Leek and Spinach Quiche with Sweet Potato "Crust"

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Well friends the day has come - I've found employment again. A "huzzah!" is definitely in order, along with a quiche and a vacation or two. That's how everyone celebrates, right?

Truthfully the trips were planned and booked long ago, but my new workplace has been flexible enough to let me start after the new year, which makes me an even happier camper. So for the next week I'll be celebrating an early Christmas with family (and not posting to this wee blog) before returning, celebrating on actual Christmas with more family (and hopefully posting on this wee blog),  and then escaping winter with some of my closest friends to ring in the New Year and several 30th birthdays in Cuba (again, not posting on this wee blog). It's going to be jam-packed and I can't wait!

As it always seems to be with birthdays and holiday parties, home cooking has been scarce and indulgence has been plentiful. Add on to that the cold weather desire for comfort foods and, well, you have a not so healthy redhead. One way of combating this was to create some comfort food with a healthier spin. Enter the sweet potato "crust".

This is simply just sliced sweet potatoes lined in a pie plate and baked before topping it with a more traditional quiche filling. Don't get me wrong, I love an all butter crust as much as the next gal, but sometimes you just need to make delicious, delicious sacrifices. I was worried the potatoes wouldn't hold together well enough and would just slop all over my plate, but just enough of the egg mixture settled in between the nooks and crannies to hold it all in and a perfect slice was formed.

Best served when in need of a lightened up version of a traditionally rich food, and versatile to the max! The filling can be any combination of flavours you dream up, and to lighten it up more you can omit cheese all together (I was not willing to make that sacrifice).

Well, off I go! Have a happy week and I'll see you on the flip side!

Keep reading for the recipe!

Sweet Potato Hummus

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Apparently Toronto had a hummuseria (that's a word now) in its midst and I didn't know about it until was already closed. Admittedly, it was only open for a short while, almost all of which while I was in China, so while yes, I am horrifically out of the loop on what is going on in this fair city of mine, this one was not entirely my fault ... or so I like to think. I also like to think there was every possible flavour of hummus imaginable available in that magical little space.  I mean, just imagine the possibilities!

Roasted garlic, beet, edamame, white bean, and so on, and so on, and so on. And yes, sweet potato. Now this is obviously all conjecture because I actually have no idea what they had going on in there, but in my world it was sublime.

I think I'm digressing here.

Let's talk about this hummus.

It's seasonal, sweet, savoury, garlic-y, a touch lemon-y, and deeelightful eaten with garlic parmesan pretzel crisp things.

It follows this basic recipe but includes sweet potato (obviously) and a few minor tweaks here and there. The result is a refreshing take on a classic that keeps it seasonal.

For an added kick I little cayenne would also be awesome in this... perhaps I'll try that next time!

Keep reading for the recipe!

Rosemary and Feta Stuffed Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes

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Let's talk taters!

Recently, while out for dinner, the conversation turned to the classic crowd favourite "if you could always ensure you could eat just one thing...". While most of our party chose favourite dishes or treats (mine was both salad and ice cream sandwiches - I'm too indecisive to choose just one), one amongst stated simply "potatoes". "No, no," we urged and argued, "you have to pick a dish!" "No, no," he responded "I want potatoes. Potato wedges, fries, mashed, roasted, hash browns, you name it. I always want potatoes!" Though it went against our general rules of the game, I get the logic.  Potatoes are a wonderfully adaptable food, and when we're honest, they are pretty hard to screw up.

This recipe highlights my favourite of the potato varieties, the sweet potato. The subtle sweetness balances perfectly with the earthiness of the rosemary and the saltiness of the feta, and because the consistency of both the potato and the cheese are quite creamy, you don't need to overload these with lots of extra heavy ingredients.

I've made this a couple of times over the last couple of weeks, and while keep the base flavours are the same, I have played around with the little extras.  The recipe below represents my favourite iteration.