A week or so ago I bought a pint of half & half for another recipe, but I used only half a cup. What to do with the rest? I searched my recipe files for “half & half” and … serendipity! I came up with this recipe, which not only uses the exact amount of half & half I had on hand, it also uses a quarter-pound of mushrooms, which I also had on hand. Of course I didn’t have any wheat germ or block cream cheese (I use whipped cream cheese on bagels) but that didn’t stop me from feeling like I was fated to make this recipe this week.
It’s a delicious tart, even if it is a bit of a bother to make. I’ve had the recipe for more than 35 years. I can tell if a recipe is really old if it’s in my card file box. That’s where I first started my recipe collection — which quickly outgrew the box! I clipped it from a newspaper, and the clipping is now very yellowed.
The recipe calls for regular, untoasted wheat germ in the filling. All I could find in Kroger was toasted — and who wants two jars of different types of wheat germ anyway? So I used toasted wheat germ in the filling and it was just fine.
Ingredients:
Wheat germ shell:
1 cup flour
¼ cup toasted wheat germ
¼ tsp. salt
½ tsp. marjoram
¼ cup (half a stick) butter
1 egg yolk (or entire egg if you prefer)
2-3 Tbs. water
Filling:
1 (10 oz.) package frozen chopped spinach
1 (3 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
1½ cups half & half
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 eggs
½ cup wheat germ (regular, not toasted)
½ tsp. tarragon
½ tsp. marjoram
1 onion, chopped
¼ lb. mushrooms, sliced
2 Tbs. butter
Directions:
Make wheat germ shell: Mix toasted wheat germ, salt, and marjoram and cut in butter. Stir in the egg yolk or egg and just enough water to get a crumbly mixture that holds together when pressed. Press into a 9-inch pie plate and flute the edges.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Make filling: Thaw spinach and squeeze dry. Saute onion and mushrooms in butter. Beat softened cream cheese, gradually adding half & half. Stir in Parmesan cheese, eggs, spinach, wheat germ, tarragon and marjoram. Add the sauteed onion and mushrooms. Turn into the wheat germ shell.
Bake 35-40 minutes until filling is set in the center. Cool for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing.
Serves 6
Bobbie's Best Recipes 
Different, something I havent seen before