I’m more than halfway through the KPA Dog Trainer Professional course. Training takes observation, persistence, consistency, empathy and creativity.

Lily is a very good trainer.

She observed that Steve leaves his slippers by the back door when he goes out in the morning to care for the chickens and goats.

Lily takes a slipper.

She is patient and has very good timing (two more traits that need mention.) When Steve comes back inside, there is only one slipper to put on. Lily has trained him to come into the kitchen and say Where’s my slipper? Only then does she bring the slipper back.

She has positioned him right next to the treat jar. As I said, Lily is a very good trainer.

She hands over the slipper and Steve gives her a treat.

Good boy!

Lily thought up this trick all by herself. I never taught her to fetch slippers. Lily came up with this genius idea and carefully trained Steve to do each step. She managed to do it all with positive reinforcement so that Steve enjoys the trick as much as she does. I’m taking training lessons from Lily.

I went looking for a wooly bear caterpillar. Folklore has it that the bands on this black and brown caterpillar predicts the severity of the winter. I can usually find one under fallen leaves in my garden, but this morning I came up empty handed. So, how else might I look into the future? The goats are also wooly bears.

Everyday I go out and give the goaties a good scratching. I can feel and see that their undercoat has come in, and it’s thick.

But, that’s what they’re like every winter, whether it’s a deep freeze like last year, or not. So, perhaps the horses can help me foretell the future?

Tonka is as sleek and shiny as ever. His hair is longer, but he’s far from a wooly bear.

So, I looked at Maggie’s beautiful steel grey coat. It, too, is long but not thick.

The official weather forecast is for a milder winter than usual here in southern New England. As always, we’ll just have to wait and see. Insulated boots are at the back door, blankets hang on rungs at the stable. The goats don’t care what comes their way, as long as I’m there, every morning, to give them scratches.

I have not jumped onto the gluten-free bandwagon. I love bread and pastries and pies with crust. Sometimes, though, I make quiche without the pastry. Last week, a dear friend came to visit. She was staying in Boston to attend a food conference, but she played hooky for the day with me. I knew that for work she was eating elaborate meals morning, noon and night, and so I wanted to provide a light but delicious and satisfying lunch. Despite the molt and reduced production, I still had eggs in the fridge. I made a crustless quiche.

Crustless Quiche

5                                  eggs
2/3 cup                       whole milk
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (quantity depends on the saltiness of the cheese)
1/4 teaspoon             freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon             minced fresh herbs of choice
1/3 cup                       crumbled or diced cheese
1/2                               sweet bell pepper, sliced

1. Preheat the oven to 325° F. Coat a pie plate with non-stick spray, or grease with butter.

2. It’s always best to assemble your ingredients before cooking. Crack the eggs into a bowl. Measure the milk, etc. Despite the overnight hard frost, oregano and parsley were still green and crisp in my garden. I snipped some, and washed and minced the leaves.

3.  Using an electric mixer (or a wire whisk and your own energy) beat the eggs and milk for one minute until uniformly yellow and a tad frothy.

4. Stir in the herbs, salt and pepper. Pour into the pie plate.

5. Drop in the cheese, evenly distributing it throughout the quiche. I used feta cheese, but any number of cheeses would be excellent. I’ve made this with marinated mozzarella balls, and also with grated sharp cheddar.

6.  Arrange the strips of bell pepper on the top. These will sink a bit, but you’ll still see them.

(Notice my helper in the kitchen who is cleaning the bowl.)

7. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until the quiche puffs up.

The quiche is most impressive right out of the oven, it will deflate as it cools. No matter! It’s delicious room temperature, too, which is how I served it, along with goat cheese brie and crackers, a cabbage slaw made with dried cranberries and nuts, and a green salad that used the last of the romaine lettuce from the garden. For dessert we had a cortland apple crisp.

Let me know if you make this recipe and what type of cheese you tuck in.