Last night I was in a bit of a mood after having forgotten to buy enough poblanos to make the chile rellenos I had planned, and so I decided f*ck it, we’re doing the time-honored tradition that many of us enjoy, breakfast-for-dinner. But…all I had on hand was the loaf of rye bread I’d just baked the other day (well, I baked 2 loaves, but the fella I love can go through a loaf of bread like nobody’s business so we’re down to one 3 days later…), and so I did a quick search online to see if I was a freak for envisioning this as a French Toast base. Nope, others have tried it. But I still knew it had to be more than the basics of egg, milk and cinnamon, so here’s what I did to really make sure it took full advantage of the more savory vibe of rye that comes from the molasses, cocoa and caraway:
Duck Eggs (it’s spring so the girls are laying again! woo hoo!)
Goat Milk (usually I’ll do the homemade oat milk but goat milk is so superior for fancier French toasts, like when using brioche etc, giving it a more custardy vibe)
Organic Vanilla (I’ve been making my own vanilla extract for 6 or 7 years now which ultimately ends up being far cheaper and SO good - even with the organic vodka as the base).
Cinnamon, Nutmeg AND Orange Zest (if you don’t keep this zest on hand, I highly recommend it - just zest a fresh organic orange, let it sit on a saucer on the counter for a few days til it dries out, pop it in a jar…so damn good).
That and a base of coconut oil made this French Toast into quite a bit of happiness for such a quickie meal. Topped with organic strawberries and a generous helping of my sweetheart’s favorite homemade maple spice granola (a surprisingly awesome combo of buckwheat groats, flax, sesame and nuts stirred up with maple syrup, olive oil and autumnal spices then baked for 20) and we were inhaling that, y’all.
"To eat well in the morning, I always have breakfast for dinner.” ~ Michael Symon