Quite a while ago, I went back and removed my archives from this site. Why, you ask? Well, a fresh start was something I’d talked about for a while…but in a way, my old posts — while there was certainly nothing wrong with them, were constraining, at least in my own mind. The way I wrote, what I wrote about, who I wrote about…all those things sort of made me fall back into the same rut, and often I felt like I was writing the same post…over and over again.

Since that time, there have been a lot of changes in my life. From work, to living, to family… some good, some not-so-good, some utterly heartbreaking. The last year, specifically the last 6 months or so, has been really challenging. My father was pretty ill with, what should have been, non-life-threatening illnesses. Not only did they take a toll on him…but, inwardly, I didn’t handle it well. Sadly, two weeks ago, we unexpectedly lost my dad. One of the greatest guys ever, and the guy who was constantly like “Jil, you should blog again — I loved reading your writing.” So here I am, writing again.

In the last year, I haven’t been very good to myself. Whether it was fear, stress… I treated myself like crap, and this is one giant leap forward.

As with all sad things, the world keeps turning, and certainly — even with the loss of my dad — you need to still celebrate the good that is happening every day. We just celebrated my mom’s birthday…and knowing her penchant for all-things-egg (and tomato)… I decided to surprise her with breakfast for dinner.

With that, the “Everything-but-the-Kitchen-Sink Quiche” was born. What’s that you ask?

[Parsley, as pictured, ended up not being used…but would make a nice addition]

+ Purple & red potato crust

+ Caramelized onions with hot pepper jelly & white wine

+ Wilted spinach with red pepper flakes

+ Crisped peppered turkey bacon

+ Parmesan cheese

+ Beefsteak tomato slices

+ Ricotta

*PHEW*

My first forray into not half-assing caramelized onions was definitely a success (which meant butter + slow and low on the stovetop) — making them a lil special by deglazing the pan with some pinot grigio and adding the tiniest bit of hot pepper jelly toward the end. They.were.GLORIOUS.

So I broke out my mandoline and sliced some purple and red potatoes, and after greasing a pie pan, I layered them to form the crust and seasoned slightly. Pretty! I then baked them at 400* until they started to brown slightly. Sidenote: next time, I’d definitely layer the slices closer together as they tend to shrink a bit in the oven. 

After they had cooled, I layered the onions, spinach, bacon and some parm in the dish. I then whisked up six eggs with a little milk, salt & pepper and poured over the top — mushing everything around so that it was covered.

Then, I took three big ole slices of beefsteak tomatoes as well as some dollops of ricotta and topped the whole thing off. Into the oven it went for 20-25 minutes (or just jiggle it to find your desired “done-ness”)…and voila!

My mom said it was the best birthday meal she’d ever had…buuut I think she may be biased. Regardless, it was amazing to share a celebratory meal with her. Sharing is caring, right? haha

As for the actual dish, I’m 100% making this again (maybe using a different type of turkey bacon [I used Trader Joe’s peppered version] or just leaving it out… as it was pretty smokey! haha)…and definitely playing with the ingredients!

What’s your favorite meal that you’ve ever made for someone? Or that someone has made for you?