Happiness is a wool blanket

I've been reading, and taking much delight in, The Book of Delights (2019) by the poet Ross Gay.* It's a book of 102 "essayettes" that Gay wrote over a one-year period between his forty-second and forty-third birthdays. Each essay describes one or more, usually small, things he took delight in that day. His practice is a good example of the happiness-enhancing activity of savoring life's joys, which is high on my list. 

 

Now that the nights have finally turned cold, I have been taking particular delight in the wool blanket that Leen and Clint gifted me last year. I only need about half of it to keep me warm most nights, but when it's really cold, I pull the blanket up under my chin and that's all I need to feel warm and cozy as I'm dozing off. Mom and I grew up on the Peanuts comics and TV shows, but you mostly missed out on that. They kept making the television specials after Charles Schulz died in 2000, and one of the newer ones is called "Happiness Is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown," in which Linus searches for his beloved blanket that his sister Lucy hid to try and break his dependence on it. (You can watch the whole show on the Internet Archive.) I think Linus definitely got that one right.

Mom recently had occasion to count her own blessings when, after the presidential election, I decided that it was safe to start watching The Daily Show with Trevor Noah again. Mom was so happy she shouted that Trevor Noah brought her more joy than anything else in her life, followed by her Fitbit and her new floors. Then the implications of that statement dawned on Mom and she hastened to add "and my husband and my children, of course." Of course. No offense, but at least I'm above you nugs in the pecking order.

 

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*Laugh-out-loudest line so far: Mitch McConnell's visage, which is what Gay would call an "alarmed smile/frown," is "of someone whose penis is in a vise."

 

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Another one of Mom's joys is having a new "speciality." (And Mom having a new speciality also brings me joy, because then I get a break from cooking dinner more often.) She has been making this quiche for anyone who needed a meal lately so she has got it down pat. Brad is an especially big fan, but everyone requested the recipe. It's not only tasty but quick to assemble and get into the oven too, especially if you use a store-bought crust, whether already in a tin or the roll-your-own kind I mention in the headnote to the recipe below.

K's Quiche

 

Time: ~1 hour (20 minutes active)

Mom usually makes the gluten-free pie crust we used for Mr. Graham's Sweet Potato-Blueberry Pie. The crust is easy to make and, due to the lack of gluten, especially well-behaved. But when she's short on time, Mom has also used the Pillsbury™ Refrigerated Pie Crust (which come two to a box) recommended by Cook's Illustrated and even a frozen pie crust and they work well too. If you want to make your own all-butter pie crust using all-purpose flour, I highly recommend J. Kenji Lopez-Alt's Easy Pie Dough recipe on Serious Eats. Also check out Lopez-Alt's gallery of photos showing how to make the pie crust step-by-step.

 
You can be creative with the fillings: sautéed spinach, bell pepper, or mushrooms, artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, roast chicken or baked ham, or the classic Quiche Lorraine combination of bacon, sautéed leeks, and Gruyere are just some ideas.

1 9-inch pie crust (see note)
3 scallions or green onions, sliced thin
1 medium tomato, diced and drained a bit
113 grams/4 ounces Swiss cheese (the regular hole-y kind or, better yet, Gruyere or Emmental), grated on the large holes of a box grater
113 grams/4 ounces Cheddar cheese, grated on the large holes of a box grater
3 large eggs (~57 grams each still in the shell)
1 cup half-and-half (242 grams) or heavy cream (232 grams)
½ teaspoon hot sauce or to taste
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

    1. Place a rack in the center of the oven; heat to 350 degrees.
    2. Mix the veggies and cheeses (or other filling ingredients) in the bottom of the pie crust.
    3. In a medium bowl or 2-cup measuring cup, whisk the eggs to break them up a bit. Whisk in the half-and-half or cream, hot sauce, salt, a few grinds of pepper, and nutmeg. Pour the dairy mixture gently over the filling.
    4. Bake until the filling is firm to the touch like set Jell-O, about 45 minutes (but start checking at 35). (If you’re really in doubt, poke a hole in the center with a toothpick and push down; if liquid gushes up through the hole, it still has to cook some more.) Let the quiche cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing into wedges and serving. Serves 4 with a side salad.