Holiday Orange Cranberry Bread

What a wonderful time of year to bake for friends, family, coworkers, everybody!  This festive bread makes use of the cranberries and oranges that are abundant during winter, and no yeast which means no rising time.  Just mix and bake!  

Holiday Orange Cranberry Bread

I'll keep it short and sweet today; so many holiday things to get done!  The original recipe came from a Christmas card from a friend in junior high who must have known that I'd learn how to cook someday.  If any of you have kids in your lives I encourage you to include them in your kitchen, share recipes with them, and have them practice counting and measuring and mixing.

I made an extra loaf using applesauce from my canning spree this past fall, so I can enjoy both the cranberry goodness and my local ingredients.  

Local ingredient highlights this time are the basics:
Eggs - Clifford Farm
Flour - Lehi Roller Mills
Applesauce, homemade and canned this fall!


Holiday Orange Cranberry Bread

INGREDIENTS
Makes 1 loaf

2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
10 Tbsp orange juice (juice of 2-3 oranges) OR 10 Tbsp applesauce
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup cranberries (thawed)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350.
Prepare a loaf pan (parchment paper or grease the bottom only).
Slice all cranberries in half.
In a large bowl, mix together all dry ingredients.
Add all wet ingredients except cranberries and mix until everything is moistened.
Gently fold in cranberries.
Pour dough into prepared loaf pan and bake for about 45 minutes; use the toothpick test.
Let cool for at least 5 minutes in the pan, then finish cooling on a rack or plate.  This bread does not slice well while hot so let it cool completely before slicing.

Toothpick test: Stick a toothpick into the center and pull it out.  If it comes out with any dough on it, bake the bread for another 5-10 minutes.  If it comes out completely clean, the bread is done.  If it comes out with cranberry on it, get a new toothpick and poke it into a different place. 

Slices of fresh orange cranberry bread, ready for breakfast!

Crock Pot Steel Cut Oatmeal

I haven't fallen off the planet!  I started a super exciting winter internship with the Green Urban Lunchbox so I will be cutting back my food posting for a few months.  I am still cooking, although I need to get a new memory card and card reader before I can get back to photo-taking.  Don't worry, it will happen. 

Busy days mean not much time for breakfast, so boy is it a nice surprise to wake up to oatmeal that's already cooked and ready to be served.  Crock pot to the rescue!  Every crock pot is a little different so I suggest trying this recipe out during the day first so you can verify the time and temperature for yours.  The Low setting on mine cooked it too much after 7 hours but keeping it on Warm works well.  This is a mish-mash of various recipes online, tweaked to my liking. 

This recipe has endless variation possibilities.  The canned pears have enough sweetness in them that I don't add any sugar.  Raisins can be thrown in if you like them big and juicy like grapes... not my thing but some people like that.  :)

Make sure to use steel-cut oats and not rolled oats, which get super mushy in crock pots.  Side note, Quaker is a unit of Pepsi, which is a GMO-supporting-company, so I avoid that brand. 


Crock Pot Steel Cut Oatmeal
Serves 2 very hungry people or 4 medium-hungry people

INGREDIENTS
1 cup steel-cut oats, uncooked (I like Bob's Red Mill or McCanns in the round white can)
1 pint canned pears or 2 cups sliced/peeled/cored apples (fruit optional but delicious)
3 to 3-1/2 cups liquid, including liquid from pears (I use 2 cups milk, pear juice, and the rest water)
1/4 tsp cinnamon

DIRECTIONS
1. Pour all ingredients in crock pot.  Stir.
2. Set to warm for 7-8 hours
3. Get a good night's sleep knowing you have a delicious hot breakfast waiting for you!

Pear Turnovers

Mini Pear Turnovers

Utah is a wonderful place to be during pear season.  Thanks to a volunteer afternoon with The Green Urban Lunchbox, I got a large bowlful of fresh pears that all turned a lovely yellow which is of course the best time to enjoy them.  I have memories of a pear tree in my backyard as a kid and although I didn't care for the scent of the flowers, biting into a perfect sun-warmed yellow pear was pure joy. 

