Dairy-Free Bacon and Kale Crustless Quiche

No cheese? No cream or milk? Believe it, because it works: welcome to the dairy-free (and gluten-free) quiche.

This is the perfect quiche to bring to a group event where there may be people with special dietary needs. My friend Sarah (a fabulous cook, by the way) brought this to our women’s ministry brunch a number of months ago, and it’s really delicious. While there’s no cheese, the bacon adds the richness that could have been lost when the cheese got the boot. Plus, as my husband said after eating two generous slices of this, it doesn’t give you the feeling of “I never want to eat again” that a really rich quiche can produce after one hefty serving. Know that feeling? Not the best sensation. In fact, after 3 slices of this quiche for dinner, I was feeling great, light on my feet, and my stomach was a happy place.

The flavor of the coconut milk is definitely present, and while I loved it, my husband was a little wigged out by it. So if you’re one to be wigged out by coconut milk, this may not be the dish for you. But if you’re lactose intolerant, this is such a great alternative to traditional quiche–and I’ll be making it again even though I’m all about the lactose and the gluten. Because it’s tasty, man.

Adapted from this recipe, let’s make it this morning, eh? Eh.

Ingredients

(Serves 4)

5 eggs
1-15 oz can coconut milk
5 pieces of bacon
1 onion, diced
1/2 bunch of kale or spinach
1/4 cup white wine
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. 

Warm the eggs and coconut milk until they reach room temperature (you can sit them in a warm water bath for 15 minutes to accomplish this).

Dice the bacon and fry it in a large skillet over medium high heat.

While the bacon fries, dice the onion . . .

. . . and chop up the kale or spinach.

Today, it’s kale all the way.

When the bacon is close to being crispy, drain most of the bacon fat out of the skillet . . .

. . . and add the onion.

Fry for 8 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is starting to brown.

Add the kale or spinach . . .

. . . and sauté for about 2 minutes, or until wilted.

Add the wine, and continue to cook until the liquid evaporates (another 3-4 minutes).

Sooooo good.

Let the bacon and veggies cool down for about 15 minutes (you can spread them out on a plate to speed up this step).

I may have taken a few bites of this and promised myself that I would soon make a bacon/onion/kale sauté that I could simply eat piled over white rice. I recommend that you do the same.

Beat the eggs and coconut milk in a large bowl . . .

(bowl pictured not large enough = transfer to a different bowl)

. . . adding salt and pepper (about ¼ tsp of salt).

Whisk the bacon and veggies into the eggs until they are well suspended in the egg mixture. Grease an 8×8 glass dish or a pie pan with coconut oil or cooking spray, and pour in the egg mixture.

Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until the center has solidified.

Remove the quiche from the oven and let it sit for about 15 minutes so that the eggs set.

Dig in!

Oh my word. How I love this quiche. How I love the kale within . . .

. . . and the bacon within.

 It’s a winner!

Click here for printer-friendly version: Dairy-Free Bacon and Kale Crustless Quiche

How I know I’m getting older

1. One of my husband’s high school classmates became mayor of his hometown last year.

2. The gaggle of white hairs expanding throughout and streaking the sides of my head.

3. I just recentely figured out who Justin Bieber is.

4. Justin Bieber looks like he’s 13.

5. Why are all the girls wild about Justin Bieber? I seriously don’t get it.

6. When informed that youths of today send about 100 texts per day, I scratch my head and turn around three times in confusion. It’s an odd day that I even send a text, for gosh’s sake. I think the generational gap is getting gappier and gappier all the time.

7. New technological gadgets don’t excite me.

8. New technological gadgets stress me out.

9. Please don’t make me change cell phone models. I’d be lost.

10. I love my bedtime. I have no desire to party all night. Or even stay out past, say, 10pm.

11. Make that 9pm.

12. My metabolism doesn’t seem to be able to assimilate anything I eat with no complaint anymore. I used to inhale pounds upon pounds of pasta, constantly. Now, a generous serving of pasta is likely to make me feel there’s a rock in my stomach for at least 24 hours. Methinks my stomach doth protest too much, savvy?

13. There’s this dress, see. A very light pink with a feathery grey print. Silky, cut on the bias. I planned on wearing this to dinner when I was with my extended family the other weekend. Thankfully I tried it on before packing it, because dangit if it wouldn’t zip up. I sucked in my stomach. I expelled all the air in my lungs and crunched my ribs inwards. I solicited my husband’s help and told him to use whatever force was necessary. After a few minutes of huffing and puffing, I finally accepted the fact that I just don’t have the same body that I had when I was 18, when I first wore this dress. Or when I was 24 and last wore this dress.

The signs are unmistakeable. But if I’m honest . . . I’m loving it. I wouldn’t turn the clock back even if I could. I’m remembering all the insecurities of 18 . . . the meltdowns at 20 . . . the roller coaster of 21 . . . the huge (and painful) learning curve when I entered the workforce . . . and I’ve gained so much since then. There’s a confidence that comes with age; an emotional stability. Then there’s financial stability we’ve been blessed with–yep.

I’ll take the white hairs.