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

Field Gate Organics

for the record these are my neighbours, I did not eat them.. they are dairy cows. Field Gate Organics may already be a fixture in your weekly or daily shop, and if it is, you certainly are lucky, and I am dead jealous. Unfortunately, I no longer live in downtown London, so sadly this strikes me from the regular list. I wish I still lived downtown, I really do! Because Field Gate Organics is like this goldmine of good, organic food – and.. here”s the gold part — it is mostly local. So, for those of you who have not been, and would like directions, Field Gate Organics is a permanent vendor located in the Covent Garden Market. They have a pretty big chunk of market space,so you should be able to find them easily – look on the main floor,kind of in the middle. Field Gate Organics formed in 2003 and it is a group of certified organic farmers. How many farmers you ask? Well…alot of them.. at least 48 certified organic farmers are part of the distribution company and it is always growing. There is a wall of freezers at the shop, as well as a fresh butcher cooler/display case. I believe that the frozen foods are slightly less harsh on the wallet, and the fresh cuts are a bit more – but keep in mind they do have sales and daily specials! For instance, there was a freezer sale on in the store the day that I went in. Looking around at the goods that were available, I saw lamb, beef, chicken and pork cuts. I also saw a ton of frozen fish – it looked to me like it was from British Columbia. I know, I know…not local but if you are still incorporating fish in your diet it is nice for it to at least be Canadian. Support Canadian fisheries while you chow down on a big salmon steak, makes it all taste better! There were also breads, some produce and eggs on the shelves in the middle of the floor, as well as a large dairy section. The counter staff is super friendly – don”t let their big butcher knives scare you, I assure you that everyone that I spoke with was eager to help and happy to talk organics. On my trip I bought some frozen ground beef. I thawed it out overnight and cooked it the next day – and when I did, Sean heard me talking to the frying pan.. it”s true, I was nattering on a bit, but I am not crazy- I was simply taken aback at the colour of the meat. You see, the meat was this really lovely pinkish red, it was super bright… it looked so much BETTER than some of the ground beef I have cooked up in the past. I thought it worth mentioning, because it is something to take note of when you are cooking up your next organic feast, just take a look at the colour – I have noticed the same thing with organic eggs, the yolk is a completely different shade of yellow, in fact, it is more orange. That organic ground beef… it tasted better too, it really did. Check it out, report back to me.. tell me if you like it! Field Gate OrganicsCovent Garden Market130 King Street, London ONMon to Thurs: 8am to 6pm, Fri: 8am to 7:30pm, Sat: 8am to 6pm, Sun: 11am to 4pmMike Hartwell & Ted Soudant – 679-9998  Read More