Spaghetti and Eggs

On the road agaaaaain, just can’t wait to get on the road agaainnnn.

Yup, folks, I am out of here yet again.  This time I am heading to Patuxent River Air Station  (more commonly known as PAX River) where I will be taking my last Defense Acquisition class required for my Level III Program Manager Certification.  Did I mention that this was originally a six month course that has been compressed in the past few years into just one month? Eeep!  After stressing  so much about the class and all the material I need to brush up on, I just recently  started thinking about the other stuff.  How do I pack for a month?  Then it was: Ack, what condition is the kitchenette going to be in?

The kitchen worries gave me a good anxiety attack for about half a day as I recalled my family’s recent trip to Spain.  Fully functional and equipped kitchen, but you never understand how basic “the basics” are until you don’t have them!  Salt, pepper, sugar, garlic, onions, stock…and  do you know how hard it was trying to figure out which dairy container was real cream and not non-dairy creamer?  I thought I knew enough Spanish to figure that out, but apparently not lol.

Man, that trip to the grocery store was streeeeessful. So stressfull that we came back to the apartment only to realize we no complete meal to make.  We had just wanted to get out of that Spanish version of a  super Wal Mart (The traffic alone was worse than Christmas at Tyson’s Corner if you can believe it).  Luckily, my specialty is making a meal out of whatever odds and ends are on hand!  My dad had picked up a jar of basic marinara and a package of spaghetti.   For breakfast, my mom had grabbed a carton of eggs and what I’ll call Spanish-style bacon (It said it was bacon, but it was cut really thin, like procuitto and Iberico ham). Spaghetti and eggs it was! Kind of reminded me of when I used to douse my eggs in ketchup as a kid…but seriously, why didn’t anyone pick up any veggies??? Ah, well!

Here’s a much nicer version of the dish…but I still forgot the veggies!

 

Spaghetti and Eggs

Ingredients

serves 2

• whole wheat spaghetti
• 2 eggs
• 4-5 Roma tomatoes, diced
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 large shallot minced
• 1/3 cup loose basil leaves, chopped
• 1 can tomato puree (10.75oz)
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 strips bacon, chopped
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Directions

1. Cook spaghetti according to package directions
2. Pour olive oil in a large pan and turn heat to medium high
3. Add shallots and garlic to heating oil until fragrant
4. Add tomato sauce to pan and stir until shallots and garlic are mixed well
5. Add diced Roma tomatoes and bring to a simmer
6. Stir in balsamic vinegar, and season with salt and pepper if desired. Bring back to a simmer and allow to cook for about 5 minutes
7. Add in chopped basil, stir, and set sauce aside
8. Heat a small frying pan over medium high heat.  When hot, add the chopped bacon. (*Be careful! Splattering grease hurts!) Don’t worry about adding oil, because the bacon will render
9. Fry bacon until crispy, then remove from pan and drain on a paper towel
10. Crack one egg into the hot bacon grease. It will start to bubble right away
11. Cook egg until white is solid. After you reach this stage, cook until yolk is set to your liking
12. Gently flip egg and cook on the other side 30-45 seconds. Place on a paper towel lined plate until ready to plate
13. Repeat steps 9-11 with the second egg
14. To serve, add spaghetti to plate and pour tomato sauce over the pasta. Top with one egg and more sauce if desired. Garnish with the fried bacon bits and chopped basil

      

~Ruth