Brunch

Cinnamon Brioche French Toast

French toast is one of those foods that takes me back to my childhood. My mom used to take me to the YMCA in Philadelphia and they taught us kids how to make french toast. So now here I am in Texas, still making french toast and still needing a step stool to reach cupboards. Enjoy!

Here’s a photo of me trying out a french toast recipe at home at our apartment in Upper Darby:

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Tomato Avocado Orzo Summer Salad

I like walking through the grocery store and seeing a bounty of summer veggies to choose from. The mini tomatoes always seem to catch my husband’s eye and are a fun snack with cheese and crackers. I had some leftover orzo pasta in the pantry that needed to be used up so there’s my boring inspiration for a yummy summer salad. Enjoy!

Ingredients (4 servings)

  • 1 cup uncooked orzo pasta
  • 1 pint mixed mini tomatoes, quartered
  • 1 avocado, small cubes
  • 6-10 leaves of fresh basil (depending on size) – chiffonade
  • 1 tsp / 1 clove minced garlic
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 c fresh grated parmesan cheese
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Heat oil and garlic on low-medium heat until fragrant (2-3 min) and then keep pan warm on simmer setting.
  2. Cook orzo pasta per package directions, drain excess water and transfer pasta to pan with oil/garlic and stir to coat.
  3. Add tomatoes and stir to combine and leave on gentle heat (simmer) for 5-6 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  4. When ready to serve – remove from heat and add avocado, basil and cheese and gently stir to combine.

Fig and Citrus Salad

There are some things that I look forward to all year – one of those things is fig season. Whether they are the Black Mission, Brown Turkey, or Tiger Stripe variety, I always make it a point to head to Trader Joe’s the last few weeks of August to stock up on the deliciousness. My absolute favorite fig is the Tiger Stripe both in appearance and flavor and so I chose to use them this time but any fresh fig will do. Enjoy!

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Blueberry Buckwheat Oatmeal Pancakes

Blueberries. Buckwheat. Oatmeal. Three of my favorite things! Sunday brunch feels incomplete without a fluffy pancake treat so I decided to try making some of my own using these ingredients. Result: My new favorite pancake recipe!! I like the idea of no white flour and the extra fiber from the oats, but in reality … they just taste good. The lemon adds a nice fresh and light flavor to the pancake that I really like. (I’m sure they’d taste good with some vanilla whey protein but I didn’t have any)  Enjoy!

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Overnight Blueberry French Toast with Fresh Blueberry Sauce

Some friends were helping us do some landscaping so I decided to make them breakfast as repayment for their kindness and hard work. Doing yard work in Texas… in July… deserves a very special treat. One of our friends really loves blueberries so I decided to try this recipe with a few changes. It’s a nice delicately rich and sweet side dish to a savory breakfast. Enjoy!

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Whole Wheat Oatmeal Blueberry Pancakes

Breakfast food is definitely my favorite food at any time of day. I used whole wheat flour in these pancakes along with quick cooking oats and fresh blueberries. This is a quick and relatively healthy recipe that doesn’t disappoint the taste buds. Enjoy!

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Upma (South Indian Savory Porridge)

Upma (pronounced ‘oop-maa’) is a traditional South Indian breakfast dish made from semolina or ‘sooji’. Recipes vary from household to household but this is my favorite way of making it. My mom would make this for me on Saturday mornings after dance classes especially in the winter and it made me feel cozy from the inside out. Semolina is similar to cream of wheat (aka farina) so you can use that instead of going specifically to an Indian grocery store for ‘Sooji’, however it may just turn out a little softer/smoother since it is further processed than semolina.

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Black Bean and Sweet Potato Quinoa Breakfast Skillet

This is a really scrumptious protein-packed breakfast for two that my husband always looks forward to. The ooey gooey goodness of a runny yolk makes a rich sauce but it’s all good on its own also. It would probably taste even better with a tomato relish, but I haven’t found one I quite like yet.

 

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