This batch of pears called out for something extra special and I was struck with inspiration... probably a Pinterest photo of something else that made me think of turnovers.  I didn't feel like looking up a recipe so I made one up.  This makes 18 so I had some to play with variations; the recipe below is for the best one.  :)

I used frozen puff-pastry.  I'm not one to spend time rolling and re-rolling pastry dough.  Pull it out of the freezer and unwrap it so it can thaw on the counter for 10-15 minutes, unfold it onto parchment paper and let thaw another 5 minutes or so, and you're all set.

The frozen pastry I get comes in a tri-fold so there are already marks to split it into three.  Split each one of those into three so you have nine small squares from each sheet.  Put a small slice of pear in the center of each one (more won't fit) and fold the edges over into a triangle, pressing the edges together. Note, don't mash the pears, use a whole slice; it holds together much better during baking.

Make an egg wash (beaten egg with a tablespoon-ish of water) and brush over each pastry.  This makes them shiny and crunchy.  Sprinkle cinnamon-sugar over the tops of them.  I made some with this and some without and it makes a huge difference.  Serve warm or cold, with Caramel Sauce for dipping.  Yum!

Mini Pear Turnovers

Mini Pear Turnovers
From Someplace That's Green
Makes 18

INGREDIENTS
18 slices of ripe pear - Bartlett preferred.  (3-4 pears)
Box of frozen puff pastry (I use Pepperidge Farms)
1 Egg
1 Tbsp water
Cinnamon-sugar

DIRECTIONS
1.  Thaw the puff pastry and cut into squares.  There are two packages per box and each makes 9 squares.
2.  Put a small slice of pear onto each pastry.  Fold the edges over and press closed.  If the pear is too large to let it close, cut it smaller.  Closing is important.
3.  Arrange triangles on parchment paper on a baking sheet.
4.  Gently beat egg and water together in a small bowl to make egg wash.  Brush this over every pastry.
5.  Sprinkle cinnamon sugar over each pastry.
6.  Bake in 400-degree oven for about 15 minutes or until golden brown and puffy.
7.  Serve with caramel sauce and smiles.

Whole Wheat Zucchini Muffins

Whole wheat zucchini muffins plus sunshine

It's zucchini time!  How best to savor the zucchini goodness?  There are SO many ways, so take advantage of your farmers markets and gardens!  Can't use it all at once?  Muffins and biscuits freeze well, and here is a link to freeze your fresh zucchini (you can blanch it or not, depending on what you're doing with it in the future).  I hear stories of overwhelmed gardeners who leave extra zucchini in vehicles with windows down or on random doorsteps and I hope to get the word out that my doorstep is zucchini-friendly.  :) 

Some previous excellent zucchini recipes:
Cheddar Zucchini Biscuits
Zucchini Fritters
October Chicken Soup and Stock

I have been looking forward to zucchini season to test out some bread and muffin recipes and the first one I tried is a winner, from 100 Days of Real Food.  This is a great blog with all sorts of information and ideas for cutting processed foods out of your diet.

Now, onward to the making!  If you're short on time, you can grate the zucchini a day or two before and refrigerate it so everything is ready to go.  Yellow squash would work well too, either in addition or in place of the zucchini, and next time I may add a handful of grated carrots for extra veggie goodness.  I used coconut oil instead of my usual olive oil or applesauce.  Did you know Costco sells this now?  I have also found it for a reasonable price at a local middle-eastern market, so if you don't want to pay the regular grocery store price keep an eye out, there are other options.  As always, look for ingredients at ethnic-focused stores, you might be amazed at how much money you can save, and a lot of these are small family owned places who I love to support. 

Local kudos go to the Wasatch Front Farmers Market for mountains of zucchini, Clifford Farm for the wildflower honey and fresh eggs, and Spoons 'n Spice Kitchenware for the beautiful plate/tray.

Zucchini Muffins, ready to eat!

