HUEVOS A LA PLAZA DE MERCADO

Seven Spoons Tostada . Sprouted Kitchen

There has been some well-deserved chatter about Tara'sbook. I'm adding my cheers and high-fives and big hugs because it is remarkable and sincere and just dang good. You see, Tara and I were working on our books at the same time, and I felt like I had a pal struggling along side. Thousands of miles away she may be. But I knew then, in those texts, that this girl cared far too much to be producing anything less than wonderful. She took this project seriously and it comes through on each and every page. It's not just that the recipes are unique, but she writes head notes and directions more beautifully and thorough than any I've seen. I feel like I can hear her talking me through it - anticipating my questions. That is what makes a great cookbook author. I skimmed through the book soon as it came and am currently spending evenings doting over every word because I just love how she writes. I'm throwing down a good amount of praise but this book deserves it. I have made the raspberry rhubarb rye crumble twice now, subbing strawberries in for the raspberries on her forewarning that it is quite tart and I wanted to reign that in a bit. This may be her debut in the cookbook world but it sure doesn't read like it's Tara's first rodeo by any stretch.

I can make a breakfast tostada. I know my way around an egg and a good sauce but these! These were just really special and have me jonesing to host a backyard brunch. I generally don't go futzing with charred vegetable sauces and fresh salsas first thing, but think these are the perfect to make the night before. Even a few days prior. You can't shortcut this step because the sauces are what make these exceptional. I've been thinning out the charred green onion one with more citrus and using it as a green salad dressing and am using some of the salsa for a brothy tortilla soup tomorrow night. I'm just saying they're really great. 

So proud of you, Tara. xo

Seven Spoons Tostada . Sprouted Kitchen

Seven Spoons Tostada . Sprouted Kitchen

HUEVOS A LA PLAZA DE MERCADO // Serves 4

Recipe from Seven Spoons: My Favorite Recipes for Any and Everyday by Tara O'Brady

The sauces took a bit more time than I would spend on an average morning breakfast but are worth every moment. Consider making one or both the evening before and this dish will come together in minutes. 

• / RED SAUCE /
• Small bunch of cilantro, leaves and tender stems
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, smashed
• 1 jalapeno, mostly seeded and chopped
• 1 can (15 oz) whole, fire roasted tomatoes
• (4-6 ounces chorizo or sausage - this is included in Tara's recipe but we skipped the meat here)
• Salt and pepper, as needed

• / CHARRED GREEN ONION DRESSING /
• 6 green onions
• 2 serrano or jalapeno chiles
• generous pinch of smoked paprika
• 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt, not nonfat
• 2 Tbsp. mayonnaise (or more greek yogurt but the mayonnaise makes for great texture)
• small bunch of cilantro, leaves and tender stems
• zest and juice of one lime
• 1 Tbsp. agave nectar
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• sea salt and fresh ground pepper

• / EGGS + TOPPINGS /
• mild olive oil or ghee for cooking the tortillas and egg
• 8 small corn tortillas
• 4-8 eggs
• 2 avocados pitted and diced small
• baby tomatoes, halved
• 4 ounces queso fresco
• Mexican-style hot sauce
• 2 limes, cut in wedges

To make the red sauce, in a blender, combine the cilantro, shallots, garlic, jalapeno, tomatoes and their liquid and buzz to make a puree. 

Tip the tomato puree into a hot pot with a generous pinch of salt and pepper and bring it to a gentle boil. Cook, stirring regularly, until the sauce is thickened and tastes cooked. Around 30 minutes. Check for seasoning and keep warm. 

For the green onion dressing, heat a large, cast-iron skillet or grill pan over medium-high heat. Cook the green onions and chiles, turning often, until charred all over. About 10 minutes. Let the vegetables cool on a plate. Trim the roots off the onions, as well as any leathery parts of the green end. Stem the chiles and remove some, most or all of the seeds depending on your spice preference.

In a blender or food processor, buzz the green onions, chiles, paprika, yogurt, mayonnaise, cilantro, lime zest and juice, agave and oil until smooth. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Chill for at least an hour for flavors to develop. 

