Shakshuka with Summer Squash and Goat Cheese (Giveaway Post!!)

This giveaway is now closed.

Can you believe it’s May already? Me neither! I’m still writing 2011 on checks (and yes I am still writing checks too). Part of the reason time may be flying is that I keep going on trips to visit friends. But what can I say, I love it! This past week I scurried over to Athens, GA to frolic around with some of my friends from school. It was fantastic! Here we are enjoying a nice glass of iced tea.

We made a tasty brunch one day-I cooked up some mini spinach feta frittatas and another amiga made this key lime pie- amazing!

And there was wine…

These tasty celery and Parma stuffed dates from Hugh Acheson’s restaurant Five & Ten. I could eat a dozen!

These freaking fantastic Jew magnets that I was this close to stealing (kidding. Not really).

And my souvenir- Magical Unicorn Salt! Man oh man I can’t wait to use this on everything.

You know what I love almost as much as visit friend? Free cookies! The lovely folks at Smiley Cookie offered to send me some of their new Israel flag colored cookies that were recently certified kosher and I happily agreed! (They also have adorable kosher cookie gifts for all your kosher gifting needs!) Literally a day later I got this festive box of cookies.

GIVEAWAY!

I took the suggestion that came with the cookies to warm one up for 10 seconds to get that fresh from the oven taste. Um yum! These cookies are awesome- super buttery and just the right amount of sweetness. Plus they are customizable so you can get the cookies in colors to match a theme party!

The Smiley Cookie peeps were kind enough to offer not one but three boxes of cookies to give to WJWE readers!!! Simply answer the question in the comments: “What is your favorite kind of cookie?” For additional entries, follow WJWE on Twitter and Facebook and leave separate comments saying you did so. I will pick three winners next Tuesday, May 15th so all entries must be in my 11:59 PM CT on Monday, May 14th.

And do you know what I love almost as much as visiting friends and free cookies? Breakfast for dinner! I whipped up shakshuka- an Israeli dish where eggs are poached in a tomato sauce- for dinner last week and it was awesome! And easy to boot. Here is all you need for some shakshuka of your very own.

First up, saute your onions in olive oil and salt for a 3-4 minutes until slightly soft.Then add diced summer squash and garlic and cook until all ingredients are soft, or about two more minutes.

Next up add your spices – cayenne pepper, cumin and paprika- and stir up.

Mmm. Now add your tomatoes and red wine vinegar and simmer until thick, about 10-15 minutes. Adjust the seasonings if necessary.

Now add spinach and stir until it slightly wilts.

Then crack eggs one at a time into a ramekin and gently pour into the shakshuka. This method helps the eggs keep their shape.

Cover with the pan top or foil and cook for 5-7 more minutes until the egg whites are set. Cook longer if you want the yolks set too. Then top with goat cheese and chopped parsley and dig in!

I ate mine right from the pan! Serve with pita to soak up all the tomatoey goodness. You can easily adjust the recipe to serve more people.

GIVEAWAY!

And don’t forget to leave a comment on “What is your favorite cookie?” to win your own case of Smiley Cookies! For additional entries, follow WJWE on Twitter and Facebook and leave separate comments saying you did so.