Hearty Eggs Benedict

Despite my immediate desire to eat chocolate in the morning, I tend to feel better if I eat a real breakfast (go figure). As a kid I was a no-breakfast type, preferring a cup of hot chocolate and nothing else. But my dad always ensured I ate something of breakfast-- grapefruit, toast with almond butter, cereal, and on the special days oven roasted hash browns or even Eggs Benedict. 

Now I love eggs for breakfast, and Eggs Benedict feels like a holiday to me because you have to get more than one pot dirty to make it, but it's always worth it. This particular Eggs Benedict recipes includes more than just Hollandaise sauce: with a bed of hash browns and a layer of lox, it's pretty hearty, in the best of ways. 

Just got home from a really long trip? Make this. 

Finished a tough work out? This. 

It's Saturday and you just need some time to yourself after the work week? Yup. 

Hearty Eggs Benedict

Primal, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free    |   Caitlin Sherwood    

Served over hash and lox, a poached egg is dressed with hollandaise sauce.

Serves: 2   |    Total Time: 30 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 2 egg yolks
• Juice from 1/2 lemon
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• Dash cayenne
• Dash salt
• Parsley, for garnish
• Pepper, to taste
• 2 eggs, poached or fried
• Hash browns of choice
• 2 servings lox

Directions:

1. Before making the sauce, prepare your hash browns to your liking, and cook your eggs (I prefer to leave the yolks runny).
2. Whisk together egg yolks with lemon until they become slightly lighter yellow. Place in small pot and heat over low, whisking continuously (or in a double boiler if you have one). After 3 minutes, pour in melted butter continuing to whisk the entire time. Continue to whisk until sauce thickens. Remove from heat. Add a dash of cayenne and salt to taste.
3. Serve: Make a layer of hash brown on each plate, and top with lox. Then place a fried or poached egg on top, before drizzling with sauce. Top with parsley leaves for garnish, a sprinkle of pepper and/or more cayenne to taste. Serve immediately.

Maple Ginger Red Kuri Squash

The unconventional Christmas has been my convention--my Dad was always a proponent of getting out of town during the holiday blur and Christmas at my moms was always lighthearted and casual with new recipes. We rarely ate the same thing year over year, choosing to test out creativity with ingredients like kuri squash, maple syrup, or ginger. 

The first year we left the country for Christmas I was probably eleven. We headed south, to Cuba, where the weather is hot and humid. The climate was so unlike the winter I knew that it was easy to forget what time of year it was all together. It felt like a surprise when Christmas day finally arrived and the plaza surged with people. Christmas in Cuba came and went without warning, though the people were jolly, and the festivities left a looming smell of tobacco on everything.  

Christmas in Vietnam was even more jumbled. On the coast it was again hot and humid, but with no national religion there were zero signs of silver bells or holly. Distracted by the sites, we barely noticed, until Christmas Day arrived, and children and adults alike crowded the streets wearing red Santa Claus hats. It was a confusing site to be honest: was this an expression of skepticism, celebration, or some of both? The next day all traces were gone. 

Two years later Christmas came and went without much more than a bat of an eye. I can't even tell you where in India we were on that day-- perhaps in a train car, or eating in a roof-top restaurant. The next week we went and saw the Dalai Lama speak and that was our gift, though the thought of presents was far out of mind. Perhaps that trip is part of why ginger is now nestled so close to my heart. 

The next year I spent Christmas at home. The snow came. We decorated our small tree. My mom got a coupon to The Honey Ham Store and we went and stood in line (for what felt like hours). My dad and I went to Christmas dinner and there were hand knitted sweaters, stockings, and snowy family hikes. I spent the week mystified. I guess people really do these things? These...Christmas things? Ugly sweaters? Those aren't just in movies? It was as if I had never experienced a Christmas before in my life though I most certainly had--and not just abroad, but back home, before the traveling began. Still, there was something about my age that left me with a little culture shock. 

I still shy away from the whimsy: flashing lights, long lines of people, shopping malls. Perhaps it's because of those years abroad or maybe I was never cut out for it (I do hate shopping). What I do love is bringing everyone together over a meal in the middle of an otherwise frosty winter. Touches of green (pine branches, eucalyptus wreaths, rosemary trees), glowing candles, and cozy dishes that warm your soul. Maple syrup is an ingredient that does that, don't you think? 

Maple Ginger Red Kuri Squash

Paleo, Primal, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free    |   Caitlin Sherwood    

Ginger, maple syrup, and butter are baked with red kuri squash.

Serves: 4   |    Total Time: 50 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 1 red kuri squash
• 1 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 heaping tablespoon fresh ginger (grated on microplane)
• Sprinkle of sea salt flakes

Directions:

1. Preheat over to 350° Half the squash and remove the seeds. Then, cut into wedges. Place in baking dish.
2. Melt butter in small dish. Stir in ginger and maple syrup. Using a brush, spread mixture over squash wedges. Sprinkle with salt.
3. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until squash is cooked through and crisp on edges.

Raw Gingerbread Energy Bites

When I first started thinking about all of the holiday goodies in the world and which ones I wanted to make (and share) this season, I jumped to gingerbread pretty much from the start. Even though I already have this recipe for grain-free gingerbread men on the site, I wanted to share another recipe because the cozy combination of spices is just quintessential wintertime for me. 

What I hadn't thought through yet, was how many sweets come with the holiday season, and how every year I wish for those classic holiday flavors in a healthier form. It was right around the time that I began researching for a chewy gingerbread cookie that my friends over at Made in Nature asked me if I would help them with some holiday recipes. Ding! It was as if the stars had aligned and everything came together. Of course. Why not make a chewy gingerbread bite using Made In Nature's Dates? 

I went to the Made In Nature test kitchen this morning... The end result is delicious.

These raw gingerbread cookies are something I would take climbing or skiing, but I also just grab one out of the fridge when I need a little something sweet. Heck, I'd even take a batch to a holiday cookie swamp-- it's always so nice to have something a little healthier in the mix. 

Made in Nature provided me with product and compensation for this blog post, but the recipes and opinions are all my own. Working with brands to develop wholesome recipes is one way I keep Foraged Dish going! Made In Nature helps me stock the pantry and keep the blog going. I only work with brands that I truly enjoy and use.  

Raw Gingerbread Energy Bites

Published December 15, 2016 by Caitlin Sherwood

Yield: 12   |    Active Time: 20 minutes

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Ingredients:

6-ounces pitted Deglet Noor dates

1/2 cup pecans

1/2 cup unsweetened desiccated coconut

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated on microplane

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients in a food processor and run until the a sticky crumb forms. Everything should stay together when pinched between two fingers.
2. Roll mixture together by the tablespoonful to make a single bite. Place on a plate and repeat until all of the mixture is used.
3. Store in an air-tight container in the fridge.