The Cooking Chronicles: Calendar Inspiration

Recipe inspirations can come from anywhere – online, the newspaper, a television show. On two recent occasions, that inspiration came from calendars.

Garlic Shrimp and Spinach Linguine

The daily image on our kitchen Milk calendar has got to me before, but this time, the image of “succulent” garlic shrimp and spinach linguine haunted me for a week before I caved in. I’m a sucker for cream-based pastas anyway, and enjoyed this version very much, the cream balanced somewhat by a white wine reduction. I also loved the wilted Sundog Organic spinach throughout, while the Doef’s red pepper added a nice sweetness. The shrimp were okay, though I would likely substitute chicken the next time around.

Garlic shrimp and spinach linguine

Lunchbox Granola Bars

Mack likes to tease me about being hungry all the time, but it’s true that I try to carry some sort of sustenance with me in case I start to get peckish. That usually ends up being a granola bar of some sort, typically of the packaged variety. I never really considered making my own until I came across this recipe in the Canadian Diabetes Association’s Healthy Living Calendar.

The recipe calls for a ton of healthy ingredients, including sunflower seeds, dried fruit, and applesauce. I tried to incorporate as many local products into it as possible – Prairie Gold flaxseed, Halwa Farms whole wheat flour, Highland Crossing rolled oats and Meadow Sweet honey.

Out of the oven, the bars held together well, but still had a nice chew. Mack joked though that one bar would be more than enough to replace a meal, as they were quite dense and weighty. But most important, the bars tasted good! They weren’t overly sweet, though I appreciated the bit of chocolate in every second bite.

Lunchbox granola bars

I’d definitely recommend this recipe, and will be making another batch for myself soon.

Cooking Chronicles: Perfect for Summer

Meals that are easy to throw together are a welcome addition to our kitchen any time of year, but it seems especially valuable in the summer, when we’re trying to make the most of those warm weather nights. Here are two recipes we tried recently that helped us do that.

Mini Quinoa Cups

Thanks to Courtenay, I was exposed to the idea of incorporating quinoa into a basic frittata recipe popularized by Iowa Girl Eats. Though I’ve been making mini frittatas for quite some time (in fact, it was the first ever “Cooking Chronicle” I posted all those years ago), I never thought to punch up the protein factor by stirring in some cooked quinoa.

Mini quinoa cups

We used diced ham, Sundog Organic spinach, aged cheddar and chives from our balcony garden as fillings, but should have followed the recipe more closely when it came to using non-stick spray (I didn’t have any, and probably didn’t do as thorough of a job brushing the oil inside the individual baking cups). That said, other than some of the quinoa cups not detaching perfectly, the recipe itself worked out very well! Mack loved the crunch from the quinoa, and served over Sundog Organic greens, didn’t even complain that he was eating a salad!

Over salad

We had a few quinoa cups left over the next day, and found that they also made a quick, tasty breakfast, heated briefly in the microwave.

Lemon Pasta Salad with Asparagus and Tomato

Mack was in charge of dinner a few nights ago, and had selected a pasta recipe that made use of tender crisp asparagus from Edgar Farms and sweet cherry tomatoes from Gull Valley Greenhouses.

He substituted the stelline we had on hand for the orzo, added some Dreamin’ Green Farm chicken and balcony basil, and tossed it all together with garlic, lemon and olive oil from Evoolution.

Lemon pasta salad with asparagus and tomato

It’s probably the sort of thing many wouldn’t require a recipe for, but we appreciated the guidelines. It was a very light dish, with varied textures that really celebrated the fresh produce. Mack especially liked the prominent lemon flavour.

We’ll be on the lookout for even more such recipes this summer!

Culinary Q & A with Foodie McPoon

Occupation: Administration at Alberta Education

What did you eat today?

Banana and a nut bar for breakfast, an apple and Greek yogurt for a mid-morning snack and salad with leftover Singapore noodles from dinner last night for lunch (if you’re wondering where it’s from, it’s from Panda Hut Express).

What do you never eat?

Raisins if I can help it. I hate raisins in muffins, cookies, etc but I eat raisin toast…Weird, I know. I don’t have a good explanation either.

What is your personal specialty?

I don’t really have a specialty dish because I cook many different foods, but I do an awesome cold shrimp salad appetizer, as well as well-seasoned potato wedges.

Complete this sentence: In my refrigerator, you will always find: Greek yogurt, eggs, milk, cilantro, green onions, proscuitto and pickled asparagus.

