A few simple ingredients for a lovely dish

Published 1:30 am Friday, May 8, 2026

Spring is the ugliest season. When the snow melts and reveals what was hidden by the sparkle of December, and the rain starts to fall, what once shimmered now languishes in sludge as the corpses of last summer still stand tall in the graveyard. The world is grey and dirty and smells of waste and decay. I once heard a North Korean man say with fear in his voice that spring is the season of death. Spring is when we starve. When we are desperate enough to pull up tender shoots to boil and hope they have the strength to cling to our bones.

The returning sun illuminates the remains of last year and lays bare the muck of my regrets and failed ambitions. The wheel continued turning while I waited to begin, and now my time is quickly running out again. Spring has always been my worst season, and the ghosts of springs past haunt me from their perches on bare tree limbs. The rain washes the dirt from me, and it rolls in gritty rivers down my spine. It pools around my toes as I look up at the storm and wait for the flash and rumble.

Like I do every spring when the gloom makes me spiral, I’ll turn to color and expression to bring me back and set me right. The process of peeling, rolling, and placing the dozens of zucchini spirals into this quiche was mind-clearing meditation, and an excellent time for me to think deeply and reconnect with my path. This lovely dish is made with just a few simple ingredients; its beauty comes from your care and attention to its creation.

For the crust:

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

10 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces

1 egg

2-3 tablespoons ice water

For the filling:

2 large zucchinis, peeled into ribbons

10 eggs

¼ cup milk

¼ cup grated parmesan

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon white pepper

Directions:

Whisk together the salt and flour in a large mixing bowl.

Whisk the egg and ice water and set aside.

Cut the cold butter into the flour until crumbly. Add the egg and water and mix just until the dough forms.

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and roll out to cover a standard pie pan.

Lay the crust down into the baking dish and press gently against the side. Fold and pinch the top for an artful crust or fold and cut flush with the top of the dish for a cleaner look.

Dock the bottom of the crust with a fork and set the pan in the freezer to chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Thoroughly whisk together the eggs, milk, salt, white pepper, garlic powder and parmesan cheese and set aside.

Wash your zucchinis and cut off each end.

Use your vegetable peeler to peel long strips from end to end and place the ribbons in a water bath.

When ready to assemble, take the zucchinis trips one at a time, roll into tight spirals, and place standing up in the bottom of the pie until the whole pie has been filled.

Gently ladle the egg mixture over the spirals until the pie is filled to the top.

Bake for 50-60 minutes or until the center no longer jiggles. The cheese in the egg might brown and trick you into thinking it is done early, so rely on the jiggle test more than your eyes.

Let sit for at least 10 minutes before slicing.