Heat a touch of oil in a large cast-iron skillet. Working in batches, warm the tortillas (or over an open flame if you prefer). Keep the tortillas warm in a preheated oven. Cook your eggs to order. Assemble your eggs over a warm tortillas with some of the red sauce, avocado, sliced baby tomatoes, queso fresco and some fresh cilantro. Drizzle on the green onion sauce and hot sauce if using. Tara suggests throwing them under the broiler for a quick minute just to give everything one last char. Serve the eggs right away with lime wedges on the side. 

The sauces can be kept covered in the fridge for a week. 

Seven Spoons Tostada . Sprouted Kitchen

PUMPKIN BREAD WITH TOASTED WALNUT CINNAMON SWIRL

Spelt Pumpkin Loaf . Sprouted Kitchen

Oof. We had a whirlwind of tying up a few loose ends for our cookbook (out this coming spring, so crazy!) and I sort of abandoned this space. While this is a place I want to share good food illustrated by Hugh's gorgeous photos, it is also a place I come to write. In an inevitably vain way, I suppose a blogger mostly has his or her own life story to draw from, and my reality as of late has been about rearranging our work, marriage, schedule, chores, social life, alone time etcetera with Curran in the picture. Most definitely for the better (not to be confused with easier), the day to day looks different now and my story is currently about figuring out who I am now in all of these things. It sounds dramatic and woeful, but honestly, as any big change goes, it just takes a little time to create a new normal. Both my thoughts and iphone pictures used to be all food all the time and now I have a mini person who hijacked all that. Our little baby bug is tall and thin as babies go, so says the pediatrician. He has a big gummy smile, is a little stingy with giggles despite his mom and dad being completely hilarious, rolls and always wants to be grabbing something to put in his mouth. At night, he lays his head between my chin and chest and rhythmically coos as I sing songs from church and/or Beyonce and rock him to sleep... I'm not sure there is any sweeter feeling in the universe. It is all so wonderful and yet so very hard. Many parts of being a new mom are really tough. I didn't anticipate the high highs met with low lows but I can see balance on the horizon. I worry by nature, so 'choosing optimism' is my mantra for this fall. Everything will be OK. It is always OK. 

Don't roll your eyes. Another pumpkin loaf! Just what you needed right? I have a good handful of things bookmarked in Amy Chaplin's gorgeous new book, At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen but I was in need of a fresh start, to ring in a new season, and a hearty, fall loaf seemed just the thing. This loaf is dense, barely sweet, is just the thing fresh out of the toaster with a swipe of good butter or coconut butter. It doesn't taste like dessert - it tastes like a breakfast loaf and that is the side of the loaf-preferences-fence I sit on. Hugh sits on the other side of said fence but nothing a little cinnamon sugar can't fix. Amy's cookbook is so comprehensive, beautifully designed and jammed full of recipes for the vegetarian, gluten free, dairy free and generally health nutty folks. There are a grip of fabulous cookbooks coming out this fall and next spring and I'm so anxious to try things and share them here. 

Spelt Pumpkin Loaf . Sprouted Kitchen

PUMPKIN BREAD WITH TOASTED WALNUT CINNAMON SWIRL // One 9-inch loaf

Recipe adapted from At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen by Amy Chaplin

The recipe is great as is, and as mentioned above, it is not super sweet as most breakfast loaves can be. I added a bit more spice and a little turbinado sugar on top for crunch. Amy suggests roasting a squash yourself and using the puree for the bread but canned pumpkin will work as well. 

• // cinnamon swirl //
• 1 cup toasted walnuts
• 2 Tbsp. maple syrup
• 2 Tbsp. muscavado, brown or maple sugar
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• -
• 2 cups whole spelt flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 1/4 cups pumpkin or squash puree
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 Tbsp. almond or soy milk
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/3 cup turbinado sugar, for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 350' and lightly oil a loaf pan, lining it with parchment for a cleaner removal. 

Steam your squash for 10-12 minutes if making a puree by hand.

To make the swirl, mix the walnuts, maple, sugar and cinnamon together and set aside. 

Into a large mixing bowl, sift the spelt flour, baking powder and salt. Add the nutmeg and cinnamon. Whisk together the squash puree, olive oil, almond milk, vanilla, egg and maple syrup. Fold the flour mixture into the squash mixture until just combined. Spread half the batter over the bottom of the loaf pan. Layer cinnamon walnut mixture evenly over batter and top with the remaining batter. To create a swirl, run a knife in a zig zag through the batter. Sprinkle the turbinado sugar on top. Bake for 45-50 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow it to sit for 10 minutes before removing the loaf. 