What is your weekday meal standby?

Lemon baked chicken, panko breaded pork chops or noodles & soup.

What is your favourite kitchen item?

My Cuisinart food processor (next in line is my KitchenAid stand mixer).

World ends tomorrow. Describe your last meal.

A large, piping hot bowl of noodle soup, preferably pho with loads of white and green onions thinly sliced with medium-rare beef, also sliced thinly. This is making me hungry!

Where do you eat out most frequently?

I try not to eat out too often, but on occasion my default options are pho usually at Pho Hoa on 97 Street (or whatever restaurant is closest), Kyoto for sushi or Double Greeting Wonton House for their wonton and beef brisket noodle soup.

Where’s the best place to eat in Edmonton?

Two places — For dinner, definitely The Dish Bistro. I love their food and their portion sizes are quite substantial considering their prices are very, very decent. The atmosphere is also very cozy and unpretentious! For dessert and coffee, there’s no other than Duchess Bake Shop. I am now truly obsessed with French pastries, especially ‘le macaron’. What did I do without them?!

If you weren’t limited by geography, where and what would you eat?

There is this wonderful cafe called The Dunes in Prince Edward Island and I am head over heels for their summer lobster salad. I would also love to eat an authentic bowl of spicy pho in Vietnam, or fresh sashimi/sushi in Japan.

Check out Foodie McPoon’s blog here.

The Cooking Chronicles: Baked Comfort

As far as comfort foods go, baked pastas are pretty high up on my hit list. We definitely have our favourites, but I’m always willing to experiment with other recipes as well. We recently tried two new dishes, and one came out with much better results than the other.

Baked Rigatoni with Béchamel Sauce

With leftover béchamel sauce from a lasagna made earlier in the week, I decided to use it up by making Giada’s baked rigatoni with béchamel sauce.

The recipe was easy – maybe too easy – and just involved mixing prosciutto-and cheese-spiked béchamel with cooked rigatoni, transferring the mixture into a baking dish, then topping it with cheese before baking. The only change I made to the recipe was substituting the mozzarella I had kicking around in the fridge for the fontina.

Baked rigatoni with béchamel sauce

While it wasn’t a complete failure, it just wasn’t all that interesting or tasty. It also had to be consumed right out of the oven, as the pasta became limp and dry without enough béchamel to keep it moist. Even Mack, who came home later that evening, found that the pasta had already passed its prime.

Baked Mac & Cheese with Little White beans

We had much better luck with baked mac & cheese with little white beans, from Spilling the Beans. Similar to the risotto we had tried last month, this recipe sneaks in little white beans, covert in creamy white sauce.

Even without the beans, the recipe would have been a fine rendition of mac and cheese, with just the right amount of cheesy goodness (we used a mixture of old cheddar and gouda), and a crispy, buttery panko crust (I substituted panko for the whole wheat bread). With the beans, some of the guilt of eating such a calorically-high dish was dissipated, especially given the serving size could be reduced with the addition of a filling and healthy protein.

Baked mac & cheese with little white beans

Best of all, we had loads of leftovers that reheated very well. Mack was a happy camper for a few days with this lunch to look forward to! Thanks Julie and Sue for another great recipe for the repertoire.

The Cooking Chronicles: Classics, Old and New

In recent weeks I made two dishes, both classics in my mind, though one perhaps more recognizably so.

Classic Italian Lasagna

I went back to Giada’s very first cookbook to finally try my hand at lasagna. We’ve made stuffed pastas before, but we’ve never thought to make the layered version.

Giada’s recipe required two separate sauces – a marinara and a béchamel – so I planned ahead and made the marinara the night prior to cut down on the day-of cooking time. We also used fresh pasta (from local company Pasta Time), which meant one less pot as well.

Assembly was straightforward, and in many ways, less labour-intensive than stuffed pastas. After forty-five minutes in the oven, we were greeted with a cheesy, bubbly dish.

Classic Italian Lasagna

Mack’s first critique was that each slice should have been served with an additional ladle of marinara sauce, to which I concurred (sadly, we’re probably much too used to the Americanized version of lasagna). I probably also would have cut down on the amount of spinach (to half) and ricotta (to two-thirds), and used more fresh pasta, given the sheets were actually quite thin. Other than that, it was an indulgent, but comforting dish that yielded a huge amount of leftovers. It’s not something we will make all that often, but I’m happy to have finally tackled!

