Butternut Squash Hash with Potato, Sausage, Egg and Chard

It”s a terrible photo, I know. You see, I was in such a rush to start eating this mash up of deliciousness that I attempted to take a photo of it with my iPhone in very bad light. It is clear to see – or is it blurry to see (heh heh), that it did not work out so well. “Oh bother” as little Winnie the Pooh would say, it does not matter much, as the real gem of this post is to be found in the recipe. I insist that you make this. Trust me on this one, it is delicious and super easy and all of the ingredients can be found in season right now. I am a little unsure of the feeling I was having as I was whipping this up – but I believe that the feeling was “fun”. I think it may have been the anticipation of getting to crack some eggs on something at the end and watch them dribble through all the nooks and crannies of the dish that evoked these feelings as I buzzed through the recipe. I found this recipe on this blog – www.alloveralbany.com which is foodie inspirational and fabulous! The recipe caught my eye, as the cook who runs that blog had the exact same blue cast iron pan that I have and love. The full post and recipe can be found here on her page at  http://alloveralbany.com Sausage and Butternut Squash Hash with Baked Eggs 3 links hot Italian local sausage (about ¼ pound) – check out Bacon Acres and Field Gate Organics ¼ cup diced local onion (about ½ medium) 2 cloves Ontario garlic, minced 1 butternut squash (approx 2 pounds), peeled and diced – these are everywhere right now! 1 medium Ontario potato, diced ½ cup apple cider 3 leaves of chard, chopped Eggs (however many you want) 2 Tbs fresh oregano Sea salt and black pepper Squish the sausage from it”s casing and crumble it into a hot, oven-safe pan set over medium heat. Cook the sausage completely and then remove it from the pan and set it aside. Next, throw in your chopped onion and garlic to the original pan and cook for 3 or 4 minutes, until they soften. Next, add the squash, potato, and cider. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Keep cooking the squash and potato mixture, do not let it burn and adjust your heat settings as needed.Your oven should heat up in about 6 – 10 minutes and once it reaches 400 the hash should be ready – I found it was probably about 15 minutes of cooking time for me by the time the potatoes were cooked through and the squash became soft. Once you feel the postoes are cooked, add the sausage back into the hash, along with the chard. Stir it until the chard wilts. Turn of your heat and remove pan to side. Now, for the fun part! Create several shallow holes in the hash (one hole for each egg). Crack each egg into it”s hole. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 10 minutes, or until the egg whites are set. I did not trust that the eggs were set because they looked a little jelly-like still, but I have to say to trust the 10 minute, or 12 minutes and remove from oven. You can then season with salt and pepper, and serve. Serves 2!  Read More

Get Cracking with Ontario Eggs

I am sitting at home, perched at the kitchen table and looking out at the snow that is blowing. I am really hoping that this is the end of it. Spring Equinox does not roll in until March 20th, but it usually stops snowing here before that – doesn”t it?! I sure hope so. I was thinking that all this cold weather and blowing snow can get a person down, especially a locavore and then my internal/eternal optimism kicked in and I started thinking about all the good things that are available to eat year-round. One of my absolute favourite things to eat would have to be eggs. I will admit that for me they are more of a breakfast food and it seems I usually only have time to eat them on the weekends, therefore I associate eggs with lazy weekend mornings and in turn, happiness. Through the ages, people have associated eggs with all kinds of things. For instance, they are most often linked with fertility and creation. “The ancient Persian and Celtic cultures celebrated the spring equinox with the gift of red-dyed eggs. The eggs were shared at a meal, and afterwards, the shells were carefully crushed, a ritual to drive away winter.”– eggs.ca Eggs have a long and interesting history, there was the “fake egg maker”,Carl Fabergé who made beautifully designed gold and porcelain replicas of eggs for the Czar of Russia when eggs were forbidden to be eaten. Then there is the ancient German custom of hanging eggs in trees to symbolize rebirth and renewal and then of course the French Canadian custom of eating eggs that have been soaked in maple syrup-blech! (sorry to all my frenchie friends) Above is an image entitled Anatomy of an Egg and here is the matching description to each number on the diagram: 1. Eggshell2. Outer membrane3. Inner membrane4. Chalaza5. Exterior albumen (outer thin albumen)6. Middle albumen (inner thick albumen)7. Vitelline membrane8. Nucleus of pander9. Germinal disk (blastoderm)10. Yellow yolk11. White yolk12. Internal albumen13. Chalaza14. Air cell15. Cuticula I do not understand what all of these terms mean,but I find this image super cool because when you look at an egg it seems so simple – just this perfectly contained and naturally designed little package – but when food scientists look at it a little closer it turns out to be not so simple and instead it is quite complex. Eggs are available at all kinds of farms surrounding London. I get mine from a wonderful farmer that is out highway 4 just before Birr. She happens to sell brown eggs, so that is what I generally have in my fridge. Harold Saunders at Saunders Organics sells organic chicken eggs if that is what you are after. Organic eggs are a bit more money than regular eggs but that is because the feed that organic chickens consume is more money. There are also a variety of other factors that make organic chickens more pricey but it is best to ask the farmer directly as he/she may raise their chickens a certain way. You can also raise your own eggs by becoming an urban chicken owner. The city of London allows a family to have 2 chickens (I think!) in a properly enclosed coop outside of your home. You can also pick up fresh local eggs at the Covent Garden Market, Trails End, Field Gate Organics and Western Fair Farmers Market. I almost forgot! You can also freeze eggs if you have an abundance of them. There is an excellent article here that talks about the various ways that you can do that – and no — don”t freeze them in their shells! I believe that is all I know about eggs, but I will tell you that the most popular weekend breakfast in my kitchen is simply eggs scrambled up and then tossed into a soft tortilla with cheese and hot sauce. Heaven!  Read More