Mini Ham Quiches -- Hambone Warmth, Passed Neighbor to Neighbor

January in the cabin. Wood stove going round the clock. Worked at the construction company in Lexington this week. The body holds. Most days.

Connie at the vet clinic, four shifts this week. Her back is tired. She does not say so. I see it. Mama is 85. She is the toughest person I have ever known. She still cooks every day in the company house in Evarts.

Pot of soup beans on the stove. Pintos, hambone, slow simmer. Mama's recipe. Cornbread on the side. The Appalachian default for centuries and for good reason.

Travis called Tuesday. The landscaping company is busy. He sounds tired in a good way. Amber called from Louisville. Hospital is busy. Floor nurse to charge nurse to nurse manager — she is the most successful Hensley alive.

I sat on the porch with a bourbon at sundown. The fog was already settling in the hollow.

I checked the truck oil Saturday. The mileage on this truck is criminal.

I went up to Earl's grave at the Evarts cemetery Saturday. Brought a beer. Drank half. Poured the rest on the dirt. Some traditions are mine alone.

The creek was running clear Sunday afternoon. I watched a kingfisher work the riffle. Did not move for an hour. Some Sundays the watching is the worship.

I split a half-cord of wood Saturday. Slowly. The back does not let me work fast anymore. It got done. The wood was for the smokehouse.

Worked on a basement remodel job in Lexington. The work was good. The pay was good. The body is tired.

Travis sent a photo of Earl Thomas riding on the mower with him at a job site. The boy is wearing a Hensley Landscaping T-shirt that's too big. Three generations on a mower. I saved the photo.

My back was tight after the wood-splitting Saturday. Took an Aleve. Slept eight hours. Got up.

Connie made jam Saturday afternoon. Wild blackberries from the patch up the hollow. Twelve jars. The pantry is filling for winter.

Sunday service at Harlan First Baptist when we go. Pastor preached about Ruth and Boaz. The choir sang. Connie wore her gray dress.

The dog — old Beau, fifteen years old — slept by the wood stove all afternoon Tuesday. He used to be a hunting dog. Now he is a heating pad with opinions.

Connie cut my hair on the porch Tuesday afternoon. She has been cutting my hair for forty years. The barber in Pineville cannot do what Connie does, which is also love.

The neighbor up the road — Old Roy, eighty-seven, lives alone — had a small heart scare. We took him soup beans Tuesday. Cornbread too. He cried a little when he ate. We all cry over soup beans eventually.

Drove the truck to the dump Saturday afternoon. Saw three deer crossing the road on the way back. The mountains have been giving back this year.

I sat on the porch with bourbon at sundown Friday. The fog rolled into the hollow the way it has every fog of every year. The porch was the porch. The bourbon was the bourbon.

Amber sent the kids' school photos this week. Nadia is taller every year. Marcus has Amber's serious face. Little Betty has Mama's eyes.

I sat at the kitchen table Tuesday night working on the recipe project. Mama's soup beans. I cannot get the words right yet.

Read the paper at breakfast Tuesday. The county news is not great. The mines have not come back and they will not come back. The young people leave. The hollows empty. We stay.

I never did get Mama’s soup beans written down right this week — that recipe still lives more in her hands than on any page. But when I think about what we carried over to Roy’s table Tuesday, and the way he cried a little when he ate, I keep coming back to something with ham at the center of it, something small and warm that you can hand to a person without ceremony. These Mini Ham Quiches are that kind of food — the hambone translated into something you can hold in one hand while the wood stove does its work. Connie could make a tray of these on a short shift week and not feel it in her back.

Mini Ham Quiches

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 45 minutes | Servings: 24 mini quiches

Ingredients

• 1 package (14.1 oz) refrigerated pie crusts (2 crusts)
• 1 1/2 cups diced cooked ham
• 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped green onions
• 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. Preheat and prep. Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease two 12-cup mini muffin tins and set aside.
2. Cut the crusts. On a lightly floured surface, unroll both pie crusts. Using a 3-inch round biscuit or cookie cutter, cut 24 circles, re-rolling scraps as needed.
3. Line the cups. Press one dough circle into each muffin cup, working it firmly against the bottom and up the sides to form a small shell.
4. Add ham and cheese. Divide the diced ham evenly among the 24 cups, then top each with a generous pinch of shredded Swiss cheese.
5. Make the custard. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, half-and-half, dry mustard, black pepper, and salt until fully combined and smooth.
6. Fill the cups. Using a small ladle or a spouted measuring cup, carefully pour the egg mixture over the ham and cheese in each shell, filling each about 3/4 full. Scatter the chopped green onions evenly over the tops.
7. Bake. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the custard is set in the center and the pastry edges are golden. A toothpick inserted into the middle of a quiche should come out clean.
8. Rest and serve. Let the quiches rest in the pan for 5 minutes before lifting them out with a small offset spatula. Serve warm or at room temperature. They keep well refrigerated for up to 3 days and reheat at 325°F for 8 minutes.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 108 | Protein: 5g | Fat: 7g | Carbs: 7g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 195mg