Eggs and Worms

It was grocery shopping day the other day. I plan my menus for a week, make a list of what things I need in the coming week and stick to the plan unless extraordinary events happen. When it is one of those weeks , I wind up with surplus things. If they are pantry or freezable, no problem. If they are produce, it becomes a must use it up thing. Such was the case this week- the abnormally hot weather saw a couple of changes in menu plans ( normally we are in the 50's at this time of year- we spent a week in the 80's). So I went through the fridge, found my surplus items and though that they would make an interesting egg dish- fitting in with the meatless Friday thing. The use of eggs for a meatless dish instantly made me think of  one sibling I shall refer to as The Worm.

I was raised nominally Catholic- which meant we were Catholic in name only. We occasionally went to Mass ( The Worm and I on our own and our parents would never attend), went to CCD for a short time and observed a lot of the "cool" Catholic things like Rosaries from our grandmother. Three things remained absolute must do  Catholic behaviors- Baptism, Burial and Meatless Fridays. I loved it, but The Worm hated fish, and entered into something I called "Logical Sport B*tching" over the whole meatless thing was brought up. Why was beef, pork and chicken bad when milk, cheese and eggs were okay? In those days no one used terms like Vegetarian, Vegan, Lacto ovo vegetarian or so forth- they just lumped it all as meatless. The Worm was a borderline "Mrs Literal" and anything that she felt defied her rules of logic became something that she would argue over, for ,about, because of, in spite of- much in the same way people would train for and participate in a sport.( She still does this). It was amusing, aggravating, interesting and just plain "The Worm". Such concepts didn't bother me because I understood the logic but could never figure out how to put it into words. Years later I learned all of the technical reasons why Lenten foods are what they are ( it's not a cut and dried thing and is partially historical and symbolic), but to this day whenever the idea of eating eggs in Lent comes up, my thoughts turn to The Worm.

Back to the kitchen  !Here was what I had to work with :

With some chopping and a skillet, it became this tasty, colorful number:

 I call it Use it Up Poached eggs

3 pints grape tomatoes , cut in half
3 big handfuls baby spinach
1 bunch green onions, sliced
4 eggs
salt and pepper to taste
butter and olive oil

In a large skillet with a lid melt about 2 T butter with as much olive oil and sweat the green onions. Add the tomatoes, crush slightly and cover so the juices are trapped. In about 5 minutes add the spinach and cover till wilted. Stir the mix and crack 4 eggs into it,season with salt and pepper, cover and cook for about 5 minutes, till the yolk is set.