Sunday, November 23, 2008

I Made a Hash of It

Home from Boston and Connecticut after a seemingly endless flight, a smooth connection to BART and the world's gentlest taxi driver, I peeked into the fridge to find out what, if anything, had survived our ten-day absence. The cold cuts - definitely not! Into the trash! We did have three shallots, half a red onion, garlic and the stub of a butternut squash, plus whole wheat bread and eggs so I decided to play around with those and the Swiss chard leaves I found still thriving in the garden.

I made a hash of it.

I chopped the red onion coarsely, peeled and halved the shallots, minced the garlic and cooked those in a combination of olive oil and butter, adding the diced squash and cooking the whole mess for about 20 minutes, until the squash softened and browned a little. When the squash was just tender, I added the chard leaves, leaving the small ones whole and coarsely chopping the larger ones, popped on a lid and steamed the chard while the eggs were poaching and the toast was toasting.

The result was one of the best dinners I have made, the sweet onions and squash complementing the slightly bitter greens with the eggs adding their richness to the whole dish. I'm making it again tonight and this time I'll add some fresh thyme* from the garden and some black pepper but even plain it made a great accompaniment to hashing over our East Coast visit.

*Note: the thyme made all the difference - it lifted the dish from yummy to eye-rolling delicious. Don't forget the thyme!

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5 Comments:

Blogger Mary Coleman said...

That looks wonderful. Great blog you have, Zoomie. I look forward to reading more about yours and your MB's adventures. On top of old Smokey was a lovely post.
I'll be back soon.
Mary

Sunday, November 23, 2008  
Blogger cookiecrumb said...

Aw, jeeze. I'm moved to tears by your instinctive innovation. That is *food*.

Sunday, November 23, 2008  
Blogger Michelle said...

Sounds perfect, and delicious! I think hashes have to be one of my favorite breakfasts (and dinners!). Our fridge has been *DEAD* for the last week, and so we've had more than a few hashes with the few eggs and things we were able to save and stuff into the tiny dorm fridge our landlord's lent us until the thing is fixed. Welcome home, too!

Sunday, November 23, 2008  
Blogger Nancy Ewart said...

Creativity + taste = great food. Brava!

Monday, November 24, 2008  
Blogger Zoomie said...

Thanks, Mary, I like yours, too!

Cookiecrumb, yes, that's just right - FOOD.

Michelle, thanks for the welcome home - hope your fridge is fixed fast! In that climate, you really _need_ the fridge!

Nancy, you always make me feel so accomplished! Thanks!

Monday, November 24, 2008  

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