The slice is served best warmed with a generous spread of coconut butter or real butter. 

Spelt Pumpkin Loaf . Sprouted Kitchen

FIG BARS

Fig Bars . Sprouted Kitchen

We took the teeny snuggle bug for a picnic at "our spot" yesterday. He doesn't do much yet, but he does throw (be they accidental) smiles every now and then so we're going to assume he likes it there too. I've eaten on that hill dozens of times and have yet to pack as simple a meal as I did last night. Things have changed, we keep telling each other that. It didn't matter that the salad only included greens, dressing and parmesan, we needed out of the house. Curran is 18 days old, just tipping the scale somewhere over 8 lbs., so strangers are quick to come and look at him and coo. Two ladies, moms themselves, came over to our blanket as we were packing up and told me how proud they were of us for leaving the house with such a wee one. They wanted to know how I was doing, commiserated about how painful the healing part is, assured us that eventually it won't take an hour to pack a simple picnic and get out of the house. Or maybe it will, but it will become normal. I love where we live, but strangers don't engage in conversation all too often around here. It's sad, really, that it surprised me how friendly these ladies were. I was taken back at first and then so grateful. So grateful for their honesty and enthusiasm and friendliness. It was a small gesture but it reminded me of our need for community, our need for other people to draw from our humanity and be warmed by chatting about what we have in common. Be it motherhood for 18 days or years. Noted: talk to strangers. 

Don't think of these bars as a healthy Fig Newton. They taste nothing like them in a very good way. They taste light and barely sweet. I've been enjoying a larger bar for breakfast with some yogurt or packing up smaller pieces for running errands...yes, I pack snacks for errands. I imagine you could make a puree of dried apricots for the filling or another dried fruit you fancy. Either way, I am always collecting snack bars recipes and this is a keeper. 

Fig Bars . Sprouted Kitchen

FIG BARS // Makes 8 large or 16 small

Recipe adapted from The Vibrant Table by Anya Kassoff

These make for a perfectly sweetened snack or breakfast option. They are delicate and tender, so don't travel quite as well as your typical granola bar but are no less delicious. They are subtly sweet, not overly so which I really liked, but if you want more of a treat, simply add another few tablespoons sugar to the dough. These are wheat, dairy and egg free so work great for people with allergies. 

Figs come in two different colors, same goes for the dried variety. I used the lighter shade for these and it's the same color as the dough. Next time I will use dark ones so the contrast shows up. Tastes great either way but I'd prefer seeing the line of fig in between.

• 1 1/2 cups dried figs, soaked overnight in water
• 1/4 cup honey
• Juice and zest of one lemon
• 1 1/2 cups oat flour
• 1 cup almond flour
• 1/2 cup brown rice flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. sea salt
• 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1/3 cup almond butter
• 1/2 cup rolled oats, divided
• 5 Tbsp. coconut sugar, plus more for sprinkling (turbinado works as well)
• 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

Fig Bars . Sprouted Kitchen

Drain the figs, reserving the soaking liquid on the side. In a food processor, blend the soaked and drained figs with the honey and half the lemon juice. If your paste needs more liquid, add the soaking liquid 1 Tbsp. at a time. You want it thick, like jam, so use the liquid sparingly. You can make the fig puree up to three days in advance. 

Preheat the oven to 400'. In a mixing bowl, combine the oat, brown rice and almond flours along with the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix to combine. Add the remaing lemon juice and zest, almond milk, almond butter, half the oats, coconut sugar and vanilla and stir everything together to combine well. 

Line a 9x9 baking pan with parchment paper extending up the sides. Crumble half the dough into the bottom of the pan and press it down with clean fingers. Spread the fig puree on top in an even layer. Crumble the remaining dough on top of the fig puree and press it down so it sticks together, being careful not to disrupt the fig layer. Sprinkle the remaining oats on top and sprinkle with desired amount of coconut or turbinado sugar. 

Bake on the middle rack for 25 minutes. Remove to cool completely. Remove the bars with the parchment and gently cut into bars with a sharp knife (I found mine to be quite soft. Put them in the fridge for an hour to firm up for a cleaner cut).

Cover and keep stored in the fridge for up to a week. 

Fig Bars . Sprouted Kitchen