Clean Out The Fridge Quiche

 “Clean out the fridge” dishes are a popular theme in my house. There’s something terrifically satisfying about using random bits of found food from the back of the fridge to create something new and utterly enticing. It harkens back to the days of Victory Gardens and (sub)urban food foraging expeditions. It also appeals to my cheap, I mean frugal side, so I know it will make the hubby happy too.

Yesterday I came up with this beauty:

It incorporates a sweet-as-honey squash from Monday’s dinner, some previously-fresh spinach, a sautéed onion, a little aged gouda cheese that was nearing it’s expiration date, and the piece de resistance: a chunked up hunk of ham that was gifted to us after a meal with friends on Saturday. I’m not usually one to throw meat into my quiches, but somehow this salty little slice of heaven perfectly offset the sugary squash and onion.

The dish put me in a celebratory mood, since pie is the harbinger of all things spring. The groundhog is on his way out tomorrow, and then, before you know it, Pi day will be here. We are reviving our oldest and most revered tradition this March. For Pi day (3.14 or March 14, for those of you who may not be as mathematically inclined), we’re pulling out all the stops and having a full on Pie party. More on this as it gets closer.

One last picture of a found food treasure: butternut squash with currants and almonds.

As usual, there’s no recipe, really. Just bake up the cubes of squash until tender, then throw in the currants and almonds, sprinkle with a touch of butter and brown sugar, and return it to the oven for 10 minutes until it melts together into one autumn-luscious treat.