Kale and Sweet Potato Baked Eggs with Goat Cheese

If I can eat a bunch of vegetables first thing in the morning I consider myself ahead of the game for the morning. If I can get Camila to eat vegetables first meal of the day I am on top of the world for the entire day! I’m happy to say, that these baked eggs with roasted sweet potato, kale, onions, and creamy goat cheese pleased everyone, including my 11-month-old (who is becoming a little more particular on what she eats these days).

When we were first married, we took a road trip during the summer to Colorado. We stayed in a lodge high up in the mountains where the neighborhood bear was known to dig through the dumpster every night. Every day we went hiking and every night we went in the lodge hot tub and looked at the stars. It was bliss.

Every morning we woke up to a huge breakfast spread, which included a sweet potato hash, which inspired me for this dish. I made it a little healthier with the addition of kale, but I promise you, it only adds to the flavor!

I partnered with La Baleine Essentiel sea salt for this recipe, and I love how it is the first low sodium sea salt made from only natural ingredients. I am even more conscious about the food we eat at home now that we have a new baby (almost toddler!), so I love that this salt is lower sodium but doesn’t compromise in taste.

If you make this recipe be sure to tag me and let me know. I love seeing what you’re making in your kitchens! Thank you to La Baleine for sponsoring this post.

---

Kale and Sweet Potato Baked Eggs with Goat Cheese

serves 2

Ingredients

• Olive oil

• 1 large sweet potato, chopped into small cubes

• ½ large onion, sliced thin

• 1 large bunch of lacinato kale, stems removed and sliced into thin ribbons

• ½ tsp La Baleine Essentiel, plus more to taste

• Pepper

• 3 - 4 large eggs

• ¼ cup crumbled goat cheese or feta

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Add the diced sweet potato to a large baking sheet and toss with olive oil, La Baleine Essentiel salt, and freshly ground pepper to taste. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes, tossing halfway through the cook time, until sweet potatoes are tender when poked with a fork.

While sweet potatoes are cooking, heat a large cast iron or other oven safe pan over medium heat. Add a little olive oil and then the onions. Saute until the onions are clear and soft. Remove to a bowl.

Add the kale to the same pan, adding a little more oil if needed. Saute until soft, and set aside in a separate bowl.

When sweet potatoes are finished, remove the pan from the oven. 

In your cast iron or oven safe pan, assemble the onions, kale, and sweet potato. Make a well for the eggs, and crack them in. Season with La Baleine Essentiel and pepper. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes or until egg whites are firm but yolks are still slightly runny. 

Top with goat cheese and serve immediately.

---

Pumpkin Cranberry Scones with Cream Cheese Glaze

It’s been a hot minute but I developed the recipe for these scones about a month ago and have not stopped thinking about them. While I have failed this year to give y’all any Thanksgiving content whatsoever, I was determined to get this scone recipe up on the blog for you to make in time for Thanksgiving morning. What might be even better though is to have them the Friday after Thanksgiving, when everyone is sleeping in, lounging from the feast day before, snacking on all the leftovers, and getting the nod of approval from society that it’s finally okay to start talking about Christmas. I’m picturing: these scones, hot coffee, pajamas, and putting up Christmas decorations? If you happen to be one of those people who is out the door before the sun is up to join in the Black Friday craze, then I guess the day after Thanksgiving looks a little different for you, and you will have to hope someone saved you a scone when you get back home.

These scones are everything I want in a fall baked good. I don’t like to go overboard with the pumpkin stuff this time of year, and was recently reminded of that at a work function where I tried these pumpkin cookies (?) that tasted like a candle. The spice was way overboard and it left a horrible aftertaste in my mouth. Other people seemed to like them though so maybe I’m just picky now…? Anyway, these scones are well-balanced in the pumpkin spice department. The tart dried cranberries offset the sweetness of the cream cheese glaze. I loved these and loved sharing them with my neighbors. If you make them, as always please let me know on instagram and let me know how you liked it!

This time of year is busy for everybody and for us it has been no different. We are loving watching Camila grow and are trying to make as much time as we can to pause and soak up her current stage. She is 9 months old now! I say it every month, but so far 9 months has been the most fun yet. I wish we could freeze time! She just started crawling and said her first word a few days ago (Mama!!!). Her favorite foods include bananas, mushrooms, avocado toast, and cheese sticks. She is the happiest baby, with her daddy’s red hair and long eyelashes, and will smile if you simply make eye contact with her. We love her so and she has changed our world so much. I can’t wait to spend our first Thanksgiving with her and let her try all the yummy food. :) Happy Thanksgiving, friends!

