Response to Ricotta

Last week I posted one of my new most favorite obsessions... the recipe for homemade ricotta cheese. In case I haven't said it already, making your own cheese is one of the most fantabulous things a cook can experience. It really is magical how with a bit of milk, heat and curdling agent the curds and whey separate themselves yielding one of the greatest foods on Earth.. Cheese. I have yet to take my cheese making past ricotta and mozzarella but my hand built cheese press sits in my craft room waiting for the day to press some farmhouse cheddar or smoked gouda! When I posted the recipe for ricotta last week, I promised another recipe to go with it so here you go!

Quinoa Quiche
Who would have thought you could be alliterative with Q?? When I found this recipe, I was pumped. It combines two of my favorite things eggs and cheese into a healthy dish and you don't even need to mess with a pie crust!
Cook up 1/2 cup of quinoa in 1 cup of water for about a half hour or until water is absorbed. Place quinoa in bottom of a pie plate.  Saute in some olive oil 1/2 an onion and 2 cloves of garlic. In a bowl, mix 1/4 cup of milk, 3 eggs, 1/2 cup of ricotta. I also added a few Tbl of cream cheese because I had it lying about the fridge with nary a bagel to spread it upon. Add 1 cup of chopped spinach and onion mixture. Shred a thin layer of cheddar cheese over quinoa. Pour over cheesey egg mixture. Top with some more cheese I used more cheddar and a smidge of asiago.
Bake in the ol' oven for about 30 minutes or until not jiggly. Slice up and enjoy!

I served this with a roasted carrot soup but it was also quite divine on its own.