Since moving to our tiny, rural community from San Francisco about three years ago there has been a lot of things we’ve had to get used to.
No place to get good wine or coffee was a big one. But I’ve learned to stockpile my coffee and since we can’t afford to stockpile wine, we don’t drink all that often (which is actually much better for our waistlines and makes it soooooo much easier to get up with the baby several times a night).
We’ve more or less adjusted to the cold weather and I’ve become an expert at online shopping. But one thing my husband cannot get over is the randomness in the hours of operation for all stores, restaurants, public offices, and really any place of business you would want to frequent.
Living in a city his whole life has not prepared him for the indifference embraced by his agrarian neighbors. He refuses to accept that a retail store is not going to be open on the weekend because well, it is the weekend. For everyone.
When he proposed that we drive 30 miles to Jamestown last Saturday to see about replacing our vacuum that sounds like a tornado every time you turn it on, my response was, “Did you call to see if they are open?”
“Its 3:30 on a Saturday, why wouldn’t they be open?” Not wanting to point out the obvious and risk annoying him any further I said “Sure” and prayed that this place would miraculously be open.
As you can imagine, it wasn’t.
Okay kids, time to grab a six-pack of beer and make some really yummy dinner, ’cause Papa’s having a hard time dealing with reality right now.
Its okay honey, I’ll make you some soft, soft eggs baked in spicy, spicy tomato sauce.
This is what we call Papa-needs-to-forget-about-life-for-awhile-food. We eat, we sit around and talk about the awesome grits-and-fried chicken-place we used to go to San Francisco and remember that no matter where we’ve lived we’ve always shared good food together; creating memories that will long outlast life’s little annoyances.
This is makes a great, fast dinner served over steamed brown rice or whole wheat couscous as well as a fantastic weekend breakfast or brunch with toast. You can make the tomato sauce the night before and just reheat the next morning, bake the eggs and you’re good to go.
Eggs Baked in Spicy Tomato-Mushroom Sauce
Great any time of day. You can make the tomato sauce a day in advance!
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 yellow onion, small dice
- 6 ounces mushrooms, quartered
- 3 red or green chiles, halved and sliced (seeds removed if you want it less spicy)
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 2 pounds tomatoes, chopped
- 4 large eggs
- thinly sliced scallions, for garnish
Instructions
- Heat oven to 425°F and arrange rack in the upper third of your oven.
- Heat olive oil in a large non-stick, oven-safe frying pan over medium-high heat. Add onions and mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 5 minutes.
- Reduce heat to medium, add chiles and garlic and cook 1 minute more. Add tomatoes and season generously with salt and black pepper. Bring to a heavy simmer and cook until tomatoes have broken down and sauce has thickened, about 20 minutes.
- Remove from heat and taste sauce, adding more salt and pepper if necessary. Make 4 wells in the tomato sauce and crack 1 egg into each well. Transfer pan to the top of the oven and bake until eggs are the desired doneness; about 5 minutes for soft set, or longer if you want the yolks more done. Sprinkle with scallions and serve over steamed brown rice, whole wheat couscous, or toast.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 234Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 186mgSodium: 87mgCarbohydrates: 16gFiber: 4gSugar: 9gProtein: 10g
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Do you keep a pizza stone in your oven at all times? What do you recommend?
Hi Sarah,
I do keep a stone in my oven all the time. I think all sorts of baked goods from cookies to bread bake up better on a hot stone. My husband is a ceramic artist so I use a kiln shelf. If you go that route, make sure to get a brand new one. The chemicals used in ceramics can be toxic.
This sounds delicious – love a good egg dish!
Oh, this is so my comfort food. Remember that random designer guy we used to work with who would do the weird, Second Life-esque, slightly inappropriate mock-ups for our kitchen build-out? Well, I don’t recall his name but he would always lament how he couldn’t get good shakshuka – Israeli baked eggs — anywhere in SF!
Ha! I remember having that conversation with that guy! Too funny!