What a strange strange strange year so far. I'm sure I don't really need to remind everyone of that. How things change but how things stay the same. Mid- August weather always makes me think of ripening tomatoes and basil. Light meals to balance the hot humid days. That will always remain constant in my world. Thank goodness as I need some consistency. COVID-19 has basically changed everything else. And I'm really not good with change. The one good thing to come out of this is that it spurred my husband on to take early retirement. So very thankful that he was able to do this. I unfortunately have 16 more years of work to look forward to. Sigh. But the upside of all of this? I come home to wonderful home-cooked meals. Every. Single. Night. Jealous yet? Yah, I thought so.
The sous chef is as bad as I am for buying new cookbooks. Hence this latest one that he picked up: "Buck Naked Kitchen" by Kirsten Buck. A fellow Canadian. Love new cookbooks. Love supporting Canadian talent. Love tasting new recipes. Love love love the late summer flavours of tomato and basil. The great thing about this recipe is that you can change it up with whatever you have at hand. Which the sous chef did. Waste not want not is what we both learned growing up. We had zucchini. So we added zucchini. We had canned mushrooms and not fresh. So we added canned mushrooms. Maybe we try it with a little bit of Feta cheese sometime? The sous chef made this again for brunch when my best running friend Nicole came over for our weekly Sunday morning run (more like walk lately as it's been over 30 C and I hate hot weather. I tend to melt at around 26 C and above.) We started a new tradition several months before COVID hit where she stays for a yummy brunch cooked by the sous chef. We love hosting her and I'm pretty sure she enjoys being able to relax and have someone make her a meal. Our run/brunch dates were put on hold for a bit when the pandemic hit but as the restrictions have lifted somewhat we started practicing safe running and brunching. It's hard balancing being diligent and safe...and preserving your mental health. It's something I think we are all trying to figure out how to balance at the moment. Yes I am an introvert and believe I could live quite happily without human interaction...but I don't think that's true, nor realistic and healthy. So hence Nicole and I get together for a once weekly safe "Mental Health" date. Added bonus is that she loves dogs and is helping us train our 8 month old Border Collie dog on how to greet people appropriately...as in not jump up on them and knock them off their feet in his over exuberance. A bit tough to work on during a pandemic especially when you have a happy, energetic, intelligent, people-loving Border Collie. And maybe he's a little bit crazy. He's a Border Collie after all ;-)
So back to how things change and how some things stay the same. I'm not good with change. Not good with pandemics. It has caused me much stress and anxiety as it has to a zillion other people all over the world. But what fortunately and most importantly remains constant in my life is my sous chef, my family, my friends, my pets...and food. The flavours of summer such as fresh garden vegetables and herbs. Tomatoes and basil. Find comfort however you can. Stay safe. Stay healthy both physically and mentally. Seek assistance if you are struggling.
Good food in a crazy world. xoxox from Bistro 164
Sausage, Potato and Basil Frittata
inspired from a recipe in Buck Naked Kitchen Cookbook by Kirsten Buck
Serves 6 people
Ingredients
1 tsp of Ghee or butter
8 large eggs
2 tbsps of cream. The original recipe uses full-fat coconut milk which I would love to try, but we used 10% cream in this version
2 tbsps finely chopped fresh basil leaves, plus more for topping (we didn't chop the ones for garnishing)
1 tsp dried thyme (am thinking for this time of year, fresh would be even better!)
1/2 lb sausage, mild or spicy Italian with the casings removed. We used double smoked Farmer's Sausage and kept the casings on.
About 1 cup of diced potatoes. We used red baby potatoes with skins left on.
1 cup of cremini mushrooms. We used canned mushrooms since we had them on hand in our pantry.
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced red pepper (sweet or spicy your choice). The original recipe calls for green peppers but I'm not too keen on their flavour.
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium tomato, sliced
1 small zucchini, sliced into rounds (just because everybody has excess zucchini to use up this time of year)
salt and freshly grated black pepper, to taste
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 F. Lightly grease or spray a 7 x 11 inch casserole dish with butter or olive oil or ghee.
Grab a bowl, add in the eggs, cream, basil, thyme, whisk together then set aside.
Cook the sausage over medium heat in a skillet. Cook until browned. Transfer to another plate when done, leaving the grease in the skillet.
Add the potatoes to the skillet and cook until softened. Reduce heat, add in the mushrooms, onion, the peppers, garlic, zucchini, and salt and pepper. Cook until the onions are translucent and the veg has softened.
Combine everything into a bowl: the potato,/veg mix, the sausage, and the egg mix. Pour into the casserole dish. Top with the tomato slices and bake for 20 minutes or until everything seems completely set. Top with fresh basil, cut into squares and serve hot. Serve with HP sauce or ketchup if you must.
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