Chakchouka -- Algeria

One set of things my mother learned about me the hard way is this.

1. I don't really like hot, soupy, tomatoey things.
2. I don't really like cooked green peppers.
3. I don't really like vegetarian chili.

Unsurprisingly, I suppose, I didn't really like chakchouka. Chakchouka is a dish in which onions, garlic, tomatoes, and a bell pepper mix are cooked together like a stew, and eggs are then poached in this mixture. The harissa paste that accompanies it was so good, I had to give it a try. Sadly, not my thing. The eggs were alright, but it lacked a certain earthy, hearty flavor to ground it as a proper dish. Cook's fault -- or, more accurately, cook's tongue's fault, I'm sure. It reminds me of the time I made "Ramekin Eggs" following the recipe on "My Healthy Cooking Coach" for the DS, and while my family stood around saying things like, "Wow, these are great!" I was asking, "So you think they're supposed to taste like that?"

One variation calls for lamb sausage to be added to the mixture, which would, in my opinion, perk it right up. If you like vegetarian chili, or hot tomatoes, or are in any way less picky about stupid things than I am, I suggest you give it a try.

Besides, it looks neat.

To cheer myself up, I came up with this very lazy concoction:

Store-bought Japanese "cream" flavored pudding (innocuous and sweet) with an almond sprinkle, served with dried figs, apricots, and raisins. Perhaps not entirely authentic, but the ingredients are, and it's so awfully good, and so wonderfully impossible to mess up.

UPDATE: Cooled down and served over the sausages I currently have at hand, erm, well, little smokies, this tomato stuff is actually pretty nice. Little smokies are probably the least Algerian meat choice in the world, but think of this as just one of those times that food crosses borders, gets adapted, and ends up becoming vindaloo and mole, among other things.