The New “New Joe’s Special”

In his Food Matters Cookbook, Mark Bittman indicates that every San Francisco restaurant with “Joe” in its name features a dish with the name “Joe’s Special” or “New Joe’s Special” on its menu. As I can’t recall visiting any such restaurant, this hash-type dish was new to me, but it seemed very straightforward in terms of preparation and ingredients, so I marked the recipe for future reference. We tried it for the first time a few weeks ago, and loved it!

Starting with good ground beef (we used Nature’s Green Acres), this hash layers in onions, spinach, mushrooms and some herbs, then incorporates egg and parmesan. And that’s it!

The New “New Joe’s Special”

Served over toast (for us, nothing beats Honey White from Prairie Mill), it was one of the most satisfying recipes we’ve made in recent memory. The key for me was taking the time to cook the mushrooms down – they really are the star of the dish.

Looking forward to trying other classics soon – and with the farmers’ market adding to its fresh inventory every week, there will be inspiration around every corner!

The Cooking Chronicles: Spilling More Beans

Though we still do have a few cans in the pantry for emergencies, for the most part now, I’ve only been using beans and pulses cooked from their dried form. Prepared in large batches, then frozen in small portions for use in individual recipes, I’ve found the transition a lot easier than I expected.

With thawed pulses in tow, I tried out a few more dishes from Spilling the Beans by Julie Van Rosendaal and Sue Duncan.

White Bean Risotto with Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Spinach and Parmesan

I loved the idea of incorporating beans into risotto, especially because our usual risotto is mushroom-based, and minus the cheese, is protein-less. As a result, we usually prepare risotto to be consumed as a side dish, instead of the main that we know it can be.

This recipe of white bean risotto is a seamless way of punching up the dish, and really, the beans end up being cloaked and almost disguised in the creamy rice.

White bean risotto with sun-dried tomatoes, spinach and parmesan

I appreciated the wilted spinach, but probably could have done with three times the amount of sundried tomato (I already doubled the quantity from the original recipe). Definitely a winner we will make again!

Spaghetti with Garlic, Chickpeas and Braised Kale

Another vegetarian option we tried involved lacing spaghetti with garlic, chickpeas and braised kale. For some reason, pan-roasting the chickpeas didn’t quite work for me, and they didn’t end up with the crispy texture that the recipe intended. Other than that, the kale cooked up nicely, and the garlic flavour was prominent, as expected.

Spaghetti with garlic, chickpeas and braised kale

That said, it wasn’t the easiest dish to eat – it’s difficult to spear chickpeas on a fork already wrapped with spaghetti and kale! A smaller pasta like rotini or penne would have worked a lot better. As well, as most “sauceless” pastas go, it did not reheat well the next day.

But we’re not discouraged! I’m sure we’ll be thumbing through the book for even more inspiration in the next few weeks.

Culinary Q & A with Carmen Cheng

Occupation: I’m a Corporate Trainer in the area of Leadership & Employee Development. Basically this means on Mondays to Fridays from 8:30am to 5pm I support organizations in developing their culture, employee engagement, corporate communications, and leadership. The rest of my time is spent absorbed in all sorts of food related activities – eating, cooking, watching food related shows, going through food reads, and blogging.

What did you eat today?

Breakfast:

Omelette made with Sunworks farm eggs, pancetta, mozzarella, Gull Valley tomatoes, and Morinville basil
A large cup of DAVIDsTEA Milk Oolong tea

Lunch:

Bowl of frozen yogurt with fruit and mochi balls from Tutti Frutti.

Dinner:

A summery salad of Gull Valley tomatoes, basil, and buffalo mozzarella tossed in a dressing of minced garlic, salt, Volpaia olive oil, and a squeeze of lemon
Homemade tagliatelle tossed with fiddlehead, roasted Irvings Farm pork jowl, and a white wine lemon sauce
Glass of Sassy Saskatoon Berry wine from Birds and Bees Organic Wine Farm

Late Night Snack:

Pears dipped in sea salted caramel sauce

What do you never eat?

I will eat almost anything! However when I was traveling in Asia, I did have to put a caveat to that statement because I can’t bring myself to eating cats or dogs (or rats). But here in North America, very little I won’t eat… ok well maybe not black licorice.

What is your personal specialty?

I like to think it’s tagliatelle al ragu (what the folks from Bologna call Tagliatelle Bolognese). My secret flavour-inducing technique is tossing the rind of Parmigiano Reggiano into the simmering sauce.

Complete this sentence: In my refrigerator, you will always find:

Cheese, greek yogurt, Sunworks farm eggs, and almond milk

What is your weekday meal standby?

