Gluten Free French Toast

My all time favorite meal...the meal I would request on my last day on Earth is my moms French Toast. It's seriously the best ever!!! Since having Celiac, she had made some great gluten free toast for me so when she visited in the winter I wanted to return the favor... Well kind of.

She was late to the game in discovering she carries the same gluten allergy so I was pumped to stock my cupboards with gluten free treats for us. I grabbed my fave chips, crackers, bread and tried Udy's gfree bagels. 

We made bagels on her first morning in town. She has had them before and tried to warn me that one bagel was too much to eat... She was right. I was stuffed! So the next morning I decided to turn the super fluffy, overly filling bagels into French toast.

I cut one and a half bagels in to big chunks, soaked them in a mix of egg and milk with sugar and cinnamon then tossed them in a preheated greeased sauté pan. After a few minutes and tossed of the pan it was perfect. Next, I sauted one apple in butter for some sweetness then served it with the French toast. We topped the toast with a little maple syrup and powdered sugar. It was perfect!! Sweet, gooey goodness! I would highly recommend this over using regular gluten free bread!

Shaky camera work... my apologies!!

Poached Eggs

Okay, I'll be the first to admit that this post isn't overwhelmingly exciting. Poached eggs... Nothing special, right? Yes, I agree. However, I've never attempted to make them at home. Eggs Benedict is one of my brunch time faves so it was about time I learned how to make it at home if I wanted.

Now let's not get crazy. I didn't attempt the hollandaise sauce just yet... Baby steps. I did some research and all of the egg data I collected suggested adding a tablespoon of vinegar to your water, bring water to a slow bowl, stir then pour the cracked egg into the mini cyclone forming in the pot. I started by cracking my egg into the bowl then when dropping in i executed as seamlessly as possible. I lost a bit of egg white but not too much. Not too shabby for my first try! 

Have I made them again since then? No... But I know I can do it and it tasted amazing over toast points! ;)

Restaurant Review: Sauce NYC

I've been dying to go to Sauce on Allen and Rivington for a while. They specialize in homemade pasta sauce, hence the name. Sadly, gluten free pasta is not on their menu. :(

Thankfully, they do have some great brunch options and really, after seeing this you won't want to bother looking for anything else! It's called The Plank. Creamy polenta topped with their signature bolognese sauce, Parmesan cheese and two poached eggs. 

My taste buds died and went to heaven!! It was so damn good. The yolk cascaded over every delicious bite of the bolognese and the cloud like fluff of the polenta was there to soak it all up. Mmm mmm mm!!! 

The meal is meant for two and is served on an actually wooden plank and is assembled right before your eyes. Hands down, everyone needs to try this dish!! You won't regret it! 

Two Ingredient Pancakes

Okay, I have seen like 800 Pinterest and Buzzfeed posts about the miracle two ingredient pancakes using only one banana and two eggs. After weeks of curiosity, I finally found a morning where I could give it a try.

All you have to do is put one banana and two eggs in a blender until they're smooth. Pour the batter into a pre-heated, pre-greased saute pan and after a few minutes, you have yourself a pancake! Of course my first try was a fail. In the video I watched, the cook poured all the batter out at once and made a gigantic pancake. Yea... good luck flipping that. I ended up with scrambled eggs and banana. Not going to lie...it tasted pretty damn good!

The next morning, I redeemed myself and made several small pancakes. So delicious!! And they're totally guilt-free. Two eggs and a banana for breakfast?? You can't get much healthier than that!

Best Brunch Loaf Ever!

After taking a spin class today, a friend and I stopped by Cantine Parisienne for brunch. We tried The Egg Shop, which has gluten free bread options, but did not want to wait 90 minutes to two hours. Instead we walked around the corner and ran into Cantine Parisienne. After reading "gluten free health loaf with Nutella and bananas" on the menu, I was in!

We kicked off our meal with water, coffee and mimosas then ordered the loaf. For my meal I had Eggs Benedict over gluten free toast. It was good, however, after advising my server of my gluten allergy the restaurant still served me potatoes that had been fried with bread. Bad move! I was smart enough to avoid though. 

In any case, if you want the yummiest french toast loaf smothered in Nutella and sautéed bananas you have to try this!!!

