Eats - Eggs in Purgatory (Uova in Purgatorio)

Eggs in Purgatory

The other night we had friends over for spaghetti and meatballs, and ended up with a small amount of meaty, mushroomy tomato sauce left over.  So Saturday morning I turned it into Eggs in Purgatory, a traditional and delicious Italian peasant dish.

All you have to do is put the sauce in a skillet, heat it on medium high heat until it bubbles, then crack however many eggs you plan on eating into it (careful not to break the yolk), and let the eggs poach in the sauce.  As they poach, the tomato sauce will start to cook down, and the whole thing looks gorgeous and rustic.  I sprinkled some grated Parmesan on top when I served it.  Yum.

My tomato sauce recipe will follow in a day or two, for anyone who is interested.

Eats - Shrimp Tacos with Charred Corn and Zucchini-Radish Slaw

One day while perusing cooking blogs, I came across this recipe on one of my favorite sites.  After thinking the tacos looked both delicious and beautiful, I realized we had shrimp in the freezer.  Since we also had masa harina, the dry base for corn tortilla dough, this was one of the cheapest meals we've made in awhile.

Thrifts - Tiered Serving Trays and Cheese Server

Turning 30 was profitable, I must say.  The post earlier this week with the apron and flower cookbook were gifts, as were the two (well, at least one, but I'll explain) tiered serving trays and the cheese slicer/server in this post.

One of my dear friends got me one of these serving trays and the cheese slicer as a birthday gift.  She then bought a second serving tray for herself.  Then she found another tiered serving tray that she liked better, so I got the second matching one as well!

Fancy Cheese Slicer

I can imagine the snacks I will be putting out on these.

On top of getting lots of cool vintage dining/kitchen stuff, I also got some really nice vintage jewelry and purses.  Apparently my friends and family know me.  This blog may help.

Thrifts - Flower Cookery - The Art of Cooking with Flowers

This book was a birthday present from one of my aunts.  It's full of recipes using flowers as the main ingredient - and not just candied pansies and rosewater sauce.

There are recipes for infused liquors and syrups and salads, among other things.

I also found it really interesting, reading the introduction, that the author and her husband had lived in Mexico in one of D.H. Lawrence's old homes.

My aunt tells me that she and my uncle found the book in a $1 book grab-bag from a library book sale.

Also, the apron the book is lying on was made for me by the same aunt for my birthday.  It's so cute and looks very vintage.  I love it!

Eats and Thrifts - Portobello Gyros, Roasted Potatoes, and Greek-Style Green Beans

I really love when I forget to take pictures of the final product when I've made a dish.  Usually it's because I'm really hungry, and I've been cooking for a couple hours, and everyone is waiting for me to announce it's time to eat.  Like this meal. For a weeknight meal, man, it took a long time.  

Juicing the lemon - Thanks to my aunt for the lovely juicer.