Whole Wheat Zucchini Muffins or Bread
From 100 Days of Real Food

INGREDIENTS
3 cups whole-wheat flour
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
3/4 cup oil (or coconut oil)
1/2 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups grated zucchini
1 cup chopped nuts or raisins (optional)

DIRECTIONS
1.  Preheat oven to 300 degrees F for small loaf pans or 325 degrees F for large loaf pan or muffins.
2.  Blend the dry ingredients.
3.  Make a well (or hole) in the center and pour in the eggs, oil, honey and vanilla. Stir just until mixed – do not overmix.
4.  Fold in the grated zucchini and nuts or raisins.
5.  Pour batter into greased loaf pan(s) or muffin holders and bake until a toothpick comes clean in the top/center of the loaf or muffin.  (this is a thick heavy batter and it doesn't rise much in the muffin shape so go ahead and fill those babies!)
 - If using smaller pans bake for 30 – 40 minutes. (fills approx. four small loaf pans)
 - For one larger loaf pan bake for 50 – 60 minutes.
 - For muffins bake for 15 – 20 minutes. (mine were perfect at 20 minutes, makes about a dozen and a half)

6.  Serve warm with butter, cold for breakfast, or in lunch bags for afternoon pick-me-ups.  Enjoy and don’t forget to freeze the leftovers!

Berry Maple Syrup

We're getting close to berry season!  This makes a special treat for breakfast and is a great way to use up that giant container of berries that's on a great sale but won't get eaten before they go bad.  This will definitely get eaten. 

Fresh strawberries are a great breakfast combo.  I love this with cranberries and like to get a stash for the freezer when they go on sale in December.  Blueberries work very well too, or a combination!  The only thing I don't recommend is frozen strawberries since they lose their color and texture when frozen, those are better saved for smoothies. 

Cranberry Maple Syrup on sourdough French Toast

Berry Maple Syrup
Serve over french toast, pancakes, waffles, ice cream, etc.

INGREDIENTS
2 cups any kind of berries, fresh or frozen
2 cups maple syrup - go for the real stuff!

DIRECTIONS
1. If frozen: Mix ingredients together in a pot on medium-high, shaking/stirring frequently, until the cranberries are defrosted.  If not frozen, start at step 2.
2. Turn down to medium and stir occasionally until the mixture gets bubbly.  Some berries will pop when they heat up so make use of those kitchen aprons!
3. Turn burner to low and keep warm until ready to serve.

(tags: cranberry syrup, blueberry syrup, strawberry syrup)

How to Poach an Egg

Poached eggs are made by magic.  Or practice.  Something like that.  I learned the secrets at a technique class at Williams-Sonoma, where I got a front-row seat and watched with fascination as the magic happened over and over again right in front of my eyes.  Hey, I can do that!

Perfect poached egg, nice and gooey inside

A poached egg is what's used for eggs benedict and can be served over all sorts of other delicious things like toast or hash browns or lentils. If you have tried cooking them without knowing the tricks you've probably ended up with messes like mine - a weirdly rubbery yolk and a pot full of egg white soup.  Well, no more of that.

First of all, use fresh eggs.  The easiest way to know they are fresh is to buy them from a farmer instead of a grocery store. 

Second, do not use a saucepan with high edges.  The best egg poaching pans have low sides so you can get the raw egg very close to the water before pouring it in, like a saute pan.

The bowl of ice water isn't strictly necessary but is a convenient place to put all of the finished eggs, plus it helps to clear off the ghosty bits and make them look prettier.

A poached egg over curried lentils, every bit as delicious as it looks.

Poached Eggs
INGREDIENTS & SUPPLIES
Water
1 tsp white vinegar (this is very important)
Eggs
Saute pan
Slotted spoon
Bowl of ice water

DIRECTIONS
1.   Set up the water.  In a large pan with low sides, bring enough water to a simmer that the egg will have space to float and not touch the bottom of the pan.  A simmer is just below a boil.  It may be easiest to bring it to a boil first then turn the temp down.  Add 1 tsp white vinegar. This helps the egg white stay together instead of being soup.

2. Crack the egg into a small dish or ramekin (not directly into the water).  Not only does this make it easy to get out shells if the egg cracks badly, this lets you control the pouring into the water. 

