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While our neighborhood farmers market is great for the basics (fruits and veggies, salad greens, mushrooms, cheese & yogurt, baked goods and meat), we don’t get the more adventurous offerings of a larger market. When rhubarb was absent yet again this week, it was the last straw and I ventured all the way into the city to visit the mecca of DC-area markets, Dupont Circle’s FreshFarm Market. I used to go from time to time, but am somewhat ashamed to admit I haven’t made it since the FoodieTot arrived on the scene. With so many wonderful and tempting choices, only a strict timetable kept me from over-burdening my market bag, as I had to get home and prepare brunch for the in-laws. I will definitely be returning more frequently this summer!

In the Market bag: The haul this weekend included real baby carrots, eggs, yogurt, sweet potatoes, zucchini bread, parsley, mixed braising greens (Del Ray) and rhubarb, scapes, chive blossoms, tatsoi, red asparagus, chocolate mint, sweet spring onions, basil, matsu apples, Keswick Creamery Wallaby, peonies (Dupont).

Sunday Brunch: In high school, I once volunteered as a cook on the junior class retreat and the highlight was making quiche each morning. We started with the basic egg/milk/cheese blend and mixed up whatever crazy vegetable and meat combinations we could think of. Ever since quiche has been my go-to brunch main course, as it is such a low-maintenance (and vegetarian-friendly) egg dish. Fresh chives were a bright touch to this asparagus quiche. I was disappointed to discover the red asparagus turns green when cooked, but it still had a sweeter taste than your traditional green stalks. The Wallaby cheese, an aged Monterey Jack-styled offering from Keswick Creamery was a flavorful but not over-powering cheese. I accompanied this with rosemary sausage hash browns and minted strawberries in a honey-balsamic dressing. Read on for the quiche recipe.

Recipe: Spring Asparagus-Chive Quiche

Ingredients:

• 1 pie crust (I cheated and used pre-made)
• 4 eggs
• 2 c milk (next time I may use half cream as my quiche was a little softer than should be)
• 1 c crumbled Keswick Wallaby cheese, or other Monterey Jack or similar white cheese (goat cheese would also be fabulous)
• 1 bunch asparagus, cut into 1-2″ pieces
• 2 T chopped fresh chives
• salt + pepper

Instructions:

Bring a pot of water to a boil and blanch asparagus for 2 minutes; drain and rinse in cold water. In a mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, milk/cream, cheese, and a dash of salt and pepper. Spread asparagus and chives in pie shell, and pour egg mixture over. Bake at 425* for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 300* and bake additional 30-35 minutes or until firm. Let stand at least 10 minutes before serving.

The toddler devoured this (“cheese egg? more!”) but still ate around the asparagus, so the quest goes on for a kid-friendly asparagus dish. (Maybe I’ll just puree it next time!)

I’m submitting this as my first entry in Weekend Herb Blogging, sponsored by Kalyn’s Kitchen and hosted this week by Wandering Chopsticks.