Really Random Tuesday #87: Veterans Day, a Book Winner, and Shakshuka

Thank you for your service.  November 11 is Veterans Day in America.  Today we honor the service of all U.S. military veterans.  Pictured above is World War I veteran Joseph Ambrose, at the dedication day parade for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in 1982, who lost his son in the Korean War.  (Photo from Wikipedia.)

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Eriko is the randomly chosen winner of Me Before You by bestselling author Jojo Moyes. Congratulations, Eriko!  I'm pretty certain you'll become a fan of this bestselling author.

If you didn't win this book, why not take a look at the other tempting giveaways listed on the right side of my blog?

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I'm feeling like a bit of a recipe thief today!  My son, Oliver, and his sous-chef, my daughter, Angela, made us Shakshuka for breakfast a couple of months ago.  I had run in a 5k earlier that morning, and was famished.  I'd never heard of Shashuka before, but now I've made it several times, for dinner.  Oliver's girlfriend, Becca, taught him how to make this traditional, tomato-based dish, which is usually made with eggs, and often served for breakfast in Israel.  However, since I'm not a fan of eggs, they made mine without eggs, and instead added some ground turkey.  You can easily make it vegetarian (like I will for my daughter, Jasmine), or if you don't add meat or eggs, vegan.  I use as many organic ingredients as possible.  You can easily add additional ingredients to make more servings. 

Suko's Shakshuka

Ingredients:
4 or 5 tomatoes, chopped
3 or 4 bell peppers, chopped
1 to 3 chopped jalapeños*, according to taste
1 small or medium onion, chopped
2 or 3 cloves of freshly minced garlic
6 white mushrooms, sliced

Olive oil
16 ounce can (or larger) fire roasted diced tomatoes
3 tablespoons of tomato paste
Spices: oregano, cumin, paprika, black and/or cayenne and/or crushed red pepper, all to taste

Optional: 8 to 10 ounces of ground turkey, or vegetarian ground crumbles, and salt to taste
 

Directions:
Pour about 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet and spread around pan with a paper towel.  Add peppers, onion, garlic, and spices to taste to the pan, and cook for about 7 minutes, on low to medium heat. 

Add the chopped up tomatoes, mushrooms, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, more spices to taste, and a bit more olive oil.  Stir together, and continue to cook the mixture.  If you want to add ground turkey or vegetarian ground crumbles, cook it in a separate skillet for about 7 minutes on low to medium heat (I add some salt and other spices to the turkey), before adding it to the veggie mixture.  

Continue to cook the Shakshuka on low heat, stirring every so often, for about 10 minutes, or until everything looks thoroughly cooked, and you're ready to eat.  This is a hot, savory, and healthy stovetop meal that's delicious for breakfast, lunch, or dinner!

Shakshuka

Serve in bowls, along with bread (pita is perfect), and a fresh green salad.  Makes about 4 servings.

*Important note: Please be careful when you handle or slice jalapeños!  I learned the hard way.  One evening I was not careful enough, and I paid the price--my hands were burning for several hours afterward.  I was in agony.  I had to search online for home remedies to control the pain.  (I ended up slathering yogurt on my hands so that I could sleep that night.)  Now I handle jalapeños gingerly, with paper towels, and am extra careful not to touch their seeds with my bare hands when I chop up these peppers.

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Appearing on random Tuesdays, Really Random Tuesday is a way to post odds and ends--announcements, musings, quotes, photos--any blogging and book-related things you can think of.  I often announce my book giveaway winners in these posts, and sometimes, like today, I share a recipe. If you have miscellaneous book news to gather up and are inspired by this idea, "grab" the button for use on your own blog, and add your link to the "master" Mister Linky on the Really Random Tuesday page.

Thanks for reading!  Your comments are welcomed.