Breakfast for Dinner: Savory French Toast w/Poached Egg & Honey Drizzle...

Leftover from weekend festivities, we have SO many dinner rolls.  Seeded, plain...probably at least 20.  What to do with them?!  I know I'll be making breadcrumbs, but one great use for day-old bread is French Toast.  To give it a savory flare, I added some herbs and onions in the egg wash, topped it with a perfectly poached egg and a drizzle of honey...seriously delicious!

Savory French Toast (2 servings): 
2 leftover Italian sandwich buns (6 medium slices of bread)
3 eggs
1/3 c milk (I used almond milk)
2 tbsp finely chopped Vidalia onion
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh herbs (I did thyme, rosemary and basil, equal parts)
Freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of sea salt
Butter & Olive oil (for the pan)

Heat a large pan or griddle with a little bit of butter and olive oil.  In a medium bowl, whisk eggs and milk together with the onion, herbs and S&P. Slice bread into 1/2 - 3/4" slices.  Soak each piece in the egg wash for about 45 seconds.  Place slices into hot pan. Spoon extra egg wash onto slices as to avoid waste and to get some of those tiny onion pieces on.  Pan fry on on each side until they are golden brown with some crispy texture to the edges (approx 5 minutes per side).


Poached Eggs:
2 large eggs
2 tbsp white vinegar
Ice bath

Fill a saucepan with a few inches of water and the vinegar.  Heat water until hot, but not boiling.  Don't let any of the little bubbles break the surface of the water.  When the water is hot, crack one egg at a time carefully and place into a small bowl.  Pour each egg gently into the water and with a slotted spoon, create the motion that you are spooning the egg back into place, so that the egg white stays as in tact as possible.  Cover the pan and let the eggs poach for 2-4 minutes, until the egg whites are medium-firm and yolk is still runny.  Carefully spoon each egg out into an ice bath for 30 seconds and place gently on a paper towel to dry.

Arrange 3 pieces of French Toast onto a plate and gently use your hand to cup the poached eggs on top.  Finish each plate with a drizzle of honey and some more fresh thyme.  Enjoy!

Savory & Sweet: Vegan Mini-Muffins

Happy Freaking Summer. :) I have been completely slacking on new recipes since the weather has been nice! We've been grilling and eating al fresco as much as possible. 

So, I was invited to a vegan brunch yesterday.  Of course, I eat mostly plants, but don't have too many fun vegan brunch recipes under my belt, especially in the baking department.  I did a little internet research on substitutions, got some ideas, tweaked some recipes, and somehow happened to have everything on hand to make these delicious mini-muffins, Vegan style.  Perfect for parties, picnics or your daily brown bag.  Gotta say, they turned out beautifully and were a huge hit. GO OMNIVORES! ;)

Savory: Zucchini, Onion & Herb {Vegan}

Prep time - 10 min, bake time - 17 minutes
Makes 20-24 mini muffins

• 1 small zucchini, finely diced
• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• 2 tbsp fresh herbs (I used rosemary, thyme, parsley and mint from my herb pots)
• 2 tbsp olive oil (and more for sauteing)
• 3/4 c soy or almond milk
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1.5 tbsp honey, agave or maple syrup
• 1 c organic whole wheat flour 
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 pinch baking soda
• 1 tsp sea salt (I had rosemary gourmet sea salt on hand)
  
• 1 tsp fresh ground pepper
•  Dash cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 375. In a large pan, heat some olive oil. Saute your veggies, seasoned with a few dashes of additional salt & pepper. Saute for about 7 min, until soft and starting to turn golden brown. Set aside to reserve in large mixing bowl.  In a another mixing bowl, sift flour and rest of the dry ingredients (including fresh herbs).  In the veggie mixing bowl, add lemon juice,  lemon zest, honey, olive oil and soy milk.  Stir.  Slowly fold in dry ingredients. Spoon into greased mini-muffin pan, filling cups almost to the top.  These don't rise too much.  Bake for 16-18 minutes (rotating pan at the 3/4 time mark) and let cool.

Sweet: Banana-Pecan {Vegan}

Prep time - 10 min, bake time - 17 minutes
Makes 24 mini muffins

• 3 very ripe bananas*
• 2 c flour (I mixed whole wheat and white)
• 1/2 c raw organic sugar
• 1/2 c organic brown sugar
• 1/4 c vegetable oil
• 1/2 c shelled and chopped pecans (or walnuts)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 dash ground cloves

 *I freeze my bananas (sans peel) when they start to turn spotty.   They generally defrost very nicely in 5-10 minutes, ready for use.

Pre-heat oven to 360 degrees. Cream together oil and both sugars in a large mixing bowl. Mash bananas into the sugar/oil with a potato masher.  In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients, sifting the flour and baking powder & soda to avoid clumping.  slowly fold into banana-sugar mixture.  Fold in pecans at the end.  Spoon into greased mini-muffin pans.  This one will rise nicely.  Bake for 16-18 min (17 min works really well for me!), rotating pan 3/4 through bake time.  Let cool.