Spicy baked eggs (and naughty rhymes)

“Can’t think, too dumb. Inspiration won’t come. Can’t write, bad pen. Best wishes. Amen.”

That’s a line from my grandmother’s autograph book. Ever seen an autograph book? They were THE thing in my teenage grandmother’s day – all your friends wrote giggle-inducing verses in them, such as …

“The boy stood on the burning deck, the deck was made of glass. He did a double somersault and landed on his … don’t be mistaken, don’t be misled, he turned a double somersault and landed on his head.”

And …

“As I was walking down the lane
I saw a flower of splendour
As I bent to pick it up
BANG!!! Went my suspender.”

Or maybe that was my mother’s autograph book … seems a little out there for Cessnock in the 1930s. I loved those autograph albums as a kid. I’ve squirrelled them away in a box of cherished mementos, along with my grandmother’s vast collection of black and white photographs.

Why am I talking about autograph books? The opening verse came into my mind as I panicked about today’s blog inspiration.

NOTHING happened in my life yesterday. At least, nothing to blog about. It was totally drama free. I went to the gym, grocery shopped, did a bit of housework.

So I thought I’d share a recipe. I haven’t been cooking many new things lately. I’ve been really slack since I don’t  have another grown-up to appreciate my culinary labours. I stick to kiddie favourites such as sausages and mash.

Baked eggs are traditionally a breakfast food, but I made them as a Sunday supper for DD recently and they were yummy.

Recipe: spicy baked eggs

Olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 red capsicum, deseeded and sliced

2 chorizo, sliced

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 tsp chilli flakes

700ml jar of passata

20 pitted kalamata olives

6 large eggs

Dollops of marinated goat’s cheese (if liked – my fave is Meredith)

Toasted turkish bread to serve

METHOD: Preheat oven to 180C. Heat generous slug of oil in a heavy-based frying pan. Add onion, capsicum and chorizo and saute until vegetables are soft. Add garlic and spices and cook for two more minutes. Pour passata into pan and bring to boil. Transfer to baking dish. Crack eggs into mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Bake in oven for 20 minutes or until egg whites are just cooked. Serve with dollops of goat’s cheese on top (if liked – I looooove) and dip Turkish toast into the mixture to gorge.

What’s your favourite way to eat eggs?

Song of the day: Spandau Ballet “True” (cause I’m feeling mellow)