I think quiches are really old fashioned and sturdy things and that is why I like to make them. Except I like to say they’re egg pies instead of quiches. After you’ve said “quiche” a few times you get pretty tired of it. You could say casserole. That’s hard to wear out. Or egg pie, like I do. I feel compelled to make egg pies because of the eggs Zelda lays, which are magic eggs. The yolks of Zelda’s eggs are the color of monks robes.

The theme of this quiche is New Mexico. It is packed with roasted green chiles, strong cheddar cheese, cumin seeds, ham, and browned onions.

What I’ve learned about egg pies is that you really don’t need that many eggs. In fact my egg pies sometimes gender-identify as tartelletes insofar as they sometimes are just a crust with a compote of vegetables and meat and cheese baked into it. No eggs at all. For example, during the high summer it’s normal to make a tartellete of wide-sliced tomatoes, ricotta, and herbs. Like that. In the winter, however, we like to have warm egg pies to go with all our suffering. This winter egg pie has three eggs in it and a small can of chiles and a handful of ham pieces from the Christmas ham, and about ten pinches of cumin seeds and some scallions and chipotle pepper and a dollop of yogurt and a handful of nice cheddar cheese from Wash. St. University Food Lab or whatever. So you basically whip up a pate brissee, put it in a pie pan, and then dump all that stuff in there and bake on 350 for 30 or 40 minutes. I put a little lime dressed salad from the garden next to it, and some escabeche I canned this summer.