Egg Surplus

This weekend, whilst visiting my friend Melanie's Bowen Island Pizza Company, I was gifted a dozen farm fresh eggs from her mother, Linda.  I nestled the precious cargo snug on the back of my bike and road home only to find a dozen eggs waiting for me in the fridge that Colin had picked up.  So for the past several days its been an egg extravaganza in our home.  Omelettes for breakfast and this evening we ate a spicy shakshuka from Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamini's, Jerusalem.

Growing up, when my dad came home for lunch or if it was his turn to cook and he was lacking inspiration he would cook curry eggs.  He would fry an onion with garlic and add a tomato with some curry powder and cook the living daylights out of it.  In the middle of his tomato and onion mess he would fry and egg with a slice of cheese on it and Voila! Dinner!  I think this is why I was drawn to Jerusalem's shakshuka recipe.  The picture brought me back to my dad simple yet tasty concoction.  Colin and I both really enjoy the dish, it has heat from the harissa and the bright runny yolks are a perfect contrast.  I love the color contrast of the yolks against the deep red sauce.

Shakshuka

2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp harissa
2 tsp tomato paste
2 large red bell peppers diced
4 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1 tsp cumin
5 large tomatoes
4 large free range eggs
4 egg free range yolks
1/2 cup thick yoghurt
salt

Heat olive oil in a skillet and add the harissa, tomato paste, bell peppers, garlic, cumin and 3/4 tsp salt. Cook approximately 8 minutes so that the peppers are softened.

Add tomatoes. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook approximately 10 minutes until you have a thick sauce.

Make 8 wells in the sauce.  Break each egg into a well and do the same with the yolks.  Gently stir some of the egg whites into the sauce being careful not to break the yolks.  Simmer for 8-10 minutes, until the eggs whites are cooked but the yolks are still runny.

Remove from heat and allow to sit several minutes before serving.

We enjoy ours on buttered toast which soaks up all the flavours.

Sandwich Dreams

I’m not a big sandwich person, for lunch I prefer a large salad or reheating some leftovers.  There is one sandwich, however, that for me stands out above the rest. A sandwich that the thought of causes me to salivate and I day dream about when hunger pains are calling.  The sate beef Vietnamese sub from Thi Thi in Calgary is this majestic creation and we have a relationship that goes a ways back.  I recently made a trip to Alberta with the highlight being visiting family and friends but it turned into a bit of a pilgrimage to Thi Thi. It took:

A train ride.

A plane ride.

And many hours of driving.

But I made it!

I had already been living in Calgary for two years before I found out about the sandwich.  A coworker at a restaurant I was working at had brought one for lunch and had sliced the thinnest of slices for me to try and I was hooked.  The spicy marinated beef, fresh baguette, Vietnamese mayonnaise, veggies and a secret sauce (the owner laughed at Colin when he asked what sauce was made of) is a medley made in heaven.  I realize there are many Vietnamese sub shops throughout Calgary and here in Vancouver as well, but I have yet to find one that produces such a fine product. A testament to my loyalty,  dad and I have walked 5 blocks to Thi Thi in the dead of an Alberta winter, backwards to shield the stinging wind.  We waited in the frigid cold with others for our subs which we proceed to eat on a bench in one of china towns many malls, fingers freezing, cheeks stinging but oh so satisfying.  

Thi Thi is no secret, on any given day at lunch you will find a line up for 20 people waiting outside the small whole in the wall.  Inside there is just enough space for a few people to stand while they order, pay and take their subs. The owner, Hoa has made every one of the sandwiches I’ve eaten and works alongside his wife and more recently his nephew.  In 2013, the flooding Bow River damaged the small space but the family rebuild what was needed and reopened.  The little shop is open most days and the family takes a month off every winter and visit Vietnam. 

On our recent visit we ordered three subs, one each for lunch and one we had to try our best to keep our hand off of that we ate for lunch on the road the next day!