Pregnancy is making me so into breakfast, specifically bread-heavy and sweet breakfast, you guys.

I made this French Toast following the folks at King Arthur Flour. I have their “All Purpose Baking Cookbook” and it’s become my new go-to to find any baking recipe I want to try.

Anyways, so for this I wanted to make French toast, but I wanted it to be bite size like a snack so you could have five and not feel bad (or like, also have some bacon and eggs and then just have two and feel like you’ve won brunch, which you have.)

So here’s how it goes down – pretty straight forward from our good friends at KAF, with the bread being the major difference. This is actually pretty easy to whip up and you probably can make it on Saturday morning and be a hero without spending way more time in your kitchen. It’s basically magic.

Type: Breakfast

Author: Jennie

Difficulty: Easy

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Servings: 6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 loaf sourdough baguette, sliced
• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 heavy cream
• pinch salt
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• powdered sugar
• maple syrup
• butter/olive oil for cooking

Directions

1. Place 1 tablespoon each butter and oil in a heavy skillet, and set it to heat over medium heat.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, salt, nutmeg, sugar, and vanilla. Stir till smooth but not foamy. Pour the batter into a shallow casserole dish or wide bottomed bowl.

3. Place two pieces of bread in the pan; let them soak for about 30 seconds, then turn them over, and let soak for about 30 seconds on the other side. You want the bread to absorb some of the liquid, but not to become soggy.

4. Place the bread in the skillet and fry till the underside is golden brown; this should take about 2 minutes. Turn the bread, and fry on the second side for about 2 minutes. Again, it should be golden brown.

5. Repeat until you run out of bread or egg mixture (or, ideally, both, but you know that never happens.) When all the pieces are cooked, serve the French toast with soft butter and maple syrup. Or dust it with confectioners' sugar or cinnamon-sugar!

I love breakfast so, so much you guys, and this Cuban-inspired dish that I made with Joie de Vivre last year is something I am craving again. For this breakfast platter, I made two fried eggs, grilled up some French bread (which was slathered on both sides with butter, for good measure!) and heated up some ham. I served it with a side of mango and papaya fruit salad – the perfect healthy balance. And, of course, a Cuban breakfast wouldn’t be complete without Café con Leche – brewed espresso with sugar and hot milk frothed to perfection.

Cuban Sandwich Recipe

2 eggs
2 slices ham
2 slices Swiss cheese
Cuban or French bread
butter

Directions

1. Start by cutting your bread up and buttering on both sides. Grill over medium-low heat, pressing down with a cast iron press (or a plate) to help get an even grill! Make sure to flip after about 2-3 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, melt a tablespoon of butter and fry two eggs over-medium in a cast iron pan.
3. When your eggs are done, place on your grilled bread, and then heat your ham in the cast iron. Add ham to egg sandwich and top with a slice of Swiss cheese!

Cafe con Leche Recipe

3 oz espresso or strongly brewed coffee
2-3 teaspoons sugar
½ cup milk
pinch cinnamon

Directions

1. Brew espresso or coffee. While it’s brewing, heat milk until warm but not boiling. Using a milk frother, frother your warm milk until it forms a foam.
2. Pour coffee into mug, then add sugar and stir until dissolved. Pour milk over the top, ending with a nice thick foam layer – I prefer about a half-inch of foam. Sprinkle with cinnamon, and enjoy!

Fruit Salad

1 papaya
1 mango

Directions

1. To cut the papaya, slice in half lengthwise. Scoop out all seeds and discard.
2. Carefully with a paring knife, peel your papaya.
3. Cut into slices or dice your fruit.
4. To cut the mango, cut both cheeks off of each side. You’ll want to leave about an inch of fruit in the middle, depending on the size.
5. In each cheek, slice about a half inch apart all the way cross, then rotate your cheek and slice all the way across again, making a grid. Now you should be able to pull out the pieces of mango.
6. Mix your mango and papaya together to serve!

Guys, I realize it’s two thirds through the month, and once again I am behind. I am very pregnant and I although I know it’ll be hard once I actually have Charlie, I am hoping I’ll bounce back and get back on track. Thanks for your patience! Anyways, August is another great month full of delicious produce in abundance. I love stone fruit! I love summer tomatoes! I am getting my fill of berries before they’re gone! Here’s what we’ve got going on:

Avocado
Blackberries/Blueberries
Carrots
Eggplant
Figs
Green Beans
Greens
Herbs
Melon
Okra
Peppers
Stone Fruit
Summer Squash
Tomatillos
Tomatoes

So what to make? Lots of options besides just piling all these veggies on your plate and calling it a perfect summer salad. We’re here to help you avoid food waste and eat all the random stuff in your CSA or garden or veg you bought and realized now you have nothing to do with. We’re here for you.

First of all, I am ALL ABOUT summer dessert. Gimme dat all.day.long. I will never not want to make Blueberry Crostata. You can do this with whatever berries you’ve got on hand, but blueberries are bomb, I promise you.

I feel like I’m just giving you all dessert, but ice pops are important and these are healthier than sugar-filled ones from the store. I made this with Plumcots but you can use any stone fruit here with some cream. Such a great snack! And not too sugary, I swear.

If you can find good tomatoes, this salad is just.freaking.good. Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Shallots, and some acidic vinegar, and BOOM salad. Throw some cheese in if you’re feelin’ sassy. Like a burrata? Heaven. Add some crusty bread and it’s like a full meal folk.

Zucchini Noodles, the perfect summer dinner for when you’re garden (or CSA) is out.of.control. These are paleo too, if ya leave the cheese out, and vegetarian, and vegan, all the things. Add chicken or cheese or whatever to make it more of a meal, but enjoy with sundried tomatoes for a perfectly sweet and summery dish.

I love snacking, and I love hummus. But I don’t always know what kind to buy, and sometimes I just want some extra garlic in mine (am I right?) So recently I made some white bean hummus with extra garlic. Because isn’t that what this blog is all about? Garlic? I think yes.

Hummus is definitely easy to make and somehow tastes a lot fresher when you do it yourself – maybe the lemon has something to do with that. I made this one with half white beans and have chick peas, but feel free to use chick peas all the way if that’s what you’ve got.

You can also use this basic recipe and make what you want with it – add basil, cilantro, parsley, or sundried tomatoes, chopped up olives, peppers…you get my gist. Make whatever flavor of hummus you’re in the mood for – and you can make it as thick or as thin as you want – I like mine nice and thick, but if you want it thinner, just add a bit of oil.

This hummus was super garlicky, but I maintain it’s because I used garlic cloves that were HUGE and super fresh…which made it very potent. I will admit, I enjoyed this with some salt & vinegar chips because I am a monster.

Do not skip on the tahini, though. Tahini is what makes hummus just leveled up. Tahini is made from sesame seeds, and it is a great addition to a salad, sandwich, a falafel wrap, kabobs..I could go on. I also could put tahini on everything, and I think you should, too. The recipe is below – enjoy with pita, pita crackers, tortilla chips, or veggies!

August! The dog days. We have made it to the height of summer, a time for cold smoothies (hence this calendar inspired by a Fig & Kale Smoothie) and grills and catching the sunshine before we head into the back-to-school time of year. The sun is starting to set a bit earlier and we know that fall is coming, so we have to have all the fresh fruits and summer vegetables we can before we’re over zucchini and ready for pumpkins.

PSST – here’s your tablet version for horizontal and vertical!