3. Slowly and gently pour the egg into the simmering water.  Pour it so the white clumps together in one place, then plop the yolk right in the center of it.  If you're making several, pour the first egg at the 12 o'clock location and continue clockwise, so it's easy to keep track of which you put in first.  If the white of the first egg didn't stay together, add an extra teaspoon of vinegar before putting in the second egg.  

4. Cover and simmer the eggs for three to five minutes.  Five minutes makes the yolk harder with a soft center.

5.Starting at the 12 o'clock egg -
For a large batch of eggs: Lift the eggs out of the water with a slotted spoon and drop them into a bowl of ice water.  Just before serving, use the slotted spoon to move all of the cold eggs back to the simmering water for one minute to heat them back up.

For a small batch of eggs: Lift the eggs out of the water with a slotted spoon and set them on a paper towel lined dish until serving time.

6. Optional - set each poached egg on a cutting board and trim the edges with a paring knife so they are whatever shape you like.

Curried Lentil Hash

Curried Lentil Hash

I came up with this as something unusual to put poached eggs on top of.  Hash browns are delicious but can be boring after a while and it's nice to change things out.  Lentils have that nice starchiness that goes well with eggs and invite fresh garden vegetables like carrots and celery to the breakfast table.  

Lentils are great because they are available dried, very inexpensive, and do not require soaking like a lot of dried beans do.  The bag I bought did not specify what color they are, but they look greenish/brownish - lentils also come in yellow, red, and orange, so make breakfast colorful!  I chose chicken stock to cook the lentils in to impart some extra flavor. 

Curried Lentil Hash

INGREDIENTS
1 Cup dried lentils
2 Cups chicken stock or water (20-24 ice cubes, melted)
1/4 tsp salt
1 Cup grated carrot (about 3 medium carrots)
1 medium white or yellow onion, chopped finely

3 stalks celery, chopped finely
1 Tbsp oil
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1/3 cup flour
1 egg, beaten


DIRECTIONS

1. First, wash and sort the lentils.  This is very important to make sure there are no rocks or other strange things in your meal.  Yes, my bag did have a rock in it, and I pulled out a dozen or so lentils that looked a bit off.  I don't think lentil sorting is an exact science.

2. Pour the washed lentils into a saucepan and add the chicken stock.  Note, do not add salt!  Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer (a few bubbles but not boiling) and cook uncovered for 20 to 30 minutes, until they are soft and not crunchy.

3. While the lentils are cooking, saute the vegetables with curry powder, pepper, 1 Tbsp oil, and 1/4 cup of water until onions are soft.  Remove from heat and let cool.

4. Strain lentils through a fine mesh sieve.  I suggest straining them over a bowl because the leftover broth is delicious!  Don't let the strange gray color keep you from trying it!  Stir 1/4 tsp salt into the warm lentils.

5. Mix lentils and veggies together, then stir in flour and egg.  Mash a little.  The process is a lot like hash browns from here on.

6. Heat a frying pan with a little oil and add a layer of lentil mix.  Cook for about five minutes then flip over, in sections, and cook the other side.  Adding more oil will make the edges crispier.

7. Serve with poached eggs and toast.

Bread Pudding

Time for Dessert? Check.
Rum? Check.
Bread? Check.
Sold!

My day-old loaf of bread is being put to excellent loving use today and becoming bread pudding.  Yes I do have a lot of dessert favorites, I promise I'll post more healthy stuff too.  This recipe is adjusted from a basic one on Allrecipes (original here).  Bread pudding is a lot like french toast if you think about it, so it could make a delicious bake-ahead breakfast or Easter brunch.  For dessert, try serving it with vanilla ice cream or topping it with rum sauce, or both.

Bread Pudding with rum and raisins

Local ingredient features:
Sunflower Honey Oat bread from Crumb Brothers (This is SO good and you should try it if you can!)
Eggs from Clifford Farm
Milk from Winder Farm

My Jessica-version of the instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.  This works best if you don't get distracted and do other things for an hour instead of preparing the bread.

