Hunter’s Eggs, an interesting week and a falling snake

We love eggs….

But I can’t be bothered to make them for breakfast.

Sometimes we have breakfast for dinner but more often I make eggs for starters.

One can be a bit more creative with eggs in the evening.

This is a variation on a Basque dish of peppers and tomatoes. It’s a simple dish, with just a few ingredients but bursting with flavors.

The name comes from two types of hunters in our fields this time of year: mushroom and wild boar.

Hunter’s Eggs

Total time: 25 minutes

 Ingredients:

  • 3oz (90gr) mushrooms, thickly sliced
  • 3 shallots, sliced
  • 2oz (60gr) Prosciutto, 3 – 4 slices, cut into strips
  • 2 tsp olive oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 10 sage leaves, roughly chopped
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • pepper

Hunter's Eggs

Instructions:

  • In nonstick skillet, sauté Prosciutto until crisp.  Remove and set aside.
  • Add 1 tsp oil and shallots to skillet. Cook, over medium heat, until just starting to brown, 7 – 10 minutes.
  • Add mushrooms, sage and continue to sauté until mushrooms start to brown, 5 – 7 minutes longer.
  • Return Prosciutto to skillet and keep warm while cooking eggs.
  • In separate nonstick skillet heat 1 tsp olive oil.  When hot add eggs and fry, trying to keep a nice shape, just until the whites are set; they’re meant to be ‘sunny-side up’.
  • Divide shallot/mushroom mixture between two plates.
  • Put an egg on top of each, sprinkle with paprika, pepper and serve.

Print Recipe

It’s been an interesting week.

Last Tuesday my French class was cancelled. My teacher had pulled a tendon in her leg the night before and was in hospital, waiting for treatment.

I went to class, as usual, this Tuesday morning.

Well, not quite as usual.

We’ve only had one car in all the years we’ve lived in France. I can count on one hand the number of times that’s been a problem…. Two of them were this week.

Mon mari dropped me off at school and went on his way…. with my mobile as his wasn’t charged.

Class was cancelled, again.

Apparently, I was the only one that hadn’t been notified as I was the only one there.

I borrowed a phone and called mon mari… who couldn’t figure out how to answer my phone.

Eventually, it all got sorted and he came back for me.

My teacher will not be back until January. She’s confined to a wheelchair at the moment. More about her later, this is all about me.

My class was rescheduled for Friday (today).with a substitute teacher,

Once again mon mari wanted the car and dropped me off at school.

Once again, my lack of a car was a problem….

But, this time, it was a problem that was easily solved. The class hours were changed but one of the other students gave me a ride home.

Now, this is the bit that’s, well, the proverbial icing on the cake.

Warning: If you don’t like snakes you might want to skip this part.

I grew up with grass snakes. They were usually under two feet long, no thicker than my big toe and harmless.

Our grass snakes are a bit bigger….  They’re 6 – 9 feet long, 3 – 4 inches in diameter but also harmless. (We have vipers, too, which are much smaller and poisonous, but rarely seen.)

I was gathering walnuts beneath the big walnut tree (we have three) by my potager. I heard a crash followed by thrashing in the leaves behind me.

When I turned to look I thought it was two snakes fighting. Then I realized that it was one very big snake trying to right itself.

It had apparently dropped out of the tree and was frantically trying to turn over…. Which it finally did and quickly slithered off.

I really wish snakes would stay on the ground. I had one drop behind me from the beams in the cave when we lived in our last house…..

Anyway, I debated the wisdom of continuing to gather nuts. I decided that the chances of two snakes falling out of the same tree on the same day had to be slim.

Right????

Still….

The hairs on the back of my neck felt a bit prickly as I was bending over to pick up the walnuts.

For the curious – here is the snake.

How was your week?

6 thoughts on “Hunter’s Eggs, an interesting week and a falling snake”

  1. No snakes in my week but one big horror of a spider on the front porch. I had to use the back gate as I am so terrified I could not go out the front door and even pass it though it was very high up. I called a friend who is ridiculously fearless and he relocated it to another suburb !!!! But I am on high alert in case there is another lurking !!!

  2. Not a pleasant experience even though it is harmless. We have a Couleuvre verte et jaune ~~ Hierophis, (Coluber), viridiflavus living in the brambles at the back of our orchard which I’ve met a couple of times. I treat all snakes with respect because many that I’ve encountered whilst living in countries north of South Africa, are decidedly poisonous.

  3. Encountering a snake in my garden or yard always startles me although I know that none are venomous. Having one drop from a tree that I was under would quite do me in. I’m glad you could write about it AND produce a recipe! Well done.

  4. Kate, height is irrelevant, they can drop…. Shudder….

    Gill, I treat them with respect because they’re big LOL

    Zoomie, I agree… snakes should stay on the ground!

    Dan, thanks – dinner so I can have wine ‘-)

    Christine, I had one fall of a beam in the barn once, almost on my head. I jump (high) but that’s about it. Now if had fallen ON my head….

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