Tag Archives: breakfast

Autumn Apple Maple French Toast

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Fall is such a gorgeous season. The weather begins to cool and leaves begin to turn wondrous shades of red, orange and yellow. I wake to a crisp, still morning air and fall asleep under warm, toasty covers. Each deep autumn breath carries the faint aroma of hot apple cider and warm cinnamon. It’s a season of harvest, coziness and sweaters; a season of warm ovens and warmer hearts. Each day is full of rich colour and the smell of hot bubbling pies, freshly baked and ready to be devoured.

This is my first official fall post this year and a perfect time to share this amazing apple brunch creation I made yesterday. I went apple picking near Collingwood, Ontario last week with my family and brought back a half bushel of McIntosh and Cortland apples with me. I’ve been spending the past few days thinking of ways to use them all. The funniest part about this is that I am slightly allergic to apples so I don’t really eat them myself (once in a while, if I can’t resist).

The classic French toast I was going to make on a Saturday afternoon, became something so much more delicious…and pretty. I took a couple of my fresh-picked apples and made apple maple French toast. Sauteing apples in butter and maple syrup turns them into a sweet, warm, caramelized apple topping to spoon over vanilla cinnamon French toast. Continue reading →

Get Creative With Matzah: A Passover Breakfast Creation

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Who says matzah is boring? You can have so much fun with it. Here’s a quick post on another Passover-friendly matzah breakfast creation. (You can totally do the same kind of thing for lunch or dinner.) Just think of it as bread…really hard, crispy bread.

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It’s breakfast time, and the boy is hungry. I’ve been having fun thinking up matzah creations, so I hurried to the kitchen to see what I could find. I only had one egg in the fridge. EMERGENCY! We eat more eggs than a family of komodo dragons. I took out some leftover brisket from last night and some other ingredients for my matzah work of art.

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Here’s a list of ingredients I used. You can use any combination of ingredients you have and flavours you love. I’m a fried, runny-egg sandwich LOVER. So, that’s what I was going for…in a matzah, flatbread, open-faced kind of way.

Open Faced Egg & Brisket Breakfast Sandwich On Matzah

Ingredients:

  • 1 sheet of matzah
  • leftover brisket
  • 1 large egg
  • oil to fry your egg
  • 1/2 tablespoon butter (or oil)
  • 2 small shallots, chopped
  • a tablespoon of chicken broth (if you like)
  • tomato slices (I used 4)
  • handful of arugula
  • salt & pepper
  • pinches of cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and paprika (whatever spices or seasoning you like)

Preheat the oven to 350 before starting everything else. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. (You could use a toaster oven too.) Then fry your chopped shallots in butter in a small skillet.

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When the shallots started getting nice and translucent, I added a tablespoon or so of chicken broth and let it simmer until the liquid reduced to almost nothing. This made a kind of saucy mixture. Add salt and pepper and whichever other spices you’d like. I didn’t have any garlic, so I added garlic powder and a pinch of cayenne pepper for a little kick.

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While the shallots were cooking, I placed my sheet of matzah on the lined baking sheet. I lay the tomatoes on the matzah and the brisket over the tomatoes.

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I stuck that in the oven for about 3-5 minutes. Just to warm it up, and get the tomatoes a little roasty.

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Once the shallots are reduced, remove them from the heat and set aside. Now fry an egg. I left my matzah in the oven while my egg fried, and that timing worked pretty well. Don’t over cook the egg! Runny yolks are key! (Unless you don’t like that.)

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I took the toasty matzah-tomato-brisket out of the oven, and put a handful of arugula over top. Arugula makes everything better.

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I put the fried egg over the arugula, then spooned the shallots over the egg, salted, peppered, and sprinkled a little paprika over top for some colour. A mountain of yum.

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Transfer matzah to a plate. Be careful not to break it! Cut it straight down the middle…and let the yolk ooze. 🙂

May be a little hard to eat because matzah breaks apart so easily. Try your best to eat over your plate…not the floor. We learned the hard way.

Hope you like it! xx

MATZAH BREI! Breakfast: Passover Style.

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It’s Passover! Whether you’re Jewish or not, this recipe is delish. Give it a try! Here’s your opportunity to get all festive and creative! 🙂

IMG_5601This is a yummy breakfast dish I came across today. As Passover begins, and all you can eat is matzah day and night, it’s fun to find new ways to cook with it. Matzah brei is a dish commonly eaten as a breakfast food during passover, sort of a Jewish version of a universal breakfast (eggs and something bready). It is typically made with matzah soaked in water, broken, and pan fried with scrambled eggs in butter or schmaltz (rendered chicken or goose fat). However, you can totally play it up by serving with applesauce or sour cream, adding veggies, or making it a sweet treat by adding sugar, vanilla, or syrup. Matzah brei can be scrambled or done as more of a frittata.

I chose savoury over sweet this morning. I added onions into the mix, sprinkled a bit of cheddar cheese on top, and served it with a baked sweet potato on the side. Play around with your own ingredients. Here’s my recipe:

Matzah Brei

Ingredients:

  • 1 sheet of matzah
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tablespoon of butter
  • Half a small onion diced (optional)
  • Salt and pepper to season
  • 1-2 tablespoons of grated old cheddar cheese (optional)

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Whisk your eggs together in a bowl.

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Run the sheet of matzah under water for about 45 seconds. Maybe a little more or less, depending on the type of matzah you use. Just until it starts to soften, don’t let it turn to mush.

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Set the wet matzah aside and melt the butter in a pan.

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Next, you break the sheet of matzah into bite-sized pieces. Add them into the pan along with the diced onions. (If you want to add any other veggies, add them into the pan with the matzah pieces now.)

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Fry until the matzah is well coated in butter and your onions are translucent. About a minute or so.

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Now add your scrambled eggs into the pan and mix them in with the matzah and onions. Cook the eggs for about two minutes. Just keep flipping them around. You dont want them to overcook or they’ll be dry. Leave them a bit mushy. You can add salt and pepper to taste while you’re cooking the eggs.

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All done! Now just plate it and sprinkle a little grated cheese on top if you like.

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Chag Sameach! Happy Passover! And happy breakfasting! 🙂

xx