2. Break bread into small pieces into an 8" or 9" square baking pan.  Press it down tight so it's all super friendly and if you can fit in another couple of pieces of bread go for it!  I think the best bread puddings are the nice tightly packed ones.  A note about the bread I chose, the sunflower seeds made a great addition to the texture of the final dessert.

3. Pour melted butter over the top of the bread and sprinkle with raisins.  I used half golden and half regular.  I bet the raisins would be great mixed in with the bread squares too but I just left them on top.

4. In a medium mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, and rum.  Beat the eggs before adding the other ingredients, it's tough to beat them properly with all the milk and stuff in there.  Beat until well mixed. 

5. Pour over bread, and then comes the SQUISHING!  Um I mean, lightly push down with a fork until bread is covered and soaking up the egg mixture. Or you could do it the fun way and (wash your hands first) squish it all down with your hands!  I want to make this again just for this step.

6. Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until the top springs back when lightly tapped.

7. Note that raisins straight out of the oven are super hot.  Also, this is great straight from the fridge for breakfast, but don't eat it cold because it is better warmed up, you will thank me.  45 seconds in the microwave should do it.  Enjoy!


Bread Pudding with Rum and Raisins
INGREDIENTS
8 slices day-old bread
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1/2 cup raisins (I suggest half regular and half golden)
4 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp spiced rum (or substitute 1 tsp vanilla extract)

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Break bread into small pieces into an 8" or 9" square baking pan.  Press it down tight.

3. Pour melted butter over the top of the bread and sprinkle with raisins.

4. In a medium mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, and rum. Beat until well mixed. 

5. Pour over bread, and lightly push down until bread is covered and soaking up the egg mixture. 

6. Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes.

Walnut Biscotti

Biscotti is a comfort food to me in a meditation kind of way.  When I eat it, I pay complete attention to it - the scent and flavor, the texture before and after dipping it into my coffee, the lovely brown color.  When I am eating biscotti there is nothing more important in that moment to be doing.  It's somehow Peace in food form.

Hiding biscotti under a layer of chocolate seems like a waste, so there is no chocolate in this recipe.  The delicate flavors shine through and mingle with the coffee aroma and the texture after a quick dunk is perfection.  This biscotti is small and simple, not too sweet, and seems very popular with those who I gave samples to.  Making more is certainly not a bad way to spend a weekend morning!

I did start with a recipe (from America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book) but it's easily open to interpretation and adjustment so I ended up using this as a general guideline.

First, toast the walnuts.  This brings out the best flavor in the nuts and makes the kitchen smell delicious.  I set the butter on a dish on top of the stove so the oven heat softens it enough for the mixing step.  A note about the quantity: I am a person who doubles things like nuts and chocolate chips.  If you do this too, don't do it for this recipe, more than 1 cup of nuts makes the dough a bit unwieldy and it won't hold together right.

Toasted walnuts

 Mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a small or medium bowl.  Save the large bowl for the next step.  This is something I've learned about baking, it seems like the flour is the biggest ingredient and should go into the biggest bowl, but it usually gets mixed into the wet ingredients.

Crack the eggs into separate small containers and measure the vanilla into one of them.  This makes it easy to keep the electric mixer on and just pour in the ingredients as needed instead of stopping for each addition.  

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together using an electric mixer on medium speed 3 to 6 minutes until it's well mixed - it will appear light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla extract until combined, about 30 seconds.  It looks a bit like frosting at this point.

Mixed wet ingredients

Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly mix in the flour mixture until combined, about 30 seconds. I switch to a mixing spoon after the first half of the flour so it doesn't tax the mixer motor too much.  Stir in the walnuts and zest until just incorporated.  Separate the dough into two balls of approximately equal size, one for each loaf. 

Dough ready to be formed into loaves

Balls of walnut biscotti dough

Press the dough into two 13- by 2-inch loaves on a large counter or cutting board and move to the prepared baking sheet, spaced about 3 inches apart.  Flatten slightly if you want the long thin biscotti shapes, or leave them more rounded on top for a fatter taller cookie.  The dough is very sticky at this point so it's better to use a surface that isn't parchment paper for forming the loaves; it's ok if it sticks once you put it onto the paper for baking, it doesn't stick at the end.  I did mine with square-ish shapes and they puffed up nicely.

