French toast, pickled egg, garden fruit, and coffee.
We saved the other demi baguette from last night’s snack and made French toast with it, topped off with homemade caramel syrup. The egg was batch cooked and pickled two weeks ago. The cute little melon is a dwarf variety cantaloupe called Minnesota Midget that we grow in containers. At lower left there’s also a strawberry from our vertical planter of everbearing strawberries. Coffee beans are from Costco, ground at home and brewed in a French press.
Homemade caramel syrup: this should done in advance. You’ll need sugar, water, corn starch, vanilla extract, and lemon juice. We start this old school by making ‘dry caramel.’ Put 2 cups of granulated sugar into a 2 quart saucepan, get a cup of water at the ready (but don’t add it to the saucepan yet!) and have a steel lid at the ready. You may want to wear kitchen gloves if this is your first time. Now turn the heat up to medium-high. Stir slowly with a wooden spoon. The sugar will start clumping together, then start to change color to light tan, then become a liquid, and then caramelize. This process takes about ten minutes and is ready when it turns the color of Coca-Cola. As soon as it reaches that point, turn off the heat and cover the saucepan and take the saucepan off the hot burner. Now brace yourself because this is superheated: life up one corner of the lid to the side (not towards your face), pour half a cup of water in there, and clap down the lid. It’s going to steam and boil like mad. Wait a few seconds for that to settle down and add the rest of the water the same way. Once the second show quiets down, lift up the lid and stir. Undiluted caramel would turn rock hard in minutes as it cools, so this part has to be done quickly. Now add a tablespoon of corn starch with a sifting wand, continuing to stir, and two teapoons of lemon juice. After five minutes test the consistency and add more water if needed. Allow this to cool to room temperature, then stir in two teaspoons of vanilla extract. (Natural vanilla extract loses some of its flavor compounds if it’s exposed to cooking temperatures; the temperature is less important if you’re using artificial vanilla extract). Keep it in a bottle with a pouring spout; refrigerate when not in use.
French toast for two: put a demi baguette into a paper bag and leave it on the kitchen counter overnight. French toast needs to be made from slightly stale bread (otherwise the slices fall apart in the center). Warm up a cast iron 12″ skillet on low heat and melt butter in it, turning the pan to get an even coating. Into a bowl crack one egg, add 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon, a dash of nutmeg, and a pinch of dried lemon rind. We grind up the lemon rind to a powder using a mortar and pestle. Then add about 1/3 cup of whole milk and whisk together. Cut the baguette into slices an inch and a quarter thick. Dip the slices into the bowl long enough to absorb the liquid to the center, then raise the heat to low-medium, put the slices into the skillet, and cover. Flip with a spatula when it’s time to cook the other side, then plate them. Continue until all the French toast is cooked.
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French toast, pickled egg, garden fruit, and coffee.
We saved the other demi baguette from last night’s snack and made French toast with it, topped off with homemade caramel syrup. The egg was batch cooked and pickled two weeks ago. The cute little melon is a dwarf variety cantaloupe called Minnesota Midget that we grow in containers. At lower left there’s also a strawberry from our vertical planter of everbearing strawberries. Coffee beans are from Costco, ground at home and brewed in a French press.
Homemade caramel syrup: this should done in advance. You’ll need sugar, water, corn starch, vanilla extract, and lemon juice. We start this old school by making ‘dry caramel.’ Put 2 cups of granulated sugar into a 2 quart saucepan, get a cup of water at the ready (but don’t add it to the saucepan yet!) and have a steel lid at the ready. You may want to wear kitchen gloves if this is your first time. Now turn the heat up to medium-high. Stir slowly with a wooden spoon. The sugar will start clumping together, then start to change color to light tan, then become a liquid, and then caramelize. This process takes about ten minutes and is ready when it turns the color of Coca-Cola. As soon as it reaches that point, turn off the heat and cover the saucepan and take the saucepan off the hot burner. Now brace yourself because this is superheated: life up one corner of the lid to the side (not towards your face), pour half a cup of water in there, and clap down the lid. It’s going to steam and boil like mad. Wait a few seconds for that to settle down and add the rest of the water the same way. Once the second show quiets down, lift up the lid and stir. Undiluted caramel would turn rock hard in minutes as it cools, so this part has to be done quickly. Now add a tablespoon of corn starch with a sifting wand, continuing to stir, and two teapoons of lemon juice. After five minutes test the consistency and add more water if needed. Allow this to cool to room temperature, then stir in two teaspoons of vanilla extract. (Natural vanilla extract loses some of its flavor compounds if it’s exposed to cooking temperatures; the temperature is less important if you’re using artificial vanilla extract). Keep it in a bottle with a pouring spout; refrigerate when not in use.
French toast for two: put a demi baguette into a paper bag and leave it on the kitchen counter overnight. French toast needs to be made from slightly stale bread (otherwise the slices fall apart in the center). Warm up a cast iron 12″ skillet on low heat and melt butter in it, turning the pan to get an even coating. Into a bowl crack one egg, add 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon, a dash of nutmeg, and a pinch of dried lemon rind. We grind up the lemon rind to a powder using a mortar and pestle. Then add about 1/3 cup of whole milk and whisk together. Cut the baguette into slices an inch and a quarter thick. Dip the slices into the bowl long enough to absorb the liquid to the center, then raise the heat to low-medium, put the slices into the skillet, and cover. Flip with a spatula when it’s time to cook the other side, then plate them. Continue until all the French toast is cooked.