Sunday 19 October 2014

Vegan savoury seedy french toast, Coconut french toast, and Our weekend

French toast always has been a mystery to me.  I never liked eggs enough to want it in my life.  Hurrah for vegan french toast!  I tried it once.  It was ok.  But thanks to Isa Does It, I discovered last weekend that if you coat it in coconut, it is amazing!  Then I wanted something more savoury and thought how much I love a seedy crust on bread.  So I coated the French toast in seeds.  So very good.

When we made the French toast last weekend, Sylvia wanted pancakes.  I convinced her that French toast was actually bread in a pancake.  She was happy to call it "French pancakes toast".  Yesterday when I said we could make French toast she was delighted.  Seems I have won her over.  She loves it with some berry sauce.

One reason I wanted to make the French toast is that I had a heel of a loaf of sourdough bread to use up.  But I also wanted to experiment with savoury French toast.  E says he used to eat it with tomato sauce.  That seemed wrong.  I fried up some tomato and some chickpea scramble.
 
Last weekend Sylvia loved helping.  Yesterday she had suddenly fallen in love with her dolls house furniture all over again and had to set up some rooms.  E was still asleep.  It was very relaxing to potter about the the kitchen, even though it was a bit of work to make a sweet and savoury version.

Sylvia loved her sweet version with raspberry sauce.  Last weekend I found I preferred mine with maple syrup.  Did I mention I experimented with some chia seeds in the sweet mix too.  Inspired by Kari's French toast.  Perhaps this is what sent me down the seedy path!

Meanwhile I tried frying my savoury French toast in seeds.  It wasn't quite as light and fluffy as last weekend.  Possibly the seeds weighed it down, or the sourdough bread was that much heavier than bakery bread, or I didn't use as much milk.

I think in future I would leave the vanilla out of the sweet French toast and use the same dipping mixture for the sweet and savoury.  Or I might just mix the seeds in with the dipping mixture rather than dipping in a mixture of seeds and scattering seeds over the gaps on the toast.  I also have this crazy idea of spreading the bread with vegemite before dipping and then just serving with a few slices of tomato on top.  The possibilities are endless.

The chickpea scramble (which I made as before but without the vegetable add-ins) was great but I made it first.  In retrospect I think I should have made the French Toast first which takes longer to make and stays hotter longer.  Despite this, it was a delicious breakfast   And so filling that I didn't feel the need for a big lunch.

Lunch was at the Fitzroy Market.  We met some friends to enjoy ukeleles, sausages, plants in gumboots, paisley cookware, pad thai and icy poles (those pineapple, coconut and lime ones were amazing)!  The kids always love the playground and E can't resist a bargain secondhand CDs.

After the market, a few of us went to Little Creatures on Brunswick Street for salted caramel doughnuts, a cheese platter and chatter.  Or giggling, as was the case with the kids.  Once they had finished drawing on the chalkboards the staff gave them to play with.  When Sylvia's friend was told it was time to go, she asked if she could do one more silly thing with Sylvia before they went! 

Sylvia would have had French toast again today but I was saving my energies for helping out with a Mellow Music in the park this afternoon.  It was a great relaxed day enjoying local musicians, Iranian food, kids toys, catching up with friends, and a pedal powered Singer sewing machine.  Lots of fun but lots of work too.  I am exhausted.

Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
One year ago: Healthy spaghetti hoops, caramel popcorn and a cardboard computer
Two years ago: WSC Chocolate Pumpkin Digestives
Three years ago: Chia bread: revising olive oil bread
Four years ago: SOS Tahini Muesli Bars or Mama Mia!
Five years ago: Chocolate cookies, bbq and mum’s sponge
Six years ago: Lysy’s smoky burgers

Savoury Seedy French Toast
An original recipe by Green Gourmet Giraffe
Serves 1-2

1 tbsp chickpea flour
1 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch)
1 tsp chia seeds
2-3 tbsp soy milk
pinch smoked salt
2 slices of sourdough bread
1 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tsp poppy seeds
1-2 tbsp margarine

Mix chickpea flour, cornflour, chia seeds, milk and salt in a shallow dish.  Soak for 30 seconds.  Scatter sesame seeds and poppy seeds on a plate or lid and dip bread in it.  Heat frypan over medium heat and melt 1 tbsp of margarine.  Fry bread for 2 to 4 minutes or until golden brown.  Flip over and fry another 2 to 4 minutes until golden brown - add more butter if needed.  Serve hot.

Serving suggestion: serve with tomatoes fried with a bit of seasoning, chickpea scramble and chopped greens of spring onions.

Sweet French Toast with Berries
Adapted from Isa Does It (See the original recipe)
Serves 1-2

1-2 handfuls of berries
Slurp of maple syrup
2 tbsp flour
1 tbsp cornflour
1 tsp chia seeds
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
pinch salt
2 tbsp dessicated coconut
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp margarine

Heat berries and maple syrup in a small saucepan until berries soften.  Set aside.  Mix flour, cornflour, chia seeds, milk and salt in a shallow dish.  Soak for 30 seconds.  Scatter coconut on a plate or lid and dip bread in it.  Heat frypan over medium heat.  Add olive oil and margarine.  Fry bread for 2 to 4 minutes or until golden brown.  Flip over and fry another 2 to 4 minutes until golden brown.  Serve hot with berry sauce.

