Hi guys – Liv again!
It was my birthday 3 days ago and whilst I don’t yet feel any older, I certainly enjoyed the excuse for a pamper day (which was left until today as I had the day off but worked my actual birthday) which of course means breakfast in bed!
One of my favourite quick and cheap but indulgent breakfasts is cinnamon toast also known as French toast for you Americans. The usual recipes tend to use egg but we replaced with a mashed banana which did just fine! You can use the left over mixture after dipping the bread to mix with flour to form a pancake batter too so you get to have both french toast and a small pancake! Win win for zero waste and extra food! This is also a good way to use up slightly stale bread (in fact, older bread is better as soft new bread tends to fall apart when dipped in the batter). This recipe serves 2 so you can halve if there is just one of you or increase as you wish! Here is the recipe (all prices are Aldi unless specified):
- 1 Banana, mashed: 13p
- 4 slices of bread, white or wholemeal: 6.8p
- 250ml sweetened soya milk: 14.75p
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (Tesco own brand): 11p
- 1 tsp cinnamon: 6.1p
- In a bowl combine the mashed banana, milk, vanilla and cinnamon with a whisk to form a smooth batter. Let sit for 5 minutes.
- Cut each slice of bread length ways into 4 “soldiers”.
- Heat a little oil in a non-stick frying pan on a fairly high heat.
- Dip each soldier into the batter and coat both sides before quickly adding to the pan. Add about 4 to the pan at once so as not to overload.
- Cook for about 2-3 minutes on one side then flip with a spatula. The just cooked side should be golden brown. Fry for another 2-3 minutes then transfer to a plate and cook the next batch in the same way.
- If you have extra batter left at the end of dipping, do not waste it! Simply add plain flour and whisk until it is a batter consistency. Then fry in the hot pan after the toast to get an extra (almost free) pancake!
- When all the slices (and the pancake) have been cooked, serve warn with a sprinkling of sugar and extra cinnamon if liked. Other toppings could include yogurt, lemon and sugar, maple syrup or chocolate sauce. We served ours with toasted hazelnuts foraged from an abandoned house’s garden.*
- Enjoy!
*The hazelnuts were an extremely lucky and rare find which I spotted lying about on a public pavement whilst out and about. I managed to gather about a mugful of them before we shelled them then simply placed in a dry pan on a high heat to toast. Once toasted, the thin brown skin rubbed off easily with a tea towel and they made a delicious addition to my special birthday breakfast! Food tastes so much better free!
What is your favourite food to forage? Anyone come across any real gems like our abandoned hazel tree?
The £1.50 Vegan 