Pi Day and Kimchi Cheddar Quiche

Celebrating Pi Day
with
Kimchi Bacon Cheddar Quiche

In celebration of Pi Day, I’m sharing one interesting and tasty pie! My Kimchi Bacon Cheddar Quiche with a Quinoa Crust!

Napa cabbage kimchi and sharp cheddar cheese is one of my favorite combinations – kimchi’s zingy fermented flavors and rich full-bodied cheddar, together create an amazing food synergy.

Besides being gluten-free and high in protein and fiber, the quinoa crust has a delightful crunchy-chewy texture, counterbalancing the creamy cheesy custardy filling. In addition to kimchi and cheddar, I add bacon and scallions too. So there is no shortage of flavor in this savory pie!

Larry Shaw worked at the Exploratorium in San Francisco, and he is credited with founding Pi Day in 1988. Shaw and his colleagues at the Exploratorium celebrated the mathematical constant π (pi) on March 14th (3/14) because the date matches the first three digits of π (3.14).

But why pie? 🥧
The connection is a pun—the word “pie” is pronounced the same as “pi,” making it the perfect food for a math celebration.

Plus, a pie is round, just like the circle that pi helps define. Pi represents the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter, so eating pie on Pi Day is a fun, edible homage to this mathematical constant.

Although Pi is Irrational,
It’s Not Irrational to Eat Pie on Pi Day!

Join the Fun
Eat Pie Today!

Kimchi Quiche with Quinoa Crust Recipe
And 5 Fun Facts About Pi

Quinoa Crust

• 2/3 c. dry white quinoa
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1/4 c. parmesan, grated
• salt and pepper
• butter for greasing

Cook quinoa according to package instructions. Let cool. Mix quinoa with egg, cheese, salt and pepper. Butter a 9″ pie plate. Press quinoa mixture into the pie plate. Use the back of a spoon to press the quinoa all the way up the sides of the pie plate. Blind bake in a 375° oven for about 12 minutes until the quinoa becomes a firm crust. Let cool.

Quiche Filling

• 5 large eggs
• 1/2 c. milk
• salt and pepper
• 4 slices bacon, cut into lardons, cooked and drained on paper towels
• 2 scallions, sliced
• 1 c. cabbage kimchi, well chopped
• 1 c. sharp cheddar, shredded

Beat eggs with milk, season with salt and pepper. Add bacon, scallions, kimchi, and cheddar. Pour egg mixture into the quinoa crust. Bake the quiche in a 375° oven for about 35 minutes until the egg mixture is set. Let stand at least 5 minutes before slicing.

Pi Day Math for Cooks

My quiche has a diameter of 9 inches. What is the circumference you ask?

That is where my handy little mysterious irrational number comes in. The circumference is the diameter multiplied by pi.

C = dπ

9 × 3.1415926535 = 28.2743338815

Awesome. Thanks π!

5 Fun Facts About Pi

1. Pi is an irrational number, infinite, and non-repeating – It goes on forever without any repeating pattern, making it one of the most mysterious and fascinating numbers in mathematics.

2. You can find your phone number and birthday in π! – Since π is infinite, every possible number sequence, including your phone number, birthdate, social security number, lucky numbers, address, and anniversary appear somewhere in π. But don’t worry, you are certainly not alone!

3. Albert Einstein was born on Pi Day! – Pi Day, celebrated on March 14, also marks the birthday of the legendary physicist Albert Einstein (born in 1879). Wouldn’t it be neat if he was born at 1:59? 3.14159

4. Pi to 100 digits – The first 100 digits of Pi after the decimal point are:
3.1415926535 8979323846 2643383279 5028841971 6939937510 5820974944 5923078164 0628620899 8628034825 3421170679
If you can memorize 10 phone numbers (usually 10 digits long) of family and friends, you can probably memorize Pi to 100 digits! Give it a try!

5. According to Guinness World Records, the official record for the most decimal places of pi memorized is 70,000 digits, achieved by Rajveer Meena of India on March 21, 2015, at VIT University in Vellore, India. Rajveer wore a blindfold throughout the entire recall, which took nearly 10 hours. I wonder why he did it on March 21 and not March 14?

Happy Pi Day!