Curry over quinoa – I love the MSG-free New Asian Home curry spice packs. We always keep packs on hand, especially the Thai red or green curries and Singapore yellow curry. It’s so easy to toss in some vegetables, chicken, prawns, and coconut milk.

What is your favourite kitchen item?

Probably my Cuisinart Elite 14-cup food processor. With 1000W of power, there’s not much it can’t do. But our Cuisinart hand held blender is a close second favourite.

World ends tomorrow. Describe your last meal.

My last meal would be a feast with friends and family. I would want the dishes to showcase the places I’ve lived and loved. In terms of dishes from my hometown of Vancouver – There would be sashimi because there always is at Cheng family gatherings (specifically salmon and toro) and xiaolongbao from Wangs (dumplings filled with pork and soup). I would also request some gelato from James at Bella Gelateria (Vancouver), possibly his salted caramel or Tahitian vanilla gelato.

From Edmonton, I would want to have Daniel Costa’s truffled grilled cheese and pappardelle bolognese.

From Calgary where I spent 8 yrs, I would ask for Charcut’s pig’s head mortadella and duck fat fried poutine. I would also want Aviv from Sidewalk Citizen to supply us with his apple dulce de leche brioche. I’d have the truffled oxtail tortellini from Anju.

From home, my Dad’s prime rib and I would want my grandmother’s “cha goh” dumplings made from a rice flour dough, stuffed with ground pork, Chinese sausage, shitaki mushrooms, water chestnuts, and I’m sure I’m missing about 5 other ingredients. Funny enough, I would also want my childhood favourite – Tuna casserole made with cream of mushroom soup.

Where do you eat out most frequently?

Tutti Frutti frozen yogurt on Whyte Ave. Must get my frozen yogurt fix two-three times a week and I’ve yet to find another company with yogurt as good as Tutti Frutti’s. I’m craving it as I type this and I’ve had a bowl earlier.

Where’s the best place to eat in Edmonton?

I’m changing this question to “best placeS in Edmonton” because I can’t choose just one. Corso 32, Tres Carnales, Shanghai 456, and Zaika are probably my favourite food spots in Edmonton. Corso 32 because Daniel and Ben make my favourite pasta dishes in Edmonton and I’m in constant need of their amazing truffled grilled cheese topped with a sunny egg, Tres Carnales because the crew there is so hospitable it always feels like going to over to a good friend’s house. Their tacos are yummy and I never say no to sangria. Chef Wong at Shanghai 456 makes the best xiaolongbao (pork dumplings filled with soup) in Alberta. Not only is Zaika within a 5 minute drive from our house, their fish pakoras, onion naan, butter chicken, bhindi masala, and baingan bharta are absolutely delicious! We always have a great experience at Zaika.

If you weren’t limited by geography, where and what would you eat?

I’d go back to Macau and Italy.

Macau is the Vegas of Asia. It’s located within a 1 hour long ferry ride from Hong Kong. From a culinary standpoint, Macau is a really interesting place. Although technically part of China, Macau was colonized by the Portuguese for 100 years. As a result, many Macanese dishes are a fusion of Chinese and Portuguese influences. I would go to Lord Stowe bakery to have some famous butttery and flaky Portuguese egg tarts – a fusion between the Chinese egg tart and the Portuguese pasteis de nata tarts. I would also go to “Tai Lei Loi Kei” cafe to have one of their famous pork chop buns, a marinated bone in pork chop inside a Portuguese bun. Not to mention a big bowl of braised pig’s feet and curried beef brisket over noodles.

In Italy, I would go back to Tuscany for the five course beef dinner at Dario Cecchini’s famous butcher shop in Panzano. While there, I would have breakfast at Poggerino a quaint B&B in Radda Chianti where one of the owner Benedetta makes THE best omelette and quiche. We would also go back to Luccarelli for the to-die-for pappardelle al cinghiale (wild boar). And since geography isn’t a limitation I would hop over to Florence for the butter chicken at Trattoria Sostanza. Unlike Indian butter chicken, this one is roasted chicken breast baked in a lake of brown butter. Then hop over to Bologna for some tagliatelle al ragu and Pear and Cinnamon gelato from Sorbetteria Castiglione.

Carmen blogs at Food Karma.