---

Pumpkin Cranberry Scones with Cream Cheese Glaze

makes 12 scones

Ingredients

• 2 3/4 cup flour 

• 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice 

• 1 tbl baking powder 

• 1/3 cup sugar 

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter, cubed

• 2/3 cup pure pumpkin

• 2 large eggs

• 3/4 cup dried cranberries 

• Turbinado sugar and milk of choice for topping 

• 2 oz softened cream cheese

• 1/2-1 cup confectioners sugar

• 1 tsp - 1 tbl milk

Directions

Whisk together the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Work in the cubed butter with your hands until butter is broken up into smaller pea-sized pieces. In a separate bowl, mix together the pumpkin and eggs. Stir pumpkin egg mixture into the dry ingredients until fully combined. Fold in dried cranberries. 

Dust a large baking sheet with a little flour (or line with parchment paper). Dump dough into two equal portions on the baking sheet. Using a bench scraper or your hands, form into 2 6-inch circles, about 3/4-inch in thickness. Divide each mound into 6 equal triangles. Chill in the freezer for 20 minutes while you preheat the oven to 425°F.

Brush the scones with milk and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.

Bake in preheated oven for 20 - 25 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes. Top with the glaze or eat as is!

To make the glaze: Whisk together cream cheese, confectioner’s sugar, and milk until smooth. Add more sugar or milk to get desired consistency. 

---

Sausage, White Bean, and Kale Soup

Better late than never! Our first Texas cold front came in yesterday, and it is likely the coldest it’s going to get for awhile. It’s probably going to last a couple of days before rising back up to 80’s again. We will gladly take it though!

This morning’s chill transported me back to our New York City days when we had our first cold fronts usually in early September. The leaves in Central Park would quickly change from green to red, yellow, and orange, and everyone seemed instantly happier. If you ask a New Yorker their favorite season, 9 times out of 10 they are going to tell you fall. We would celebrate the start of fall with cozy bowls of ramen, gourmet hot chocolate from one of the many bakeries, or a walk through Central Park. Honestly, those days feels like a lifetime ago!! We are pretty excited to be taking Camila there for the first time later this month, and show her how “cool” her parents were before she was born, although if she could talk she would say something like, “You are still the coolest, mom!”

I’ve been making versions of this sausage, white bean, and kale soup for years and figured it was high time I write the recipe down. For this version, I started with dried beans instead of canned, which I highly recommend if you have the time because 1) it’s more affordable and 2) it soaks up all the flavors of the soup and truly does taste so much better. But, if you didn’t plan ahead and need to eat in the next 30 minutes, I won’t tell if you use the canned variety.

Hope you are cozied up indoors this weekend, and have a bowl of something hot to warm your bellies!

---

Sausage, White Bean, and Kale Soup

serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 lb. dried cannelloni or great white northern beans

• 2 - 3 links cooked sausage, about half a pound, sliced into 1 inch pieces

• 1/2 large onion, diced small

• Salt and pepper to taste

• 1 red bell pepper, diced 

• 2 large carrots, peeled and sliced 

• 2 cloves of garlic, minced

• 32 oz chicken broth

• 2 cups of water

• 1 bay leaf

• 2 large sprigs rosemary

• 2 - 3 large handfuls of curly kale, washed and stems removed

• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

• Pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)

Directions

Soak the dried beans in a large bowl filled with water overnight, or for at least 6 hours, in the refrigerator. (Water should cover beans by a couple of inches). Drain and rinse the beans and set aside.

Heat a large pot or dutch oven over medium high heat. Add about a tablespoon or more of olive oil. Once warm, add sliced sausage. Since sausage is already cooked, you are just browning the edges. After sausage is browned (only a couple of minutes), remove with a slotted spoon onto a plate. 

Add some more oil to the pan if needed. Add the diced onion, and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 4 -5 minutes, or until onion starts to become soft and translucent. Add the bell pepper and carrots and cook for 2 -3 minutes until beginning to soften. Stir in the garlic but only cook for about a minute, or until fragrant.

Add the dried beans and cooked sausage to the pot. Pour in the chicken broth, water, bay leaf, and rosemary sprigs. Stir together, and then bring mixture to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, then cover the pot with a lid. Simmer everything together for 45 minutes - 1 hour, or until beans are soft and cooked through.

Remove the bay leaf and rosemary sprigs, and season to taste with more salt and pepper. Stir in the kale, it will wilt but still hold its shape. Add the fresh parsley and red pepper flakes. 

---

---