Cooking and Poetry. Halloween Shakshuka

As I line the ingredients,
I’m deaf to the hushed shuffles in the pantry,
And blind to the shifting shadows on the wall.
All I can think about is “Shakshuka”
A global dish native to Tunisia.
Nicknamed, “eggs in purgatory”
How ironic,
When the horrors of this season, hail from in between worlds.

Raw eggs
Fresh tomatoes
Onions and garlic
Bell-peppers, spices and herbs
Simple
Vegetarian, not vegan
A meal for any hour
Spry recipe
Supple

One by one I add to the pan
I let them sizzle
And ingest the garlic scented aroma
Tomatoes go in last,
With a choice pinch of spices.
And then I leave it all to simmer…

While waiting, a chill creeps up on me.
A silent draft, from the cabinets at my feet
Everything goes quiet
The plop of bubbling stew, a backdrop of tension!
There is something shifting through the drawers
Slow, methodic, shameless!
It rakes its way around the kitchen
Taunting on the edges of sight

TING!
the timer goes
It’s time to add the eggs
The spiced stew is now viscous
I shape craters on its surface
And crack an egg into each
Till the egg-whites turn true white
And the yorks lie runny

Not long now,
I can hardly wait
I can almost taste it
Served up with bread, nan or chapati.
Until…

The lights go out!
I’m frozen!
Slavering with dread
In between relish and revulsion
Caught in the middle.
The perfect place for my Shakshuka.
“eggs in purgatory”

© judeitakali

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My last Cooking and Poetry post got some good positive feedback.
So, I’m back with another.

I’ll make this a fortnightly feature on my blog in the future.

I hope you enjoy this.
Shakshuka is quite easy to make,
I wrote the main ingredients in the oval shaped butterfly cinquain.
And highlighted most of the recipe, in bold within the prose.

If you want to try making it and need any clarifications, please ask me in the comments section.

It will be worth it for you to try this.

Photos taken by my friend Kevin

Beware those Halloween cravings.

This is my penultimate post before a month long hiatus.
Tomorrow’s symphony will be my last,
Until December 1st,
At which time I’ll be back, better than ever.

Be safe, catch you tomorrow for the Symphony.