Eat Alberta 2012

The vision of Eat Alberta is simple: to create interactive opportunities for people to learn how to source and prepare local food directly from the experts in our community – producers, chefs and local food advocates. We were also hoping that participants would connect with one another and perhaps foster relationships that would extend beyond one isolated event. Because after all, there are only so many farmers’ markets to visit and shops and restaurants to patronize that showcase local food in Edmonton!

I had great intentions to write a post to sum up our inaugural Eat Alberta conference last year, but it fell by the wayside. I regret it now, because it would be nice to have a reference point, since our second Eat Alberta was so different in many ways.

On April 14, 2012, we welcomed over one hundred attendees and eighteen presenters at NAIT. In comparison to Eat Alberta 2011, we had nearly doubled the number of participants and sessions offered, so our classroom footprint had to grow accordingly as well. Although there were many positive attributes about our previous base venue of Enterprise Square, it did not contain kitchen facilities, and for a hands-on cooking conference such as ours, it became clear that they were a necessity. So we were thrilled when NAIT agreed to allow us to book their kitchens and adjacent classrooms as a venue, as this was the first time they have opened their doors to an external group.

The sandwich spread from NAIT

Lunch also included this wonderful stout cake

The NAIT staff did a wonderful job in taking care of many tasks –from setting up meals to dishwashing – that had fallen to the organizing committee and volunteers last year. Of course, that did mean the cost of putting on the conference increased (and as a result, heightened the attendee fee), but from an organizer’s perspective, it allowed us the time and space to manage other things, and for a few of us, even the opportunity to take in a few sessions!

Mack learning how to make spring rolls from Elaine Wilson (a lot of the photos I’ve used in this post were taken by Maki, our volunteer photographer – she did a great job!)

The keynote from Danny and Shannon of Nature’s Green Acres was a great way to start the day. They shared their farm story – how labour intensive their methods are, how their children are involved in the day-to-day chores. I think it set the tone for the conference – one of humble appreciation for producers like the Ruzickas and the hard work involved in bringing consumers a quality product!

Danny and Shannon Ruzicka

Afterwards, I did a quick walk-through of a few of the hands-on sessions in the kitchens, and it looked like people were having a blast.

Cheesemaking with Alan Roote

Knife skills with Kevin Kent

Pasta making with Kathryn Joel

Much of this can be attributed to the stellar presenters that volunteered and took it upon themselves to plan practical and insightful workshops, and were able to impart both their knowledge and their passion in the limited time available. I think there was a lot more tweeting going on this year than last, so it was neat to see some of the real time comments of participants – talk about immediate feedback!

Owen Petersen’s class making sourdough babies

I was also able to sit in on two sessions that day. The first was with Martin Osis of the Alberta Mycological Society who addressed the topic of Foraging for Mushrooms. I’ve heard Martin speak before, and he certainly hasn’t lost his sense of humour about fungi. There was no doubt attendees were engaged, and had Martin not warned the crowd numerous times about the exceptions to the edible mushroom rules, I’m sure people would have wanted to start foraging for mushrooms right outside the walls of NAIT.

Martin Osis

In the afternoon, I joined Chef Blair Lebsack’s session on how to prepare bison. Blair was among three NAIT Culinary Arts instructors we were fortunate to have, as they are the mentors behind the next generation of the city’s culinary talent.

Blair Lebsack

Blair didn’t show us just one, but three ways of cooking bison so we could taste the difference between different cuts and preparation methods. He started with a roast from First Nature’s Farms, seasoned it, then placed in a hot oven (it reminded me that I need to get myself a probe thermometer!). Blair then pointed to a brisket he had started earlier that day, having cooked it low and slow for several hours. It was fork tender, surrounded by the aromatic bath it had been prepared in.

Lastly, Blair divided up a striploin into individual steaks so participants would be able to cook it up on their own to their liking. Many chose to pan-fry their steaks, but I went with the grill, mostly because the barbecue isn’t something I get to play with all that often!

Seasoning up my steak

The plenary panel was something we had great fun designing. “How to survive a zombie apocalypse” was an off-beat way of asking some really important questions about how one would be able to fend for themselves in our Prairie context. I think Allan did a great job moderating the panel, though I know we had some minor clarity issues for those seated at the back.

Zombie apocalypse panel

Valerie and Allan deserve all of the credit for the tasting boards served at the wine down. They were a sight to behold, all lined up in Ernest’s, and yes, they were as lovingly prepared as they appeared to have been. My favourite taste was similar to my favourite last year – the Cheesiry’s pecorino with a drizzle of Lola Canola honey.

