Lighten Up

Like many consumers, all it takes is for the media to circulate words such as outbreak, recall and salmonella to influence me to look at food with a suspicious eye. With the recent salmonella outbreak in over half a billion eggs recalled from farms in Iowa, there are surely people who may have decided to omit eggs from their diet altogether. Some have flocked (eek, pun intended) to purchasing local eggs. To be safe, I know I will, for the time being, refrain from making my own Caesar salad dressing and letting my kids lick the cake batter from the spatula. It would be wise to avoid other foods that have raw or undercooked eggs.

Otherwise, experts, including Margaret Hamburg, Commissioner of Food and Drugs at the FDA, recommend that eggs are safe to eat as long as you:

• Wash hands before and after handling eggs
• Cook to 160 degrees
  • fry on both sides for at least 2 minutes
  • scramble until solid
  • boiling for 15 minutes
• Don’t use eggs that are cracked or broken
• Store eggs at a temperature below 40 degrees Fahrenheit

I’m going to relax and enjoy my fully cooked and safely handled eggs! I made a Spinach, Zucchini & Smoked Salmon Crustless Quiche the other day, but what was nagging me more than the salmonella outbreak was the fat content. So, I lightened it up. No crust means less butter and carbs. Cottage cheese replaces heavy cream. And I loaded it with a lot of veggies – the zucchini helps to fluff up the quiche as well. If you don’t like smoked salmon, substitute it with prosciutto, or a good smoked ham! This quiche is very flexible.

While you’re waiting for it to bake, I recommend listening to a really interesting forum on the egg recall that was held by KQED, our public media in Northern California. Their panelists had quite an interesting discussion on the future of food safety, regulation, and egg prices. I’ve also included some links after the recipe if you care to read up some more on the issue.

Spinach, Zucchini & Smoked Salmon Crustless Quiche

• olive oil
• 1/2 onion, minced (1/2 cup)
• 1 zucchini, shred
• 1/2 cup spinach, chopped (if using frozen, squeeze out excess water)
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup mozarella cheese
• 1/4 cup smoked salmon, sliced into small pieces
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. H eat olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Sauté the onions, zucchini and spinach until the onions are translucent. In a bowl, beat eggs and add cottage cheese, mozzarella, and smoked salmon. Add vegetable, salt and cayenne pepper. Stir. Pour into a quiche dish or pie pan, and bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until the quiche is cooked through.

Note: Feel free to use 3 eggs. I was just trying to really lighten up the dish, and I wanted a thinner quiche.

Egg Recall Reads

NPR: How to Stay Safe After the Egg Recall

WSJ: How Safe Are My Scrambled Eggs?

CNN: Feed One Likely Source of Salmonella in Eggs

Egg Safety Center: Video on New Federal Guidelines for Food Safety

KQED Bay Area Bites: Forum | Egg Recall

The Atlantic: The Egg Industry’s Full-Page Ad, Translated

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