Heirloom Tomato and Parmesan Quiche

The heirlooms that are coming in our CSA box right now are so flavorful! I sliced them up and laid them in a quiche for a light dinner with salad. I bought a roll of pre-made pie crust, but you could certainly make your own. For a richer egg mixture, use cream instead of milk. Depending on the size of your pie dish, this make take more or less than 40 minutes to cook- just give it a jiggle in the oven to see if the egg had hardened. You can lay foil over the top of the quiche half way through cooking to keep your crust from getting too brown. Serve warm or at room temperature with salt and pepper.

Photos, Illustration and Recipe by Erin Gleeson for The Forest Feast

A week in Oaxaca, Mexico

The Forest Feast is on vacation this week! Jonathan and I are in Oaxaca for a few days for our friends’ wedding. This place is so colorful and incredible! We are staying at the Quinta Real which is an old convent that's been turned into a hotel...absolutely stunning! Today we went to the outdoor market and sampled some local fare, like chilacayota, a drink made of blended squash with corn kernels floating on top. Unusual and delicious!  Chapulines (fried spiced grasshoppers) are a popular snack around here- there are women selling them from baskets everywhere. I haven’t gotten the courage to try them yet, but hope to before I leave! Mole is big around here so for lunch we stopped in at a little stand at the mercado for enchiladas drenched in the most magnificent mole. 

For more pictures from my Mexican adventure, follow me on Instagram, @theforestfeast.

Buen Provecho!

Goat Cheese Marbles

Little balls of goat cheese can be rolled in almost anything! Nuts, dried fruit, herbs, lemon or orange zest…they are delicious little bites with a cocktail, and also tasty (and pretty) on top of salads. Enjoy!

By Erin Gleeson for The Forest Feast

Forest Fiesta with Umami Mart

Last weekend on a warm Sunday evening in the woods we hosted A Forest Fiesta in honor of the recent opening of the Umami Mart shop in Oakland (opened by our friends Kayoko and Yoko). Umami Mart started as a food blog in 2007 and I am lucky to have been a contributor since the beginning. Umami Mart has blossomed not only into a brick-and-mortar shop, but into a community of cooks, artists and friends. Guests who came were contributors to Umami Mart and all brought amazing things to share. Mike made some amazing brazilian cheese bread (I need to try this recipe!), Kishi brought his delicious home made cheez-its (based on Mark Bittman’s recipe), and Anders made his incredible strawberry Pavlova for dessert.

If you are in Oakland, I encourage you to stop by the Umami Mart shop which sells Japanese barware and cool kitchen items.

Umami Mart: 815 Broadway, Oakland CA

Photos by Erin Gleeson for The Forest Feast

Julia Child Anniversary

While reading My Life in France, you can’t not fall in love with this brave woman whose approach to both cooking and life is sweet, honest, persistent and passionate.  In the 1940’s, Julia Child moved to Paris because of her husband’s job. She didn’t speak French, was in her late 30s and somehow felt the need to reinvent herself. It took her a while to find her passion, but when she did, she went full force ahead! Her complete devotion to cooking and teaching created the success story that has inspired so many, including me. Living in New York before I was married, my roommate and I would sometimes cook dinner with Julia by setting up old episodes of The French Chef on the laptop on the kitchen counter. We were inevitably crying with laughter by the end of the show- she’s amazing.

She would have been 100 years old today. Bon Anniversaire, Julia!