French Toast and fresh peaches

I finally got the inspiration to post one of my culinary creations and ironically, it is probably one of the simplest recipes you could possibly make. 

One of my favorite activities is to have a quiet Saturday or Sunday morning with a hot cup of coffee and a great breakfast. French toast has become a favorite of mine - it is easy to make and can be dressed up with some fresh fruit to make it even better. 

Recently, I got some fresh peaches in my produce box and immediately wanted to use them as a topping for french toast. 

Here's the recipe with inexact amounts (you can't really screw it up - it is super easy):

Mix together 1 egg, half a cup of milk, a teaspoon of vanilla, about 2 small spoonfuls of sugar, and a teaspoon of cinnamon. Slice some high-quality bread (the egg mixture above will be enough for about 4 small slices of bread). I use sourdough  - SF has the best sourdough bread. Get a griddle on the stove and spread some butter on the surface. Once the griddle is nice and hot, dip the bread slices in the egg mixture and make sure it soaks into the bread. Place the bread slices on the griddle, let them cook until the bottom side is browned and then flip. Cook until both sides are browned. 

While the french toast is cooking, cut up your favorite fresh fruit topping (peaches, strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries are all good). Melt some butter in a small skillet and throw in the cut up fruit and caramelize the fruit in the butter until it is heated through. Warm up some real maple syrup (don't skimp and buy Aunt Jemima - there is a huge difference) in the microwave for 20 seconds. Put it all together as in the picture above and enjoy. Not exactly a super healthy breakfast, but a darn good one. 

Japanese Breakfast

There's something beautiful and simple about a Japanese breakfast. Fried eggs with soft centers over rice, sprinkled with black sesame and white salt. Some vinegar cucumbers add a little bit of freshness to the morning meal.

The little boat of soy sauce allows for each person to have just the right amount on their bowl.

Eat. Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Muffins

This morning I thought maybe I'd make pancakes but I didn't have any milk and I wasn't sure you could make them without it. So then I thought about muffins and I did have sour cream so I looked for recipes that used that. I didn't have any berries though which would have made great muffins, so I had no choice but to make chocolate chip muffins! This recipe matched my ingredients and that was that. Not healthy in any way, shape or form, and not appetizing at all in the picture, but it made a nice Sunday breakfast.

Scrambled Eggs with Tomato, Goat Cheese & Avocado

Well I thought I had better post something before Louisa loses all faith in me! So apologies for the lack of picture - but scrambled eggs aren't generally that pretty anyway. I know that everyone probably feels that breakfast is the easiest meal to cook, but I think it actually takes a lot more attention than the average person puts into it to get all the ingredients cooked just right. To start, I sauteed the chopped tomatoes in a little olive oil on medium-low heat and sprinkled in a little salt and freshly ground pepper. I heard that ground pepper releases flavor as it heats which is why I added it while cooking as well as after. Then I fluffed a couple eggs in a bowl with a fork before throwing them in the pan (I also salt the egg mixture a little to get the flavor going) - I would actually suggest scrambling then separately from the tomatoes as I found that the water that cooked out of the tomatoes messed with the consistency of the eggs. You could just remove them from the pan to a plate, toss the juice, spray the pan and throw the eggs in the same pan. If you find that your scrambled eggs often turn out dry and "hard", the trick is to cook them at an incredibly low heat, stirring with a spatula slowly and constantly. You should find that the lower portion of the liquid eggs is cooking but the top remains liquid. Also you should use a fairly small pan so the egg isn't spread so thin across it that it all cooks at once. As you keep turning the eggs, moving the cooked portions around and allowing the liquid portions to cook, you should soon find the eggs almost completely cooked - it happens very fast so be prepared to toss in the cheese and tomatoes and turn a few times more before it's completely cooked. Serve immediately topped with sliced avocado, salt and pepper to taste. Boo-yah! The fluffiest eggs ever.