My Fall Food Diary

Ever since the weather got a little colder, I've had this compulsion to eat really warm, comforting food. Autumn has provided us with an abundance of roots like beets, squash, turnip and sun chokes, each holding a firm flesh, that turn somewhat sweet and meaty when roasted slowly. Most of the dishes that follow were inspired by local farmers markets where I was able to buy fresh ingredients at their peek season. Others were inspired by my cold apartment.

Smoked pork hock soup with golden beets and sweet dumpling squash. This soup is very simple. I braised the hock (bought from Twin Creeks organic farm) and used the pork stock as the base. It's savoury but the beets and squash as a slight sweetness.This is my favourite soup since making it. 

The Gojiccino. This is my knock-off version of the Gojiccino, sold at Fresh. Using homemade Goji berry milk, I heated and combined it with Dandy Blend (a powdered mix of roasted chicory and dandelion), cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg, water, almond milk, and some agave to sweeten. The Dandy Blend gives it a coffee-like flavour, making it the ultimate hot and healthy drink over the cold months!

Cheesy polenta with roasted roots and sauteed kale. This dish doesn't look as yummy as it tasted. I roasted sunchokes, turnip and heirloom carrots, and let them sink into the soft, creamy polenta, flavoured with aged cheddar. Topped with kale sauteed with garlic and cherry tomatoes.

Roasted squash stuffed with apple polenta and egg yolk. Sweet dumpling squash is my favourite when roasted with garlic and butter because of its sweet, creamy texture. Here I roasted and pureed some Golden Delicious apple to mix with the polenta, as well as some Wensleydale cranberry cheese. The yolk on top was slightly roasted, but still very runny inside, giving a creamy finish.

Egg on toast with quinoa salad and sauteed mushrooms. Toasted rye with cream cheese from my local cheese shop and an over easy egg. Sauteed onion and Chantrelle mushrooms from Forbes Wild Foods, and quinoa salad with fresh veggies, lemon dressing and sprouts from Kind Organics.

Beet, radish and roasted onion lasagna. This unconventional lasagna is layered with thinly sliced candy cane beets, heirloom radishes, roasted onions and ricotta. Topped with aged Beemster cheese and baked at a high temp, the result is somewhat like a lasagna!

Braised Pork  in red curry coconut sauce, roasted cauliflower, pickled onion, tomato and pine nuts. This is like a pulled pork curry made creamy with coconut milk. The pickled onions were extremely rich after preserving in jars for almost 6 months.