Carolina Kitchen

Creamy Sweet Potato Breakfast Shake

With oat milk Have you noticed all the “milks” these days in your dairy department? We’re into oat milk! It’s flavorful and makes great shakes, especially when paired with NC sweet potatoes. Whip up a batch for a filling breakfast, or freeze and eat as a custardy ice cream too! 1½ cups frozen sweet potato (approximately) 1 small ripe banana 1 cup creamy oat milk ½ cup vanilla yogurt 1 tablespoon hemp or chia seeds (we used a combination) 1 teaspoon each vanilla and almond extracts 1 tablespoon honey

Pinch of salt

A couple dashes of cinnamon

To do ahead of time: roast and peel several sweet potatoes (any kind). Cut into 1-inch chunks and flash freeze on a tray. Put pieces into a zippered bag once frozen to use when needed.

To make the shake, put all ingredients into a blender and whirl until nice and creamy. If too thick, add a little more milk for the consistency you like.

Garnish with a dusting of cinnamon and seeds.

Yield: 2 shakes, about 1½ cups each Unless otherwise noted, recipes on these pages are from Wendy Perry, a culinary adventurist and blogger, who chats about goodness around NC on her blog at WendysHomeEconomics.com.

Easy Cheesy Everything Bagels Kick your morning off right with these gluten- and carb-free bagels. Just a touch of red pepper offers a little pizazz, but leave it out if you’re not a fan — or add more if you are! A sprinkling of Everything Bagel Seasoning tops them off. Enjoy as is, or with avocado or cream cheese. 2 cups grated, melty-type cheese (like cheddar, Swiss, provolone, mozzarella) 1 cup grated, hard and dry cheese (like

Parmesan, Asiago, Romano or Gouda) 4 eggs, lightly beaten ½–1 teaspoon crushed red pepper ½ cup chopped chives ¼ cup Everything Bagel Seasoning

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly oil a doughnut pan.

Combine all ingredients except the “Everything” seasoning. Stir until well mixed.

Divide into doughnut pan (fills 12 cavities) and press down lightly with the back of a spoon. Scatter the seasoning.

Bake 12–15 minutes or until puffy and lightly browned. Let stand about 10 minutes in pan before removing.

Serve with avocado, guacamole, cream cheese or whatever you like!

Yield: 12 bagels

Sunny Side Up Breakfast Salad

With ginger-maple vinaigrette Who says salads can’t be enjoyed for breakfast? Many communities now have year-round farmers’ markets, so bundle up and visit yours. Or find “rainbow” toppings in your grocer’s produce department. No need for exact ingredient amounts for this salad, but check out what we put on ours for inspiration. Dressing ½ cup fresh orange juice

Zest of 1 orange 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice ¼ cup light oil of choice 1 tablespoon rice vinegar 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger 4 teaspoons maple syrup ½ teaspoon salt

Fresh cracked black pepper Salad Winter greens (we used a kale mix) Roasted acorn squash Persimmon Pomegranate arils Blueberries Clementines Dragon fruit Nuts Slices of cheese Quinoa salad (from the deli counter) Eggs (we prefer sunny side up!)

For dressing, combine ingredients in jar and refrigerate for up to 1 week (makes about 1 cup).

For salad, set aside some time to prep all your ingredients for the week so you can quickly enjoy a rainbow salad for breakfast before the hustle and bustle of the day begins. Slice, dice, peel, roast and refrigerate so you’ll only need to toss it all together and throw an egg on top. Or if you prefer, boil some eggs and use those instead.

To roast acorn squash: wash, slice in half and remove seeds. Slice into 1-inch thick half-moons. Toss with oil and roast at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes.

From Your Kitchen

Chocolate Espresso Banana Bread The espresso and dark cocoa powders lend rich undertones to this fudgy bread. Chocolate cake for breakfast? Absolutely! 1¼ cups all-purpose flour ¼ cup dark cocoa powder (we used Hershey’s

Special Dark) 2 teaspoons instant espresso powder (or sub instant coffee) 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 1 stick butter 1 cup sugar 2 large eggs 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2–3 brown bananas) ½ cup sour cream 1 teaspoon vanilla ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, optional Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a loaf pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking soda and salt until well combined.

Using a hand mixer, cream butter and sugar together for about 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time.

Mix in dry ingredients. Add banana, sour cream and vanilla.

Pour into loaf pan. If desired, top with chips.

Bake for 55 minutes. Bread is done when a toothpick comes out clean.

Recipe courtesy of Erin Binkley, Wake Forest, a member of Wake Electric

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