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

Stuffed Buttercup Squash

Stuffed Squash | Photo: Kelly Hunt I have been told by my relatives (god bless them for reading!) that I do not post enough. The truth is that I feel I am not getting to all of the awesome markets that surround our city and post them. That was what I initially set out to do with this blog – highlight the markets and the farms. I will still do that, but I think I may hone in my blogging (to make it more frequent) on different local foods and how you can cook with them. This would be more for inspiration on using and finding local foods for my faithful readers out there. By all means, feel free to email me with your recipe ideas or post them in the comments section! The picture above is a spotted buttercup squash that I decided to stuff. This is new for me, as it may be for some of you out there. As many of you budding cooks out there may do as well, I started by looking for a recipe for squash in one of my many cookbooks. I ended up drawing inspiration from Simply in Season which is available at Ten Thousand Villages. Here is what I did Kelly Stylie: 2 medium buttercup squash 1 big carrot – diced 1/2 big onion – diced (or one small) 1 large clove garlic – diced olive oil (or any oil) 3 big mushrooms – diced 1 medium green pepper – diced 1 medium tomato – diced breadcrumbs (about a cup and half – I always use panko – I know Japan is not local, but damn they are so much better!) fresh sage – chopped(big handful) fresh rosemary – chopped ( small pinch) 1 cup of grated cheese (any kind- I used cheddar) 1 cup raisins salt and pepper to taste Set oven to 350 degrees. Cut squash in half. Scrape out seeds and pulp, place face down on greased cooking sheet. Bake for 40 minutes or until tender. Meanwhile: Get a medium fry pan going with some oil. Add your onion, carrot, cook for few minutes, then add garlic,sage,pepper, tomato, mushroom, salt + pepper, raisins. Cook for about 5 more minutes, then add the bread crumbs, take off heat, add cheese. Set to side. Remove squash from oven, flip them over, fill with stuffing mixture, turn up oven to 375 degrees, place stuffed squash back in oven for 10 minutes. EaT. Be. HaPpY!  Read More