Uncooked biscotti loaves

Bake the loaves until golden and just beginning to crack at the top, about 35 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through the baking.

Walnut biscotti loaves after first baking

Let the loaves cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 325°F.

Almost done!  When cool enough to handle, transfer the loaves to a cutting board and slice each on the diagonal into 1/2-inch-thick slices with a serrated knife. They are a bit fragile at this point so take your time.  Use a gentle sawing motion to keep crumbs to a minimum and preserve the shape of the biscotti.  The diagonal is what makes them the right shape.  Of course the best part of this shape is the two resulting corner pieces of each loaf which are the cook's prerogative to enjoy.

Slicing biscotti at a diagonal - look at that delicious corner!

Lay the slices about 1/2-inch apart on the baking sheet and bake until crisp and golden brown on both sides, about 15 minutes, turning the slices over halfway through the baking. I found this easily done by using chopsticks.  Tip: face them all the same direction on the cookie sheet (such as all the tops to the left) so when it comes time to turn them over it's easy to see which have been turned.

Transfer the biscotti to a wire rack and let cool completely before serving.  Okay who am I kidding, these are delicious warm and didn't even see my cooling rack.  :)  Enjoy!  I suggest making a double batch for sharing.  Store in an airtight container to keep them crunchy.

Walnut Biscotti
INGREDIENTS
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder1/4 tsp salt
4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup walnuts, chopped
1 Tbsp dried orange zest (use fresh if available)


1. Toast walnuts: Heat oven to 375.  Cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Spread chopped nuts on the cookie sheet then bake for 5 to 10 minutes.  Watch them closely and take them out as soon as they smell toasted, they can burn very quickly.

2. Lower the oven temp to 350.  Prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper (can use the same one once it cools).

3. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl.

4. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together using an electric mixer on medium speed 3 to 6 minutes until it's well mixed - it will appear light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla extract until combined, about 30 seconds.

5. Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly mix in the flour mixture until combined, about 30 seconds. Switch to a mixing spoon and mix in the walnuts and zest until just incorporated.

6.  Press the dough into two 13- by 2-inch loaves on a large counter or cutting board and move to the prepared baking sheet, spaced about 3 inches apart. Bake the loaves until golden and just beginning to crack at the top, about 35 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through the baking.

7. Let the loaves cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 325°F.

8. When cool enough to handle, transfer the loaves to a cutting board and slice each on the diagonal into 1/2-inch-thick slices with a serrated knife. Lay the slices about 1/2-inch apart on the baking sheet and bake until crisp and golden brown on both sides, about 15 minutes, flipping the slices over halfway through the baking. Transfer the biscotti to a wire rack to cool.  Store in an airtight container to keep them crunchy.  

Hash Browns with Yams (Moved to SomeplaceThatsGreen.com)

Hash browns with yams

Hash browns have always been a challenge for me, but I finally figured out the trick!  Cooking the potatoes first means they don't end up half burnt and half uncooked, and the lovely crispy edges come from cooking in oil. This recipe can easily be multiplied if you have a giant soup pot for boiling them and is a great way to preserve potatoes.

Adding yams brings a new character to boring potatoes, a bright sweet note plus a bit of color. Peeling brings the focus to the flavor rather than the texture.  I usually use Russet potatoes but a smooth buttery Yukon Gold would be great too.  If it were easier to find the bright purple potatoes locally I would add them too just for the color surprise!  I think the best part about this recipe is that there is no need to drown it in cheese or to add any at all for that matter.  This dish especially lends itself to a partnership with an egg.  I love them poached or over-easy and dropped on top just before serving.

This seems like it would freeze well but I haven't had good luck with the potatoes keeping their flavor and texture after being in the freezer, so I don't suggest doing that.  

Hash browns with yams and thyme

I've moved this recipe over to my new blog, SomeplaceThatsGreen.com - please check it out HERE!