The Things We Put Off + Easy Quiche

Although I am morally opposed to the inordinate waste of moving households every few years, as our family seems to do, there are some clear benefits. For one, it keeps us a bit more in touch with our material accumulation than most folks seem to be. Ever wonder how much all your stuff weighs, just hire somebody to pack it all up and you are sure to find out. Mind-boggling, I can tell you.

Another good thing: every few years, we are forced to confront all those niggling little tasks that seem to get put off. Because when it’s time to pack up your house, staring at you in the face are all those little reminders that you cannot ignore any longer.



Taxes going back to college years - Shred me! Shred me!

 You know what I mean. The post-it on the bulletin board (nearly covered up by other notes) that reminds you to schedule a physical exam. The paperwork lying at the bottom of a pile on the corner of your desk that is needed to transfer your 401k from your last employer. The heap of children’s artwork or vacation photos you developed that you’ve been meaning to frame/archive/send to grandparents. The bags of clothing/household goods in the back of the closet that you need to drop off at Goodwill. All those lovely little tasks we put off, and put off, and put off.


Also, after we’ve moved we have a nice excuse to get in touch with the friends and family members we’ve neglected over the past months/years – people we surely care about, but just haven’t made the time to call or email lately. Hi, how are you? I miss you! What’s new with me? Oh, well, we just moved again, here’s our new address… So that’s another good thing about moving, too.

I sometimes shake my head at how hard it is to make myself do the little things I don’t quite feel like doing. What I forget is how marvelous it feels once I’ve completed those tasks. My psychic (and physical) load is a bit lighter. I have cleared space for other things I’d rather be doing. And more often than not, the task I’ve completed actually benefits me or somebody else, sending good energy out into the world rather than my guilty energy.



Rollover forms I started a year and a half ago?


Lately I’ve been re-reading a wonderful book called “It’s Hard to Make a Difference When You Can’t Find Your Keys” by Marilyn Paul, a psychologist and practicing Buddhist who specializes in helping people become organized. There are some great practical tips in there, but the main value of the book for me is the deeper stuff she talks about. What do my things mean to me, and do I treat them in a way that is congruent with my feelings? (The same goes for relationships, by the way.

For me, getting ready to move this time around has meant confronting old clothes I love that simply don’t fit anymore. And accepting that they are highly unlikely to ever fit again now that I’ve had two children. Taking a big breath, assigning those items their proper place and value in the Universe, and allowing myself to give them away has been enormously helpful in learning to accept my body as it is right now.

1987-88: the glory years.

Likewise for the boxes of school memorabilia. Looking over handwriting homework, report cards, childhood poems and drawings with my children has helped them see me as a person who was once a little girl like them. A few years ago, I gathered up my old math and spelling bee trophies and took a picture of them for posterity. Then dumped them all in the trash. That was a good start, but it took finally going through the various congratulation letters, articles, etc. from my junior high days to finally put into proper perspective the high expectations I've always had for myself but never quite been able to meet. Those expectations have lost much of their power, now that I see so clearly how they were based on a few academically successful years that occurred during a pivotal time in my life.

So it’s all good stuff, taking care of these things we put off. And now I’ll ask you: what in your life have you been putting off? Want to get that great feeling of completing something that’s been nagging at you? To help you along, here’s an easy, impressive recipe for dinner that will give you some time to take care of neglected business while it bakes.

Easy Quiche (for those with absolutely no interest in rolling out pie crust)

Saute together in a little olive oil for a couple minutes:

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, pressed or minced

Add, then cover on medium-low heat until thoroughly cooked (5-10 min.):

• Several large handfuls of spinach, chopped kale or any other chopped greens
• 1 medium potato or 1 large zucchini or 2 small summer squash or 1/2 of a sweet potato or 1 bell pepper, you get the idea – chopped
• ½ tsp thyme

Kale + summer squash

While the veggies cook, using your food processor to pulse together:

• ½ cup white flour
• ½ cup wheat flour
• ½ tsp salt

Sprinkle over it and pulse a couple more times:

• ¼ cup olive oil
• ¼ cup very cold water

Don't over mix. You want it to be crumbly and not uniform at all. Use a spatula to scrape it up and dump it into a pie plate. Use your fingers to press it evenly across the bottom and up the sides. Don’t worry about making things look pretty if you like the rustic look, but remember that it’s nice to have the crust higher than the filling, so press it right up to the lip of the plate.



Press! Press!



Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Don’t bother washing out the food processor from making the crust. Pulse together in this order:

• 1-1/2 cups sharp cheddar (or Swiss or any other type of) cheese (cut it into large pieces and then pulse in the processor to shred)
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 block of any type of tofu (break off into large chunks before adding)

 When the veggies are finished cooking, add salt to taste. At this point you can either fold them into the egg/tofu/cheese mixture if you like your quiche a bit chunky. Or if you have little ones and you don’t want them to be able to pick out their vitamins, add the veggies to the food processor and pulse until well blended. Pour into the pie plate and bake on a middle rack for 35 minutes or until well set. 

Cut into slices when slightly cool. Delicious the next morning for breakfast!