Sunday Breakfast

Buttermilk pancakes with strawberries, cream, maple syrup and a dusting of icing sugar. A perfect way to start a Sunday.

Another Yummy Breakfast

The kids requested pancakes for breakfast but each recipe I turned to wanted an ingredient I didn't have, and I wasn't about to do a deli run at 8am on a Sunday morning. I love my kids but we have to draw the line somewhere! In the end I cobbled together about three different versions of pancakes and kind of made it up as I went along ending up with raspberry pancakes nicely set off with some double thick cream. YUM!

Then I got busy with all the house-cleaning, washing and gardening chores that had been happily ignored yesterday. Lucky I had a good breakfast in my belly to keep me going :)

An Early Birthday Present

My wonderful neighbour came over for coffee on the weekend and delivered my birthday present at the same time. Nothing unusual there except that it's not my birthday for another three weeks and we see each other just about every single day!

She'd bought the new Donna Hay cookbook for me and wanted to give it to me right away so that I wouldn't buy it for myself.

To say that I LOVE my gift would be a massive understatement. I'd actually been looking at this book the day before while I was shopping and put it back on the shelf knowing that Hubby would be most unhappy if I brought home another cookbook - especially as I haven't been cooking a great deal of late. So... I broke out my new cookbook yesterday and made the easiest and, to my mind, yummiest banana bread I've come across.

Simple Banana Bread

No Time To Cook by Donna Hay

Combine 1 2/3 cups plain flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/3 cup caster sugar, 1/3 cup brown sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Make a well in the centre, add 2 eggs, 1/2 cup vegetable oil and 3 mashed bananas and mix to combine. Pour into a greased 20cm x 10cm x 10cm loaf tin. Sprinkle with brown sugar and bake in a preheated 160C oven for 60 minutes or until cooked when tested.

A Quick Breakfast

In keeping with our 'special' Sunday breakfasts we tried another version of French Toast today. This is one of Bill Granger's recipes and is easy to make, quick to whip up and was very well received by all in the house.

French Raisin Toast with Cinnamon

from Bill Granger's Every Day

4 eggs

375ml milk

2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract

1/3 cup caster sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

pinch of ground nutmeg

8 slices day-old good-quality raisin bread

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

To Serve

maple syrup

icing sugar, to dust

Whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla, sugar, cinnamon and nutemg and our into a large flat bowl. Soak each slice of bread in the egg misture until it is completely saturated.

Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the butter and,m once it has started to sizzle, add the bread in batches and bcook for 1-2 minutes on each side, or until lightly browned. Lift out the bread onto a baking tray for 10 minutes or until puffed and golden. Drizzle with maple syrup and durst with icing sugar to serve.

A Great Start To The Day

Our Sunday-Morning-Breakfasts have slipped somewhat lately - once upon a time (pre-kids!) Sunday Breakfast was a leisurely affair with pots of tea, hearty food and newspapers spread across the table. The kids arrived and lounging about went by the wayside. Now the kids are that little bit bigger and don't need to be fed immediately upon opening their eyes we're starting to re-acquaint ourselves with a Sunday morning lie-in and then a yummy, unhurried, family breakfast.

Yesterday was sunny and, if you stood in a totally unshaded spot, almost pleasant. We had lots to do around the house and flipped through the recipe books for something tasty to start the day. Hubby did most of the prep and cooking for this one and it was delicious! The maple syrup topped it off beautifully but 8 slices of bread was too much for the egg mix.

French Toast with Crispy Prosciutto

Marie Claire, Breakfast by Jodiy Vassallo

Serves 4

3 tablespoons pouring, (whipping) cream

3 eggs

3 tablespoons caster (superfine) sugar

pinch of cinnamon

8 slices thick bread, cut in half diagonally

80g butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

12 slices prosciutto

maple syrup, to serve (optional)

Combine the cream, eggs, sugar and cinnamon in a wide, shallow bowl and mix together. Soak the bread in the egg mixture, one slice at a time, shaking off any excess.

Melt half the butter in a frying pan, add 3-4 slices of bread in a single layer and cook until golden brown on both sides. Cook the remaining bread in batches, adding more butter as needed, and keeping the cooked slices warm in the oven.

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan, add the prosciutto and fry until crisp. Remove and drain on paper towels. Place the prosciutto on top of the French toast and serve. Drizzle with maple syrup, if using.

A Delicious Start To The Day

French Toast

recipe adapted from Nigella Lawson's version in delicious, July 2006

A couple of handfuls of stawberries, hulled and halved

2 tablespoons caster (superfine) sugar

Custard or thickened cream, to serve

French Toast

2 eggs

2 Tablespoons thickened cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

6 brioche slices

40g unsalted butter

Combine stawberries and sugar in a small saucepan. Heat over low heat until strawberries are warm and tender and sugar has melted.

For toast, beat eggs, cream and vanilla in a shallow bowl. Melt half the butter in a non-stick frypan over medium heat. Dip half the brioche slices into the egg mixture, allowing excess to drain off. Cook 1-2 minutes on each side until golden, keep warm in oven if needed and then repeat with remaining brioche slices. Divide toast among plates and spoon over the strawberries and serve with custard or cream.

Serves 6

OMG!!! I hadn't come across sweet French Toast before, only the savoury somewhat bland version that kids tend to like but was never high on my list of favourite foods. This is divine. Nigella's recipe has baked rhubarb but since that isn't currently available in Red Dirt Central and as I had a punnet of sweet juice strawbs in the fridge I went with them. I did make this with regular sandwich bread because nowhere in this town could I find brioche. I think it would definitely be better with brioche so next time I make it I will have to be a little more organised and make the brioche the day before so that I can have this spectacular treat for breakfast. #1 and I thoroughly enjoyed this and I think it may even rival our favourite breakfast treat of pancakes with maple syrup and cream! Is this, or a version of it, a regular recipe for some of you out there? Have I just been dozing in dullsville as far as French Toast is concerned? Enquiring minds want to know LOL.

As you might have noticed I have been making some changes to the look and layout of my blog. I quite like this version - let me know what you think. Is it easy to read? Not to hard to find stuff? I have also added a few new finds to my lists of "Who I read" - check them out, some great recipes, lovely pics and a few chuckles too.