I’m Ba-ack…(with a bang)!

Did you miss me? I certainly missed you!

My earlier prediction that my blog would likely take a back seat as I became busier with work and study unfortunately came true. I don’t like to make excuses, but over the last couple of months, both have done a monumental job of sapping my time and energy (my creative energy, in particular) and regrettably it meant my blog went untouched…from my end anyway!

I especially want to express my heartfelt apologies to the amazing bloggers who continued to contribute to the “I Made It! Monday” event in my absence – I will soon follow up with a round up of their fantastic achievements.

I can’t promise you (or myself) that it won’t happen again, but now that uni’s over for the semester, I have some extra time on my hands…for the time being, at least! I’ve also recently resolved to stop letting work get the better of me – it’s…Just. Not. Worth. It! On a brighter note, during my time away, I have still been doing plenty of ‘food touristing‘ – I even managed to squeeze in a visit to my old hometown of Adelaide, which involved a lot of good food and wine – so I have stacks of tasty anecdotes to share with you.

Already as I’m typing this, I feel so much better – I really, really missed this. And I missed scouring through all my favourite blogs (I haven’t had the opportunity to do much of that either)…I have so much to catch up on!

After all of that, you’re probably wondering what this ‘bang’ I referred to in the title is supposed to be…surely this (a mere whimper thus far, if you will) can’t be it?

Well, it had a lot to do with this morning’s breakfast. Not only did it wake me up in a physical sense, but it provided that ‘kick’ I needed to get my blog-jo back.

I’ve always wanted to try making Shakshouka or Huevos Rancheros, because they always look so delicious and relatively easy to prepare, especially considering the ingredients include items that are pretty stock standard in most pantries and fridges. I skimmed the internet to get some general ideas and ended up formulating my own version from a few different recipes based on what I had on hand:

Spicy Baked Eggs with Chorizo

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs (the larger the better)
• 1 chorizo sausage, sliced
• 1 clove of garlic, sliced
• 1 small or half a large onion*, sliced
• 1 small or half a large red capsicum, sliced
• 2 tsp paprika (I used 1 tsp smoked, 1 tsp sweet)
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp caster sugar
• 1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes (strictly optional – I can’t stress that enough! My eggs didn’t just provide a kick, there were some punches thrown in as well!)
• Tin of chopped tomatoes 
• Fresh herbs (parsley or coriander), chopped

* I only had brown onion on hand, which worked fine, but I think red (Spanish) onion would be perfect for this dish.

Method:

1. Brown the chorizo slices in a non-stick pan. Reserving the oil, remove from pan and set aside.

2. Cook the onion in reserved chorizo oil (add extra olive oil if necessary) until soft.

3. Add the sliced capsicum, garlic and chilli (to taste) and cook with onion for 1-2 minutes.

4. Add dry spices and sugar.

5. Mix well until fragrant.

6. Add tomatoes to pan and cook (stirring regularly) for 10-15 minutes, or until thickened. Add the browned chorizo towards end to warm through.

7. Spoon mixture into suitable baking dish. Make a well in centre and carefully break egg into it.

8. Bake in a 200 degree (celsius) oven for 10 minutes.

9. Remove from oven and sprinkle with fresh herbs, salt and pepper (to taste). If you like it super hot, add chilli flakes as well.

10. Serve and devour!

Note: this served two of us. You don’t have to be strict with the measuring either – feel free to mix it up to your personal tastes. I’m sure next time I make this I’ll rework it a bit (almost certainly omitting the dried chilli flakes…phwoar!)

*Sigh* – it’s good to be back! 🙂