Oven-Dried Tomatoes (Like Sun-Dried with no sun)

An awesome way to hold onto that last taste of summer, oven-dried instead of sun-dried tomatoes. You can use unripened tomatoes, since we're past the true tomato season now.

Take some tomatoes, slice them up and place them on a baking pan with olive oil and salt.

Make sure the slices aren't touching each other. Put them in a 275 degree oven and bake for about an hour. Keep an eye on them, you don't want them to burn, you want them to dry out.

The results are sweet and tangy. I've served these tomatoes with fried eggs, over pasta and on sandwiches. You'll find some great things to pair these tomatoes with as well. Leave me a note with how you've served them.

Lentil Butternut Squash Walnut and Ham Stew

It's amazing how little it takes to make lentil butternut squash and ham stew.

My Saturday walk brought me to my local produce market. I picked up a butternut squash, it being Fall and all, and grabbed a few other things. On my way back home, I stopped off at the butcher shop where I spotted this lovely ham hock (see above). As I walked home, I wondered what I might make with the squash, when I recalled the lentils in my cupboard.

I'm not generally a fan of lentils, but I had a big bag of them in the cupboard waiting to be made into something, anything actually, since  in general, I'm not a huge lentil fan. I do really like lentils in Indian food, but had yet to find a way that I enjoyed eating them in a home cooked meal.

When I opened the cabinet to get the lentils out, a bag of curry powder fell onto the countertop. I figured this was a sign of some sort and so, I proceeded to build a dish around the lentils, curry powder and ham hock. The ham hock and beans made me think of my favorite soup, split pea with ham, so I also grabbed some nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon to round out the spices for the recipe.

Roasting the squash with the shallots for awhile, before adding the par-boiled lentils and ham hock, softened it just enough to allow some caramelization to begin, before the stewing began.

I've always wanted to try walnuts with squash, so figured it being a time of experimentation, why not do it now? The walnuts kept their crunch and the flavor combination was great.

A combination of slow and low cooking time, and the blend of warm, earthy spices make this stew perfect for the shorter and cooler days that are upon us.

Lentil Butternut Squash Walnut and Ham Stew

Ingredients:

• 1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into cubes
• 2 shallots, peeled and minced
• 1/2 tablespoon curry powder
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/3 cup lentils, cooked until soft, 20 minutes in water
• 1 ham hock
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves, or 10 whole cloves

Method:

1. Place the butternut squash, shallots, curry powder and olive oil in a heavy ovenproof pan and mix to coat all the squash pieces with oil and spices.
2. Cook in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 25 minutes, until the squash begins to soften.
3. While the squash cooks, heat a pot on high heat, add the ham hock and brown on all sides.
4. Add the cooked lentils to the ham hock, with enough water to cover halfway up the hock.
5. Remove the squash from the oven, add the squash to the lentils and ham hock and stir in the walnuts.
6. Add enough water to cover the mixture in the pot and place in the oven, covering the pot halfway with a lid.
7. Cook for 20 minutes, stir, return to the oven and cook another 20 minutes.
8. The stew is done when there is a slight film over the top of the beans, showing some glossiness, but with a  bit of liquid left in the pot.

Baked Eggs with Fennel and Shitake Mushrooms

 The first time I had baked eggs was in Paris. A large Le Creuset-style saucepan showed up at the table, pipping hot, filled with at least 4 eggs, half a pound of bacon, potatoes and lots of cream. It was delicious.

I vowed to make them at home, which I finally got around to this week. In the two years since the baked eggs of Paris, I've stopped eating dairy. I didn't have any bacon in the house (which rarely happens around here), so I had to think of other mix-ins that would elevate my baked eggs to those I had in Paris.

  Instead of creating a cream-based dish, I went for a mix of sautéed shitake mushrooms and grated fennel with sage. The flavors combined perfectly with the egg, and the texture was great.

 Make sure to

Sage added a nice earthy tone to the mix. I was also going to add my much loved black truffle oil to the eggs, but thought that might be going overboard, flavor wise.

As I write this, I've come up with my next version of this dish: baked eggs with mushrooms, bacon, black truffle oil and sage. Anything you'd add into an omelette will work here, too. Just experiment, watch that the eggs don't cook too long and enjoy!

Baked Eggs with Fennel and Shitake Mushrooms

INGREDIENTS

• 2 eggs
• ¼ cup shredded fennel
• 8 to 10 shitake mushrooms, tips removed and sliced
• 4 teaspoons olive oil
• 3 sage leaves, minced, or 1 twig tarragon, stem removed, leaves minced
• Salt and pepper to taste

PREPARATION

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Heat a small sauté pan, add 2 teaspoons of the olive oil to the pan and the fennel shitake mushrooms and half of the herbs.
3. Cook for 2 minutes on medium heat until the fennel softens and the shitake mushrooms brown.
4. Oil two ramekins with the remaining olive oil and crack an egg into each.
5. Split the fennel and mushroom mixture evenly between the ramekins, spooning it over the egg. Add salt, pepper and fresh herbs.
6. Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes, until you see the white hardening around the edge of the ramekin.
7. Serve while still warm.

Serves 2. Prep time, 5 minutes; cook time 12 minutes.

PS: Here's the baked eggs they served me in Paris. Whoa! So awesome....