Çılbır-Inspired Eggs En Cocotte

and some thoughts on having a one-track mind!

Hi! Welcome to “good mood food” from Kale Me Maybe’s Carina Wolff. If you’ve made it here and aren’t yet a subscriber, come join! You can expect recipes in your inbox every Tuesday, and paid subscribers receive even more every Friday! You can also try a week for free!

CATCH UP!

Something I have been thinking about — and perhaps struggling with — lately is how to stay present (which is probably a sign I should start up my meditation practice again). We have started the dog hunt, which has me obsessively searching PetFinder multiple times an hour, every hour of the day. All my brain can think of is “dog, dog, dog.”

When the time is right for me to get something, I want it immediately. Grant thinks I’m moving on to the next thing to fast — I was the same way when we were looking for a house, obsessively searching Redfin, fantasizing over a future that felt so close, but seemed to constantly evade my grasp. Now we have the house, and I’ve moved on to wanting a dog. I wonder if I’m alone in this sensation, but I would have to imagine I am not.

I will say though, I don’t feel ungrateful, dissatisfied, or really moved on at all. In fact, I feel quite the opposite. I have many moments during the day where I’m cooking in the kitchen and I look out the window into the canyon, the trees swaying and the sun shining, and I breathe a sigh of relief that I am here in that moment. I am typically someone who loves my life, but my view of happiness includes enjoying the moment AND setting yourself up for a good future. I’ll admit the balance can oftentimes tip to future-oriented thoughts, but it’s something I’m working on.

I’m not sure what causes this obsessive mindset other than when I want something, I really want it. And although I will try my hardest to relish this time in our home when it’s just me and my husband, I know it’ll be hard for me to stop daydreaming so intensely about my future furry friend! To me, this feels like a big milestone: I’ve never had a dog in my life, and I’ve wanted one forever, so naturally, I can’t stop thinking about it.

So yes, I could probably stand to step away from the dog search a little more frequently, but it always feels good to have something to look forward to, and boy am I excited!!

RECIPE!

This recipe was inspired by I video I saw from Alexa What’s For Dinner. A typical egg en cocotte is made with cream, but I pulled some inspiration from the Turkish dish çılbır and used yogurt instead.

To make eggs en cocotte, you’re baking eggs in a water bath, which gives them a nice custardy consistency.

I highly recommend eating this dish with some toasted bread, preferably spread with a little butter and a dash of garlic powder and onion powder. Or, you can do what I did and take this whole breakfast to the next level by dipping in some homemade garlic bread, using this recipe I made last week!

Çılbır-Inspired Eggs En Cocotte

Ingredients (serves 2)

• 2/3 cup Greek yogurt

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• Pinch of salt

• 4 eggs

• Black pepper

• 2 tbsp butter

• 1/2 tsp paprika

• 1/2 tsp aleppo pepper or cayenne pepper

• Chives & dill, to top

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Bring about 4 cups of water to a boil. Grease your ramekin or cocotte with butter or olive oil.

2. Add the Greek yogurt, minced garlic, and a pinch of salt to your ramekin/cocotte. Mix together and smooth everything down so the yogurt sits evenly at the bottom of the dish. Crack the eggs into the ramekin, and sprinkle with a little more salt and black pepper.

2. Cover ramekins/cocttes and place into a baking dish at least a few inches deep. Pour the boiling water into the baking dish so it comes up at least halfway up the ramekins. Place in the oven and cook for 15-25 minutes, depending on how cooked you want the eggs/your oven. I ended up around 22 minutes for pretty runny eggs. Eggs should look set, but still have some jiggle.

3. Towards the end of your eggs baking, heat up 2 tbsp butter on medium-low heat in a small saucepan and whisk in paprika and aleppo pepper. When eggs are done baking, remove the ramekins/cocotte from the baking dish and remove the lids. Spoon on the butter mixture, and top with fresh chives and dill and some more black pepper.

THINGS I’M LOVING

Kitchen Item: Okay, this is definitely a want, not a need, but after we got this French Fry Cutter as a gift for our wedding, we are OBSESSED. You can not only use this for perfectly shaped french fries, but you can also use it to cut breakfast potatoes faster and get a nice little dice. It makes homemade fry nights so much easier (I’m looking at you air fryer people)!

Internet Community: Magic at the Margins, the most incredible subscriber community by Anela Malik aka Feed The Malik! Anela is a shining example of what it means to be a thoughtful, ethical, intelligent, influencer. Not only that, but she’s funny, witty, and adventurous. I love her subscriber community because she provides so much value with her guides, thoughts, writing, etc. She also brings people from her subscriber community along on her sponsored trips sometimes! If you enjoy nuance and going deeper with food, travel, and more, Anela is your girl!

Organizing Your Life: Have you heard everyone talking about Notion? Have you been a little skeptical? SAME! Except… don’t be. I just started using it, and my life has been changed. I am a list maker through and through, and Notion has just solved all my problems and made me feel like my life is under control (okay, maybe a little dramatic, but truly I feel more organized than ever). Think of Notion as your own personal hub for lists, project management, planning, dreaming, goal-setting, etc. I love how it also has the design-forwardness and ease of something like Squarespace. I was a little overwhelmed at first when using it, but once I started using templates as a starting point, I was able to start structuring it in ways that worked for me.

Also, I’ve updated my Amazon Storefront! I have all my favorite kitchen supplies in there, but I also have some clothing items and my favorite section, BOOKS. I’ve included all my favorite books I’ve read in the past 5 years, and I highly recommend checking out that specific list!

ACTIVE DISCOUNT CODES

Our Place: Click the link and get 20% most items, including the Always Pan!

Fable: Code KALEMEMAYBE10 for 10% off ceramic dishware! I love their white speckled bowls and plates.

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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT!

Last week was a bonus recipe week for paid subscribers! I made The Best Summer Salad, a melange of massaged kale, shishito peppers, crunchy thin radishes, sun gold tomatoes, and more!

The Best Summer Salad

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