Pesto Egg Breakfast Sandwich

& figuring out my online presence

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 — right now I’m doing a 30-minute budget meal series! Learn more about the paid tier of my newsletter here. You can also try a week for free!

CATCH UP!

I’m over a month postpartum now and feeling more like myself than ever. However, there is one area I’m struggling with a bit, and it’s with my social presence. I’m heavily in the newborn bubble, and it’s essentially my whole world right now, and I’m okay with that! However, I know not everyone cares about motherhood, so I feel self-conscious only talking about that experience. I worry about isolating some people who enjoy my food and recipes but don’t care much about being a new parent.

When I originally wrote this piece, I said, “The issue is, I’m not doing much else at the moment, which creates this internal conflict.” But after rereading and rethinking, I realized that’s not true. I may not be doing big travels or galavanting around the city, but I am still going out to eat, I’m still reading books, watching TV, and consuming other media. So there is other stuff to talk about, but the real pain point for me is that I’m not actively developing new recipes or filming content. It’s more of a work struggle than a relatability struggle.

I’m taking a big step back for the first couple months to soak up my time with Sagan, and that’s what I want to do. But I would be lying if I said I’m not a little antsy or worried about what that means for my career — more so, my place on social media. Which kind of feels like an icky, big yuck to admit that, but it’s true. It’s hard to watch everyone else create new content and make beautiful recipes when I feel like I’m falling behind. I objectively know that this isn’t permanent and I’ll find my way back, but the internal battle over this is still there.

It’s also weird to have a job where maternity leave isn’t available in the same way, but on the flip side of that, I am afforded so much flexibility, and I greatly benefit from this now, and I will especially later. It’s nice to be able to write and edit while Sagan naps — it gives me a sense of normalcy and connection to my old life.

At the end of the day, balance is important to me. I’m giving myself permission to take things slow on the work front. I’m also trying to avoid leaning in too heavily to family/motherhood/baby content, because at the end of the day, I really do want to remain a source of food inspiration and recipes. But I always sprinkle my own life in, and this is my life right now.

I know soon enough I’ll come back to my roots and be making farmers market bowls and other elaborate dishes. In the meantime, I’m practicing patience and presence and trying to lean into this new stage of life as a mama. And it’s magical and weird and crazy and fun!

THINGS I’M LOVING!

A weird fact about me is that I don’t typically like carbonated drinks. I was a strange, strange child who didn’t like soda, and I have mostly been carrying that into adulthood. Until recently… It started off with fruit vinegars mixed into soda water, and now I’ve found another bubbly beverage I like in Culture Pop. It’s soda that is lightly sweetened with real fruit juice, and I think that’s why I like it so much because it doesn’t taste artificial. They also have really interesting flavors like Watermelon Lime and Strawberry Rhubarb. This is not sponsored, but they did give me a discount code for 10% off if you want to try! KALEMEMAYBE10

I know we are all transitioning into fall with our oversized sweaters and jackets, but it’s too hot for that here. And in case you’re going on a last-minute European vacation — which if you are, I am jealous — might I suggest this Blue Stripe Cotton/Linen Blouse from Sezane? It is so light and breezy, and I actually think it would be cute for fall with a pair of jeans! You can also pair it with the matching skirt which I also have! I need someone to wear this outfit while wandering Italy.

I ordered these Olyra Strawberry Soft Baked Bites last week, and holy moly, I am obsessed. They’re called breakfast bites, but I’ve been eating them as sweet treats, and I love how they’re kind of healthy?! They’re made with strawberries and whole grain flour. They satisfy my pastry cravings and aren’t super high in sugar. I got mine on Thrive Market (you can use my 30% off discount code at this link), but they’re also available directly on the Olyra website or at Target.

DISCOUNT CODES!

~~** NEW CODE ALERT: Thrive Market & Culture Pop Soda**~~

Supplements

• KALEMEMAYBE25 gets you 30% off your first order with Ritual!

• Use my link to get up to 45% off Grüns gummy vitamins!

• KALEMEMAYBE gets you 15% off Armra Colostrum!

• CARINA gets you 15% off Perelel Vitamins

Food

• KALEMEMAYBE gets you 10% off Fishwife products

• KMM10 gets you 10% off your first purchase with Ground Up Nut Butters

• DRIZZLE gets you 20% off Little Zing Mustard

• KALEMEMAYBE gets you 15% off Kola Goodies tea lattes

• CARINA20 gets you 20% off Primal Kitchen products

• KALEMEMAYBE15 gets you 15% off Flour & Water products

• CARINA15 gets you 15% off Juliet Wine!

• CARINAWOLFF gets you 40% off your first order with Hungryroot!

• CARINA20 gets you 20% off of Algae Cooking Club

• Use my link to get 30% off your first order and a free gift from Thrive Market

• KALEMEMAYBE10 gets you 10% off Culture Pop Soda

Home & Other Products

• CARINA10 gets you 10% off Starter Kits from Branch Basics!

• CW15 gets you 15% off Bon Charge Red Light Therapy

• CARINA15 gets you 15% off East Fork Pottery

• CARINA20 gets you 20% off at Eva Polar (energy efficient personal air cooler)

• Use my link to get 20% off at Canopy

• CARINA10 gets you 10% off at Print Fresh (100% cotton pajamas)

RECIPE!

EVERYONE HAS MOVED ONTO FALL, so I’m trying to release all my summery recipes I filmed while I was pregnant before it’s too late. This isn’t exactly a summer-specific recipe, but I made it wearing a floral sundress, and it does feel light and bright with the pesto, avocado, and arugula.

The premise here is simple, even though the sandwich feels like a little fancy treat. You fry the eggs in pesto, add a little melty mozzarella, and make a simple mixture of Calabrian chiles and garlic spread to create a special sauce. I used the Trader Joe’s garlic spread dip here, which is essentially toum, so you can use either. Or just use mayo if you can’t find either!

Pesto Eggs Breakfast Sandwich with Calabrian Chili Garlic Spread

Ingredients (makes 2 sandwiches)

• 3 tbsp garlic spread dip (I used the one from Trader Joe’s, can also use toum or mayo)

• 1 tsp jarred Calabrian chili peppers

• 2 tbsp butter

• 4 slices of bread (I used sourdough)

• 1 avocado, sliced

• 4 tbsp pesto, divided

• 2 eggs

• 2 mozarella slices

• 1 cup arugula

1. In a small bowl, mix together garlic sauce and Calabrian chili. Set aside.

2. Add butter to a medium/large cast iron skillet on medium-heat. Add your bread slices, and toast for 3-4 minutes on each side until just lightly crispy and golden. Remove the bread, and set onto a plate. Spread the garlic Calabrian chili mixture onto one side of two slices of bread. Top with avocado slices.

3. In the same pan on medium heat, add 2 tbsp of pesto, and spread around the center of the pan. Crack the eggs directly into the pan on top of the pesto, and cook for 2-3 minutes until whites have begun to set and edges start to get crispy. Add the remaining 2 tbsp pesto onto the eggs, flip the eggs, and place the slice of mozzarella cheese on top of both. Cook until the mozzarella cheese has melted, about 3-4 minutes.

4. Add the egg to your sandwiches, on top of the avocado. Top with arugula and remaining bread slices. Cut in half, and enjoy!

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT!

Last week, paid subscribers received a recipe for a Mediterranean Savory Yogurt Chicken Bowl! Think Cava meets Çilbir meets Caprese.

As a reminder, anytime you become a paid subscriber, you get access to ALL of the past recipes in the archive, plus one exclusive recipe a week. You can always do a free 7-day trial, as well.