Valerie preparing the boards

Maki’s beautiful shot of a tasting board

In all, I think it was a really successful event. We achieved what we set out to do, and hope everyone thought it was a worthwhile day as well (you can check out what others said here). That said, we know there is always room for improvement, and for the future, there will be some minor adjustments (for example, ensuring that all attendees have the opportunity to participate in at least one hands-on course). And if you have any other suggestions, please get in touch with us – we’re all ears!

In reflecting back on the day, I feel indebted to so many people. Thanks to everyone who attended, and took a chance on our event. I want to thank the tireless volunteers – the event truly could not have taken place without your energy and hard work. Thanks also to the Italian Centre, Mighty Trio Organics and Gold Forest Grains for sponsoring us – it means a lot that small local businesses believed in our vision as well. Last but not least – so much of the feeling I am left with now is an intense respect for my fellow committee members – it was such a pleasure to work with you, Allan, Mack, Ming, Nicole, Su and Valerie. Here’s to Eat Alberta 2013!

http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=109615

If you’re interested in finding out more about future Eat Alberta events, make sure you sign up for our mailing list.

The Cooking Chronicles: Ham and Cheese Waffles

Every so often I come across a dish that grabs me, and regardless of the calorie count, I have to have it. This happened with poutine sandwiches, and again last week with another indulgent dinner.

One of the housewarming gifts we received when we moved into our condo two years ago was a waffle maker. Due to a lack of pantry and cupboard space (and our preference for pancakes instead of waffles), the appliance languished in storage, unopened.

But when I saw this Bon Appetit recipe for ham and cheese waffles, I knew I’d be reaching for the dusty waffle maker. A savoury waffle, studded with bits of crusty ham and melted cheese? Sign me up.

The batter was easy enough to pull together, though it did require the separation of egg whites from yolks to ensure the waffles were light and fluffy. There was also A LOT of butter (an entire cup of it!), but this wasn’t the time to pull back. Cheese and ham were sprinkled on top, once the batter had been transferred into the hot iron. We found that we could have easily tripled the amount of cheese specified in the recipe, as we didn’t get the desired melt-y factor we were looking for.

Inspired by Under the High Wheel, we chose to eat these dinner waffles with poached Sunshine Organic eggs on top, the rich yolks acting as the “syrup”. Yum.

Ham and cheese waffles with poached eggs

As we had two waffles left the next day, we enjoyed them for breakfast (heated up in the waffle iron), served with warmed maple syrup. They weren’t bad with this touch of sweetness, but I think I preferred the savoury version.

With maple syrup

If you’re looking for a breakfast-for-dinner idea, I’d highly recommend these waffles. I know we’ll be dusting off our waffle maker again some time soon.

The Cooking Chronicles: Savoury Pies

I’ve been enjoying Karlynn’s series of spotlighting a pie a week, and was happy to see a savoury version in her most recent post. One of our favourite go-to recipes in our rotation is this chicken pot pie, but the truth is, Mack and I love most savoury concoctions. What’s not to love? With a bit of meat, some vegetables, and usually, some sort of starchy crust, a pie is the perfect comfort meal. We tried out two recipes in recent weeks with success.

Cottage Pie

Julie Van Rosendaal called this a cottage pie (instead of a shepherd’s pie) because she used ground beef instead of lamb, but whatever the name, it was easy and delicious.

It was easy to incorporate local ingredients into this recipe – we used Sunshine Organic beef, Peas on Earth carrots, Kuhlmann’s onions and potatoes, in addition to the grocery store frozen peas. We also ~~fattened up~~ smoothed out the potatoes with some butter and cream – totally unnecessary, but worth the extra calories in our mind.

Cottage pie

The recipe made a ton of leftovers to boot that reheated well – always a welcome bonus in our book!

Sausage, Cauliflower and Swiss Chard Potpie

This recipe caught my eye when I was flipping through the latest issue of Real Simple. The original recipe calls for kale, but the leafy greens were out at the grocery store, so we substituted swiss chard instead.

We cooked some Little Italy Foods Italian sausage with onions and the swiss chard, added some stock and flour, then combined it with chopped cauliflower. The mixture was poured into a dish then topped with puff pastry and baked.

Sausage, cauliflower and swiss chard potpie

The resulting dish was great – the cauliflower steamed up perfectly, and each bite contained a bit of sausage, chard, and gravy. Of course, the buttery crust didn’t hurt either!

We may be moving out of the season of savoury pies, but I think I’ll still be sneaking in a pie or two now and again, which will likely include both of these recipes.

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