Thursday, January 18, 2018

Polished

 I spent yesterday afternoon doing some cooking while listening to the rest of the Fault Lines podcast on cbc.
 (Incidentally, there's an article in a 2015 issue of The New Yorker titled The Really Big One on the subject that I'm currently reading, it's so interesting.)

One of my absolute favourite kitchen chores is polishing our La Cornue range, and if you have anything stainless steel in your own kitchen I highly recommend the Method Steel For Real polish.
It removes all the marks, even the baked on bits, as well as dust and streaks, and it somehow does smell like fresh apples.

I had some butternut squash bottoms left over from a stew I made and I really wanted to try stuffing them with vegetables and lentils.
 I sautéed leeks and mushrooms, but not too aggressively, as this filling was to be baked before serving.
 I added some French lentils and some cashew cream.  I had cooked up a big batch of French lentils early in the week so that I would have some around to add to dishes as I needed them ( I find they keep in the fridge quite well for up to five days).

I roasted the bottoms of the butternut squash first, which softened the squash itself, making them pliable enough that I could easily scoop out the seeds and stringy bits.
 Once they were scooped I simple filled them with my mixture.  I left them on the range until I needed to bake them for our dinner.
 My friends came around for drinks before dinner so it was one of those evenings I was happy to have my dinner sorted well beforehand.  I served the stuffed squash with a potato dish and a green salad on the side.
I have to trot over to the Beauty Shop today (and not a moment too soon), then I start my physiotherapy for my wretched neck, fingers crossed I can get some help with it!

Be well and have a lovely day today,
xoxDani