Kale Caesar Egg Salad Toast

& tuning out all the noise

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, musings, and faves in your inbox every Wednesday! Paid subscribers get even more on Fridays! Learn more about the paid tier of my newsletter here. You can also try a week for free!

CATCH UP!

Of all the habits I’ve been trying to work on lately, the one I’ve struggled with the most is spending a lot of time in bed in the morning before I get up. I linger for a while, scrolling on my phone, talking to Grant, snuggling with Willow. I try not to beat myself up about it, because I also know it’s a luxury to take my time in the morning, but I also feel I could be more productive if I could just get up right away.

I started sleeping with my phone plugged outside of my bedroom, and it has helped a little, but I still go up and get it, and then slip back into bed some mornings because I just don’t feel fully ready to get my day started yet. HELP! Maybe I need to just not fight it. Maybe it’s important to have that time to ease into the day.

The other habit I’m working on is tuning out the noise. It’s incredible how much input I get whenever I post about anything online, especially when it comes to TTC. Eat this, don’t eat that, don’t drink cold beverages, take this prenatal, try this trick, don’t buy this, listen to this doctor, no this person. PHEW. I could drown in all of this advice if I don’t stay strong (and I have drowned, I will admit).

I am confident in the choices I am making for myself, so I am trying to jstay focused and not let the input of anonymous strangers let me second-guess myself. And I say that not to put anyone down for giving advice, because I am grateful for the knowledge of my community, but, you know, anytime something goes even somewhat viral, people start chiming in who don’t know anything about me, and that can be frustrating.

Confidence! The mantra of April

THINGS I’M LOVING!

You may have seen the mystery of this cardigan on my Instagram stories, but essentially, I ordered a cream-colored cardigan from Levi’s, and they sent me a different version of it, one that I actually ended up liking much better. I can’t find it on their site, unfortunately — bizarre — but they do have the cardigan in red at Macy’s, and I’m tempted to buy this one too because I love the fit, and I love red! I sized up so it would fit a little looser, and it’s super cute!

I’ve been reading SO much literature on fertility, and I have been feeling at capacity with the book recommendations, but someone told me to read Awakening Fertility, and I really liked the vibe when I flipped through. I will be totally honest that I have only just skimmed the text, but I can tell it is much more about the spiritual than the medical, which at this point, I enjoy. But what I really have felt inspired by is the recipes at the end of the book that just look so nourishing and lovely. I’m looking forward to cooking them.

My current drink obsession is mixing pomegranate juice with yuzu juice. I think it tastes just like a sour candy, but it’s teeming with antioxidants. Sometimes I like to add a little mint leaf in for garnish! I get my yuzu juice from Yuzu Co, and they sell it on Amazon!

RECIPE!

It is a bit of shock that I’ve never made this combination before given how much I love kale, eggs, and Caesar dressing, but here’s to new beginnings!

I feel like my appetite in the morning has been a bit wonky the past 6 months, so I’ve been trying to make breakfasts that sound special to overcome my lack of desire to eat in the morning.

This breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner even, whatever you want to call it, takes salad and toast and turns it into one. Sourdough is topped with thinly sliced kale, soft-boiled eggs, and a homemade Caesar dressing and is then sprinkled with grated Parmesan cheese and topped with cracked black pepper and crushed red pepper.

I made this Caesar dressing by mashing ingredients together in a bowl, but I’ve also found that throwing htem in a blender works just as well and can give you a creamier consistency if that’s what you’re looking for.

Kale Caesar Egg Salad Toast

Ingredients (serves 2)

Toast

• 2 slices sourdough bread

• 4 eggs

• 1 1/2 cups sliced lacinato kale (stems removed)

• Grated Parmesan

• Zest of 1/2 a lemon

• Black pepper

Caesar Dressing

• 1 1/2 tsp anchovy paste (or 4 anchovy filets, mashed)

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 2 tbsp Dijon mustard

• 1 1/2 tbsp mayo

• Juice of 1 lemon

• 3 tbsp olive oil

1. Toast your bread to desired level (I like mine a little golden and crisp).

2. Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Carefully add the eggs, boil for 6 and a half minutes, and then immediately transfer to a bowl of ice water. Let cool for at least 5 minutes before peeling.

3. Prepare your Caesar dressing by either blending ingredients together in a small blender or preparing in a bowl. To prepare in a bowl, add the anchovy paste, minced garlic, mustard, mayo, and lemon juice, and whisk together until smooth. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until emulsified.

4. Massage the kale with a little olive oil and salt to soften, and then add to the slices of toast. Drizzle on a little bit of the Caesar dressing.

5. Peel the eggs, and then add two to each piece of toast. Mash the eggs down with fork to break them down into pieces. Drizzle more Caesar on top, and then grate some Parmesan and lemon zest onto the eggs. Top with black pepper and serve!

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT!

Last week was episode #10 of 30-minute budget meals! Turkey meatballs spiced with cinnamon, smoked paprika, garlic and onion, oregano and cumin served over a minty garlic yogurt with roasted cauliflower and carrots. So delish! Get this recipe and alll the other ones from the archives by becoming a paid subscriber <3