Bread+Egg=Heaven!

Sort of Cooking-Really Delicious!
My husband was out of town this week, and after 29 years of marriage, that means 1 thing…I eat when, what, and if I want.

Eggs are a sort of 'go-to' for me. The protein fills me up, and a fried egg sandwich is a treat because I am not generally a sandwich eater. I had a jar of roasted red peppers in the fridge, and think they were one of the STARS of this particular sandwich…they added a bit of sweetness, and a 'vegetable' component which I try to have at every meal.

Ham and Dijon mustard are perfect together…and in my fridge I also had this tasty, scraggly piece of ham I picked up at a fantastic urban deli in the Crosstown neighbourhood of Vancouver, a place called The Dirty Apron.(the ham was scraggly looking because every time I went anywhere near the kitchen, a piece ended up in my mouth!)

Lastly…Any sandwich that has any hope of being delicious MUST have good bread. You all know my dad was a baker, so I drive miles for good bread, just on principle! This tasty loaf is called a 'Millers Grain Loaf', and is available a couple of miles from my place in Ocean Park, at a bakery called Fieldstone. It's crunchy and dense, and yeasty, and full of nuts and seeds. If this post has you thinking about creating a few tasty sandwiches for you or yours tonight, check out everybodylikessandwiches.com a great blog!

Anyone have a favourite sandwich? Please leave me a comment…and don't forget to share! I'm on Twitter too…@CathyCavern.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Winter 2014

It's been a long cold winter. I'm on the West Coast of Canada…so I will spare you the horror of imagining temperatures of minus 1 degree Celsius! Needless to say, I have been cooking more than usual, in between checking the Canadian Dollar vs the US dollar in hopes of getting myself to Honolulu.

Butternut Squash
I'm not a huge squash fan, but butternut squash I like. I decided to make some soup, and thought that roasting the squash would give the soup some richness, in the absence of meat. I roasted the squash, with a few carrots and parsnips I had laying around, but by the time the squash was soft, the carrots and parsnips were nearly incinerated! I piled them into a bowl, and ate them as a before soup snack, as I was worried my soup would turn out smokey or burnt tasting.

chow.com
I adapted this recipe from: chow.com Roasted Butternut Squash Soup Recipe by Christine Gallary
You can view the original recipe here. My adapted recipe is below. I hope you like it. I thought it was simply delicious!  Please leave me a comment…and please feel free to share…

RECIPE:
1 medium butternut squash
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 medium Ambrosia apple
1/2 medium yellow onion
8 fresh sage leaves
2 1/2 cups homemade chicken stock
2 1/2 cups water
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

In a 425 degree preheated oven roast the squash as above-cut side up, on an aluminum foil lined baking tray.(brush the squash with olive oil and season w salt and pepper. Roast until tender-approx 60 min. Wash and core the apple. Cut the apple and the yellow onion into a medium dice and cook in a saucepan with the butter and fresh sage over medium heat. Season the mixture with salt&pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Scoop the softened squash into the saucepan with the apple onion mixture, add the water and the stock, and a bit more salt&pepper. Bring everything to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 15 minutes. Using a blender, puree the soup in batches until smooth, being sure to only fill the blender up half way, and placing a kitchen towel over the lid to prevent splattering. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed.