A Prayer

Please grant me the abilities to never end up on this blog.

Adventure: Sonoran Desert Museum

Alright, confession time.  I haven't cooked much this last few days.  I had a friend in town and we were too busy having adventures to worry about cooking.  We had several great meals at Cornish Pasty Company, The Hub, and El Charro Cafe.  We saw a play, laid by the pool, watched movies, went stargazing, visited a Mission, celebrated Star Wars Day and took my first ever trip to the Sonoran Desert Museum, which has been recommended to me by basically everyone I know.  Here are some highlights:

This is called a Baja Fairy Duster, and I love it!

This Mountain Lion was doing the only logical thing, lying around in the shade.

I call this the disco fabulous hummingbird.  I'm pretty sure that's the real name.

Their little wings do go awfully fast!

Cactus flowers are weird. Weirdly awesome!

The big news in town is that this otter just got his own Twitter feed.  I'm not joking!

This is what saguaro cacti look like after they die (and a woodpecker).

These are eels, I just thought they were super neat!

Sunday Brunch: Italian egg bake

I love brunch.  A lot.  Having time and energy and inclination to make a special breakfast is what Sundays are all about!  This dish is exactly what the doctor ordered, as long as he ordered something delicious.  If not, you should look for a new doctor.  And this time, you should look for a woman, women totally understand brunch. 

What you'll need:

• A cast-iron or other oven safe pan (I used a 12 inch pan)
• 1 lb. asparagus
• 1 cup mushrooms
• 1 16 oz. can diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 link spicy Italian turkey sausage
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tsp. olive oil
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp basil
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (or cheese of your choice)

I suggest practicing proper mis en place.  Chopping and dicing everything in advance of cooking is an excellent plan, one I only occasionally follow.  Dice your onion, slice your mushrooms, slice your asparagus into 1 inch pieces and pour your tomatoes into a mesh strainer to drain (this step is up to you, I wanted a dryer consistency.

Start by preheating your broiler on low and putting your pan on the stove over medium heat.  Add your oil and when it's hot, your onions.  Saute your onions until translucent, then remove your turkey sausage from its casing and add to the pan.  Once the sausage is browned, add your asparagus and mushrooms.  

Once the veggies are heated through, add your tomatoes and bring all the ingredients to a simmer.

Carefully crack your eggs into depressions you create in the mixture.

Cover briefly while the whites set (just barely around the edges).

Add the cheese I forgot to include in the picture up top.

Mmmmmmm

Place under the broiler for 1-2 minutes, until your whites are set but your yolks are still runny.  It's difficult to tell, so err on the side of runny, because carry over cooking once you've removed the eggs from the oven will likely finish the job!  

Then, eat hearty!!