Oh, and here is our wonderful hydration spread!

Gluten Free Pancakes!

When it comes to breakfast on the weekends I tend to stick with a large cup of coffee and maybe a little fruit. But every once and a while I get a craving for something more, something soft and fluffy covered in melted butter and gooey syrup: pancakes!!!

Growing up, my mom ALWAYS made us french toast...literally, the BEST french toast on the planet. We'd have it for breakfast on the weekends and every once and a while for dessert (Yes, french toast for dessert. Try it. You won't be disappointed.) In any case, french toast was so prevalent that having pancakes for breakfast was a treat. Naturally, this treat was removed from my diet with the onset of Celiac but all that changed last weekend.

I was up and at it extra early and veryyyy hungry. I've had Bob's Red Mill g-free all purpose baking flour in my Cabinet so it was time to put it to use again. In the process of cooking I realized I was out of syrup so I sent my boyfriend running to the store because what are pancakes without sweet yummy syrup! End result: peer bliss!!!

 Recipe:
1 1/3 cups gfree all purpose baking flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Directions:
1) Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and oil. With the whisk, stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients until smooth.
2) Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Spoon about 1/3 cup pancake batter onto pan. Flip when bubbly and edges are slightly dry.
3) Cover in butter and gfree maple syrup, as desired (of course.)

Breakfast Quinoa

Over the last few years, I have fallen in love with quinoa. It's my go to side dish, or base for quick shrimp or ground turkey dishes. When saw a recipe for apples and cinnamon breakfast quiona I was beyond excited! I made a few tweaks to better fit my tastes and I am not even embarrassed to say that I eat this dish EVERY single work-day. Literally, every week I make a batch on Sunday and eat off it all week.

 Recipe:
1 cup dry quinoa, rinsed well
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon + more for sprinkling
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup  milk, per serving

Directions:
 Combine quinoa, water, cinnamon and vanilla in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and let cook for 15 minutes until quinoa can be fluffed with a fork.
*If eating immediately, divide cooked quinoa between four bowls then stir in apple sauce, raisins, and milk.
**If saving for work, I scoop out what looks to be one fifth of the quinoa, pour in the milk and microwave for one minute. Once heated, stir in apple sauce and raisins. Top with a sprinkle of cinnamon if desired. This time around I topped with a few apple chunks, but it's equally great with just raisins and apple sauce.

Breakfast Cupcakes

My friend's Lauren and Megan both have birthdays just days apart and I couldn't let the occasion go by without baking for them. Lauren's party was during the work-week so I waited until Meg's party to whip something up I searched high and low for morning-friendly cupcakes, since we were meeting for brunch to start the celebration and found a great recipe for Strawberry Filled Oatmeal Cupcakes.

Cupcakes for breakfast sold me immediately! And after baking them, I was hooked. I ate mine right out of the oven and couldn't get over how great the warm oatmeal cupcake tasted with strawberry filling oozing out. The recipe calls for a touch of cinnamon and that just topped it off!


These would be great not only for breakfast gatherings, but also if you were hosting a shower or girls night. They definitely don't leave you feeling stuffed like many rich, chocolately cakes do. Plus, who doesn't love a filled cupcake? Look at how amazing these look when split open!


Recipe:
Cupcake Recipe: Makes 12
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup rolled oats (I used Quaker instant)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temp
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
12 tsp strawberry jelly

Oatmeal Crunch Topping Recipe:
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 tbsp (heaping) all purpose flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into little pieces

Directions:
1) Put all of the topping ingredients in a food processor and proccess until lumps form. Set aside. (I used a mini processor..it worked great.)
2) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3) Mix dry ingredients together and set aside.4) In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and mix well. Alternately add dry ingredients and sour cream, blending well after each addition.
5) Spoon half the batter into 12 cupcake papers. Make an indentation and place 1 tsp of jelly in each cupcake. Fill cupcakes with remaining batter. Using your fingers, sprinkle a little topping over each cupcake. Cook for 20 to 25 minutes or until cupcakes are golden brown on top. Remove from oven and cool.

While baking, some of my cupcakes had large divots from the strawberry filling dropping, but they still tasted amazing!