Purple Potato-Crusted Kale and Egg Breakfast Pie

I got such a good laugh recently out of an article in a magazine that had a baked egg & cheese pie with a potato crust, because the article was entitled "Slice of Heaven."  Are you kidding me?  So cheesy.  All I could think of was this so-bad-it's-good Youtube video.  Its this dude's Christmas List in a rap and one of the items is described as follows:

"Item number 7, its like a bite of heaven, I could prob'ly eat like ten or eleven.  Checked up in my stocking, and guess what I found?  A brand new box of Betty Crocker Fudge Brownies!"

Yep, that's Froggy Fresh for you :)


Anyway, when I recovered from laughing and tried to take the recipe seriously, I decided to make my own version for me and Jack's weekend bruncheon.  Here's what happened--

INGREDIENTS

  1/2 a bunch of red or dinosaur Kale- washed, patted-dry, stems removed, chopped
  1/4 c chopped Herbs- parsley or rosemary would probably be the most logical, but we used cilantro which was tasty too!
  2/3 a little mesh bag of Purple Potatoes (about half a pound or 1 cup)- scrubbed and sliced thin on a mandolin...otherwise they won't cook through!
  4 Eggs
  1/2c Egg Whites
  1/4 c Dairy-- we used plain kefir, you could also use milk or heavy cream
  1/4 c (more or less) of Feta Cheese or Goat Cheese
  Desired seasoning, including a splash or Sriracha chili sauce and Minced Garlic


DIRECTIONS

• Preheat over to 375, use coconut oil or another oil to grease a medium-sized gratin dish.
• If you use larger potatoes, overlap them around the edges and bottom of the dishes.  Or, if your potatoes are small and/or you have a life, just spread them around and make sure you can't see the bottom of the pan.
• Season potatoes with a little salt & pepper.

• Press the washed/trimmed/chopped kale into the dish, it should be pretty darn full of kale.

• In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, egg whites, and milk.
• Season this mixture with herbs and spices, as you desire-- I used 1/4 c chopped cilantro, 3T minced garlic, a generous splash of Sriracha chili sauce, 1/2t cumin, 1/2t curry powder, and dashes of salt/pepper/cayenne powder.
• Pour over the kale and potatoes already in the dish.  You make not use ALL of the egg mixture, but use as much as you can.
• Dollop the cheese evenly over the top.

• Bake about 40 minutes, until the center does not wobble when you move the dish.
• Allow to rest a few minutes, slice and serve.

I used a medium-sized gratin dish, which produced about 4 good servings.  If you double the recipe, use a dutch oven.  The original recipe called for goat cheese, which would probably have been better, but I only had feta on hand, plus it kinda went with my Middle Eastern seasonings.

Deviled Avocado Eggs

I cannot claim to have made this one up, although it has me written all over it!  This recipe and image has been WIDELY shared on Facebook, and I am saving it here for reference because my sweetie wants me to make them for him :)  He's only just coming around to eating egg yolks... so I'm happy to encourage him!

Hard boil and cool 6 eggs.

Mash 1 large, ripe avocado with 3 egg yolks from 6 hard boiled eggs (use the other three yolks for something else...). 

Add 1 tsp. cilantro, 3 tsp lime juice, 1 tbsp red onion, and a pinch of salt and pepper. 

Top with a sprinkle of chili or paprika.

Serve on a lovely platter.

Strawberry Lemon Curd

Oh, this is a good one.  I can't stop putting it on EVERYTHING!  Toast, Coco Pop Cakes (pictured), plain Greek yogurt, kefir, crackers, on a very large spoon...

INGREDIENTS

• 6T unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 lemons, zested & juiced
• 1/2 cup sliced fresh strawberries
• 5 large egg yolks

DIRECTIONS 

In a bowl combine the butter, sugar, and lemon zest. Beat with an electric mixer until well combined and fluffy.

 

Combine the lemon juice and strawberries in a blender until smooth. Add the lemon juice to the sugar mixture and beat until just combined. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time.

Transfer it all to a small/medium, heavy-bottomed pot. Cook over LOW-MED heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens, about 10 or 15 minutes.

Ladle the curd into little glass jars that you've swished hot water in (so they won't shatter with the hot curd), screw the lids on and allow to cool in the fridge, where the jars should get a nice seal due to the temperature change.

Fills 2 little jars, so makes approximately 2.5 cups worth.  

Promptly eat on everything.

Simple Vanilla Pudding

My mom was in town visiting me and, in anticipation, I had a carton of almond milk and a whole glass bottle of milk...both of which remained untouched throughout the duration of her visit.  I also noticed some ancient, lonely packets of gelatin kickin' it in the cupboard.  So as my mom was preparing to leave, I began prying her (and the internet) for tips on making pudding and mousse.  There are a lot of complicated, old school methods out there.  There are also a lot of recipes that cal for loads of heavy cream and the most disturbing of all additions... Cool Whip.  Have you ever looked at the ingredient label on that stuff?  (shudder)

So I followed my mom's advice and experimented.  What I came up with was a dense vanilla pudding topped with a little layer of vanilla custard-like mousse.  Almost like its own little mini layer of whipped cream on top.

I'm a chocolate girl, but my sweetie likes vanilla, so that's what we got!

INGREDIENTS:

2t gelatin (one packet)

1 1/2  c skim milk, very cold

1/3c egg whites

1T sugar (or Splenda baking mix)

4oz Neufchatel cheese or fat free cream cheese (1/2 a standard sized block)

1 1/2 T high quality vanilla extract, or a vanilla bean innards if you can manage it

Freshly ground nutmeg for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

In a standup mixer, use a whisk to beat egg whites and sugar to soft peaks.

Add cream cheese & vanilla and beat with the mixer instead of the whisk until it is all well incorporated.  Just let this sit in the mixing bowl.

Meanwhile, add packet of gelatin to chilled milk in a medium/small saucepan, allow to bloom 1 minute.

Cook milk over MED heat about 1 minute stirring with a fork, until gelatin is dissolved.

Beat everything together in the mixer. 


Pour into cups and freshly grate a pinch of nutmeg on top of each cup.  Mine went into 2 larger serving cups (pictured) plus 2 smaller cups.  So I would say the recipe serves 5.

Refrigerate for a couple hours or overnight. 

SERVING NOTE:  It has a very mild, vanilla flavor that pairs well with boldness.  To that end, I topped it with rich Buckwheat honey (if you've only had Orange Blossom and Clover honey, you are seriously missing out!) and strawberries marinated overnight in Orange Balsamic Vinegar.  A perfect pairing!