pour the egg and cream mixture over the top, allowing it to settle around the vegetables. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of cheese evenly over the surface.
5. Bake. Bake at 375°F for 35–40 minutes, until the center is just set (it should have only a slight jiggle) and the top is deep golden. If the crust edges begin to over-brown, tent them loosely with foil.
6. Rest and serve. Let the quiche rest on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes before slicing. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 315 | Protein: 10g | Fat: 22g | Carbs: 19g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 370mg