Accidentally Eggless

I literally woke up thinking about peanut butter french toast this morning. It's as if it came to me in a dream, and I knew as soon as my eyes popped open that I was making a beeline to the kitchen. I could taste what I was about to create... that crunchy outer layer filled with gooey, delicious peanut butter, dunked in a blueberry sauce. I started the water for my coffee and began gathering the necessary ingredients. I grabbed the bread, the peanut butter, some cinnamon, and a bottle of vanilla. All I needed now was an egg, one little egg... that I didn't have! Oh no, now what?! I pushed the plunger on my french press and poured myself a cup of coffee. I took stock of the items on my counter and began to formulate a plan. I certainly wasn't going to give up just because we were out of eggs. What I managed to come up with was quite scrumptious, if I do say so myself. I started by layering peanut butter between two pieces of whole grain bread. Then I coated each side of the sandwich in a batter made of almond milk, coconut oil, whole wheat flour, chickpea flour, and a little sugar and spice to round it out. I toasted both sides in a skillet and cut the sandwich into sticks. For the sauce, I whipped together a few spoonfuls of blueberry syrup and vanilla yogurt and got to dunking! Mmmm, mmmm. Who needs eggs, anyway?!

Batter for french toast:

1/2 C almond milk

2 Tbsp whole wheat flour

2 Tbsp chickpea flour

1 Tbsp maple syrup

1 Tbsp coconut oil

1 Tbsp ground almonds

2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp cinnamon

pinch of salt

pinch of nutmeg

Mix all ingredients together to form batter, thoroughly coat each piece of bread and cook on medium heat until golden brown on each side

Blueberry Yogurt Sauce:

equal parts blueberry syrup and vanilla yogurt

Sweet Citrus Concoction

This morning started out leisurely as I shuffled down to the kitchen to start cooking up a comforting breakfast. The ipod was playing, the coffee was brewing and I was easing into my day. I sliced up some fresh wheat bread, dipped it in a mixture of eggs, milk, and vanilla and patiently turned every little cube to ensure that each edge was perfectly toasted. I dusted the pieces with cinnamon sugar and skewered them, adding a twist of minneola to each stick just to be fancy. (I am a stylist, after all) It was shaping up to be a good morning. Coffee was steaming hot, adorable breakfast was plated, now all I needed was the maple syrup. Maple syrup?... did I buy maple syrup last time I was at the store? My heart sank just a little. Sure enough, when I opened the cabinet it was Old Mother Hubbard style - completely bare. Luckily, I had the rest of the juicy minneola from my garnish, a scoop of brown sugar and a dollop of apricot jam at my disposal. Cooked over medium heat, while my skewers stayed warm in the oven, the concoction yielded a delightfully sweet and citrusy glaze that complimented the cinnamon coated french toast. Necessity IS the mother of invention.

Sinful Sunday

Gluttony on a Sunday, is that a sin? If it is, I'm guilty.  This morning, I made stuffed french toast with fresh peaches and mascarpone cheese.  I started with two thick slices of whole grain artisanal bread.  I coated the bread in a mixture of egg, half and half, vanilla, and cinnamon.  Then I tossed the peaches in a pan with some butter and balsamic to give them a decadent glaze. After toasting the bread to a golden brown, I spread on the mascarpone cheese and poured the gooey peaches over the top. Organic maple syrup topped the whole thing off and it was so good I wanted to lick the plate.  It was a religious experience.  It is Sunday, after all.