Welcome back friends!  What a breathtaking time of year we’ve been experiencing lately here in the Ohio Valley.  The trees are beautiful with all the spectacular red and yellow leaves, especially when they glimmer in the sunlight.  In contrast to the warm and sunny days, the nights are beginning to really get cool and we’ve even awakened a few mornings to frost on the ground. 

It can make it difficult to know what to wear when the temperature warms up 30 degrees or more from morning to afternoon, but I love it. On such cool mornings, the delicious French toast I told you about in my last blog is a perfect way to start out the morning.  Everyone will probably think it took you forever to prepare it, but since you mix up the milk mixture the night before, this French toast is actually a very quick and easy breakfast to make on even the busiest mornings.

Alison’s Vanilla Cream French Toast 1 egg 1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk 1 tsp. vanilla 1 tsp. cinnamon ¼ tsp. salt 1/3 cup milk 1 pkg of Berlin Natural Bakery Whole or White Spelt Burger Buns, or 1 loaf of any of Berlin Natural Bakery bread (I have used both the burger buns and Berlin Natural Bakery Biblical Bread and they have both held up great.  If you are using a French bread or other dense bread, cut the loaf into approximately 1 inch thick slices). Mix the first 6 ingredients in a container.  Cover and put into refrigerator overnight.  Spread the buns or slices of bread on a cookie sheet or on your counter and leave them out overnight so they can dry out.  Before using the egg/milk mixture, stir it again to make sure all the ingredients are mixed well.  Dip the buns or slices of bread into the egg and milk mixture, leaving them in the mixture for 30 seconds on each side.  Place them on a well-greased griddle or frying pan and brown them on both sides.  Serve with soft butter and maple syrup.

Note: If you forget to let the bread dry out, it’s not a problem.  When you dip it in the egg and milk mixture, just do it for a shorter time as the bread will soak up the mixture quicker since it’s not dried out. Watch the temperature on your stove as this French toast browns pretty quickly.  I usually start out with a medium high heat and once the pan or griddle gets hot, I turn it back to medium.  (The way I test whether my pan is hot enough is to sprinkle just a few drops of water in the pan.  If the water “sizzles” a little bit, the pan is ready, but if the water pops like crazy, the pan is probably a little too hot).  

The great thing about this toast, is that even if it gets a little overbrown, it’s still delicious.  That just makes it more caramelized. I certainly hope you enjoy this breakfast as much as my husband and I do. I’m so thankful our daughter Alison made it for us and then shared her recipe. There’s no doubt that in a couple months, I’ll be wishing I was spending time with my sister Beth in Hawaii, but right now I am truly enjoying this time of year. 

Not only is autumn one of my favorite seasons because of the beautiful scenery here in Ohio, but it also means the holidays are just around the corner. With that in mind, for the next few blogs I am planning to share recipes for the holidays.  The next recipe will be Thanksgiving Stuffing made in a slow cooker. 

For Thanksgiving dinner in our home, we always brine our turkey before baking it, and therefore we do not stuff it with the dressing.  Since I don’t have extra room in my oven, I make my stuffing in a slow cooker.  It works out perfectly. You’ll need the following ingredients for this recipe: butter, onion, celery, parsley, 1 to 2 loaves of Berlin Natural Bakery spelt bread (I usually use both white spelt bread and whole grain spelt bread, but this time I am going to try something different and use white spelt bread and raisin spelt bread.  I’ll let you know how it turns out.), salt, pepper, chicken broth, eggs and any or all of the following seasonings/herbs (poultry seasoning, sage, thyme and marjoram).  I may also add pecans. It’s been great sharing another recipe with you. 

Until next time…..happy baking!