On the Stereo:
Alas I cannot swim: Laura Marling

27 comments:

  1. This is French toast as I've never seen it before! I'm not sure how I'd find the coconut and seed coating - I have always liked traditional French toast despite my ambivalence towards eggs - but have been meaning to tell you that I tried your chickpea scramble from September. It came to the rescue midweek when I had little inspiration or motivation for cooking and we both loved it :)

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    1. Thanks Kari - I don't think my family ever had french toast but I don't think I would have touched it as I couldn't bear the thought of it being in the eggs. Glad you enjoyed the scramble - I have made it a few times. I think I need to incorporate it into our midweek meals. I too was inspired by your vegan french toast and have added the link to the post as I meant to do originally

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  2. I love the idea of the savoury seedy french toast. Especially with sourdough and that classic tang. I think I'd have mine with lots of hot mushrooms and a sprinkle of tabasco sauce! I'm always so envious of the markets and events you have near by. Looks a great day

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    1. Thanks Katie - we do have lots of great markets and events about us - mushrooms would be a good accompaniment to french toast - I always forget how good they are if fried nicely.

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  3. The seedy French toast sounds intriguing! I make French toast using the recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance which contains chickpea flour. I fear that Sylvia would reject it if I made it with seeds or "bits" but I'd love to try it myself :)

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    1. Thanks Kate - my Sylvia loved it with coconut but wasn't that interested in my seedy version but I think you could make a dipping mixture and only dip some (yours) in seeds or coconut

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  4. that all looks great! We have one child here who loves French toast, the other doesn't *sigh* When I was little my grandmother would make them and just sprinkle sugar on top. These days I'm more about maple syrup but the plain sugar is a nice nostalgia trip too :)

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    1. Thanks Veganopoulous - I love sugar on pancakes but the idea of sugar on french toast seems strange - though when I was growing up we loved sandwiches with sliced banana and sugar so maybe this would be a nostalgic topping for me!

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  5. This is the second savoury French toast I've seen in a few days. It's clearly a sign that I need to make it! :D

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  6. Some weekends leave me feeling utterly exhausted too. I haven't had French toast for many, many years. My father always had it with salt and pepper but I couldn't go past maple syrup xx

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    1. Thanks Charlie - it is ironic how tiring they can be when weekends are meant to be the relaxing part of the week :-) I can understand french toast with salt and pepper but it seems too plain for me.

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  7. This looks fantastic Johanna. Love all those seeds!
    I'm actually much more familiar with savoury "french toast" or "eggy bread" as it's known over here. I never liked it growing up because I didn't like eggs but I like most vegan eggy dishes!

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    1. Thanks Emma - I really like the name "eggy bread" - seems like nursery food. And I am like you - I like most vegan eggy dishes - even use black salt in some though I still find the smell repugnant!

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  8. I love French toast and regularly make it.. but never have I made French toast with seeds like this. Definitely something I need to try, thanks for the idea!

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  9. Just saw this recipe, thought you might like it: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/120330621269458324/

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    1. Thanks Veganopoulous - I have actually made these sausage patties of Ricki's and they are definitely something I would eat for breakfast (though I have never got into the American biscuits and gravy)

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  10. I've really been in the mood for more of a savory french toast...and this seeded version sounds like the perfect place to start!

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  11. Ah, it's all in a name. I shall remember pancake toast when I'm next craving pancakes. I haven't made French toast in more years than I care to remember and have no idea why not. I like your idea of coating it in seeds and your chickpea scramble sounds good too.

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  12. I'm thoroughly intrigued by this recipe. Oddly enough, I do remember being a big fan of french toast in my pregan days, but I've never thought to make it since, because I couldn't really think of how I'd make it. Problem solved. You're definitely my go to source of cool things to do with chick pea flour at the moment!

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    1. Thanks Joey - happy to help with the vegan french toast and the chickpea flour. I didn't like chickpea flour when I first tried it and now I go through it at an alarming rate and can't live without it - so many cool things to do with it

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  13. Ugh, I've tried making french toast and it did not turn out. I should try this recipe. Anything with coconut is delicious.
    Love the pictures from the market!

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    1. Thanks Kimmy - must first attempt at vegan french toast was disappointing so hope you give it another try - Isa's recipe is great but I really like Kari's idea of adding chia seeds too.

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  14. My this look absolutely mouthwatering! I’ve never had savory french toast like yours before, but had savory breakfast involving french toast, potatoes, gravy! I think I’d have mine with tons of maple syrup or BeeFreeHonee! I’m not a huge fan of eggs, but I like adding black salt for a slight eggy flavor.

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    1. Thanks Rika - Emma's comment about vegan eggy dishes made me think of black salt - am sure it would work well esp in a savoury french toast - interesting idea to serve it with potatoes and gravy though I don't know if I have ever had gravy at breakfast time (although being a lover of leftovers I probably have - could imagine all sorts of leftovers on french toast!)

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  15. I can't believe how grown up Sylvia is. Of course that sounds silly, all kids have to grow up but I still remember those photos that you sent me years ago!

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    1. Thank Lorraine - it is not just you - I keep thinking how much she seems to have grown this year!

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  16. Yum! I am with Sylvia on the berry sauce.

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