Sponsored: Prosciutto, Mozzarella and Zucchini Topped COBS Focaccia (Plus Contest Alert! and in-store event)

May 23, 2019 Laura

A few years ago, before a trip home to the States, I asked Canadian friends who live in New York City if I can bring them anything from home. This is a common occurrence between us since we live in each other’s city. I was expecting them to request something quintessentially Canadian like Coffee Crisp candy bars or butter tarts. Instead they asked for COBS Bread. “Don’t you have enough awesome bread on the Upper East Side,” I replied. “My God, you have Pain de Quotidien by you.”

This minor favor was the inception of my Lemon Blueberry Scone addiction. After stopping into the bakery to pick up my friend’s bread, I got hooked on their scones (Scarlett got attached to the Banana Chocolate version) and the great little bakery I thought was some well-kept secret. Then I started to notice that COBS Bread was all around me. The pillowy Baps my husband requested from our friends every time we went to their home for brunch. Those were COBS. The soft Dinner Rolls our friends used every Christmas Eve for their glazed ham. Those were COBS. The grainy but airy flax bread my girlfriend insisted she bring when she visited us at the cottage a few summers ago. Yup, that was also COBS.

Photo by Sweet Potato Chronicles

This not-so-secret bakery has found a special spot in so many people’s homes (including our own) is why I couldn’t resist the chance to work with them. In the world of blogging about food, we don’t mess around with authenticity. Maybe it’s because we built our professions in the magazine world where we had to pay attention to advertisers, especially me. As the beauty director of a major Canadian fashion magazine and in charge of a section that accounted for 70% of its ad dollars (those beauty advertisers out-number fashion ads in Canada), I knew all too well the power advertisers had over me and the pages I created. I was an outspoken and strong advocate for being true to our readers but, in the end, I had to answer to the powers that be. As an author and blogger, the only folks I answer to now are my family and all the families that look to us for help. It’s a greater responsibility than I ever had at the magazine so I take it very seriously. It’s why we only work with brands we believe in and, since I’m partially made of COBS scones, I couldn’t resist trying a recipe from their COBS Bread Meal Inspirations. This lunch option of Prosciutto, Mozzarella and Zucchini topped Focaccia was recommend for us and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Now that Scarlett is in middle school, there is no longer cafeteria space for the older grades so she mostly comes home for lunch. As a result, it feels like we’ve returned to her toddler days of eating our mid-day meal together except, now, she prepares a lot of it. While she can be a creature of habit, she can also really tire of something quickly making fresh lunch ideas always a necessity.

As sandwiches go, this one felt familiar but wasn’t the same old, same old thanks to a mix of zucchini and prosciutto. For Scarlett, we subbed arugula for the zucchini since she’s not a fan of the veggie, and the simple dressing enhanced the flavors of the salty prosciutto and sweet mozzarella. The recipe recommended it be eaten open faced, but Scarlett insisted we eat it like a good, ole sammie. She even said, “I love Focaccia because you don’t have to worry about cutting off the crust.” It’s been so long since we cut the crusts off her bread, so I was surprised she remembered her former mealtime requirement. It’s funny the things kids recall, but food memories are strong and pure. I don’t dare remind her of the little foible she had of never allowing the foods on her plate to touch each other. Instead we carry on with lunch and then, of course, a little dessert of scones. Check out all the delicious and inspiring Meal Inspirations COBS has to offer here (COBS Meal Ideas).