Grilled Cinnamon Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich

When I first lived overseas, I was a bit shocked to see a work colleague eat banana sandwich with chips...yes, potato chips. I thought it was weird.

While walking on my way home last Friday night,  I started planning for my breakfast the next day. Since, peanut butter has been my craving for the past days, I thought of making peanut butter banana sandwich. And, hey! It tasted good. My daughter, Sabina, enjoyed it.

Very easy. Try it! I grilled my sandwich on a non-stick pan and don't forget to spread butter slightly on the bread.

I got this on special!

Le Pain Quotidien

My children and I go for heavy breakfast, as we love discovering new breakfast places to visit. We don't mind waking up really early for a good breakfast. The branch of Le Pain Quotidien in The Rocks opened in November. It has other locations in Sydney but this one is quite historical as it used to be a police station. There are small dining rooms which used to be prison cells. The place is quaint and perfect for catching up with friends.

As for the food, it was good. Simple, yet nicely presented. Their hollandaise was perfect! We tried their brioche and sour cherry tart, and I must say, it tasted authentic. Coffee is served in a large cup here in Le Pain Quotidien; large enough to look like a soup bowl, ha. Ha. Also, it wasn't as expensive as we expected. Looking forward to visiting this place again.

Clockwise from top left: Outside Le Pain Quotidien, the room where we dined,
one of the former prison cells, and the hallway.

Poached eggs with hollandaise and ham (left)
As you can see, on the right is the coffee cup - or should I say bowl?

Scrambled eggs with organic bread, bacon and grilled tomato (left)
Belgian waffle with seasonal fruit (right)

Sabina says:
Frankly, this is one of the most tastiest places you can go to for breakfast. I've had a soft spot for waffles, and their Belgian waffles did not fail to disappoint! I had to share with my sister, so we had half of the two dishes above. Another thing I liked about the breakfast was their bread. Soft and chewy in the inside, and crunchy and toasted on the outside. We also bought a sour cherry and almond tart (I think that's what it's called), and it tasted divine.

Bacon & Egg Muffin Toast

I'm back! It's been two weeks since I updated my blog. Last month was the busiest since January this year. More work transactions to finish, school and a whole shebang of family activities to deal with. Oh well, enough of that. Here's  my daughter's breakfast of the month, she calls it bacon and egg muffin toast.

I saw it being demonstrated on TV by an English lady who lives in Paris. This version is a quicker because hers had bechamel sauce. I skipped that part because I don't have the luxury of time to make a bechamel sauce in the morning.

It is so easy that photos (I think) are enough ha.ha. If you have questions, feel free to ask and leave a comment. Bon appetit!

BACON & EGG MUFFIN TOAST


Ingredients:
Butter spread (for brushing toast)
Slices of bread (with edges removed)
Pieces of bacon
Eggs
Grated cheddar or tasty cheese
Freshly cracked pepper

Pre-heat oven at 170deg C or 350degF.
Cooking time: 10 minutes (if you want eggs further cooked, extend to few more minutes)

Blissful Brekkie at Bon Bon

I received a canister of hot chocolate drink mix for Christmas from my friend, Carol. It was from Bon Bon. I've been to the chocolate store before but I didn't know that there was a cafe downstairs. For our next breakfast adventure, we woke up a little bit early last Sunday to try their breakfast offering.

We were stunned by the nice rustic ambiance of the cafe. Reminded me of our cafe in the Philippines, Northern Brew. We were greeted by the Barista and soon the friendly staff approached us. The girls had a cold chocolate drink while I tried the hot dark chocolate with a hint of Habanero chili. Wow! I love the kick of chili at the end. It lingers. 

What did we order? Sabina had a croissant filled with smoked ham, Gouda and sliced roma tomato. They take pride in claiming that the croissant is traditionally made with 120 layers. Indeed, it was flaky, light and buttery. I had slightly toasted rye bread with poached eggs, haloumi, cherry tomatoes, avocado and arugula. It was awesome!  Ariana, on the other hand, had Belgian waffle topped with berry compote, mascarpone and pistachio nuts. I'll let her tell you what she thinks about her food. I guess, she was the least happiest among the three of us, ha ha.

Ariana says:
I do have to agree with my mum when she says I was the least happiest. Overall, I'd give my breakfast item a 7/10. The toppings were, for the lack of a better term, fantabulous. The creaminess of the mascarpone, in addition to the toasted pistachio nuts, compliment the tartness of the berry compote. I did however struggle to find the Belgian waffle itself. It absorbed most of the compote and ended up being soggy - and unidentifiable if I do say so myself. But hey, you get free chocolate afterwards so it's all good! 

Overall, it was a lovely breakfast. The ambiance, food & service were nearly perfect. After paying our bill, we were given three tiny boxes which we could take to the chocolate shop upstairs for free chocolate of our choice.I had white chocolate filled with  champagne flavoured ganache. I think the girls went for the coffee filled ones.We'll definitely visit back soon.

Average Bill per head: AUD17

Guylian at Darling Quarter

As of date, Guylian at Darling Quarter is one of our happy places. We love having our breakfast there and the park in front of the cafe spells fun especially for my girls. So, coming here is like hitting two birds with one stone. They always order their fluffy pancakes with strawberries topped with chocolate sauce while I like the bacon, spinach & mushroom. Chocolate based drinks taste good, too. The cafe has nice ambiance and relaxing atmosphere. We recently visited the place, this time with my husband, and they are quite consistent with their good service.

Their pastries?Hhhmmmm. Not that bad but I'll still go for La Renaissance or Becasse for French pastries. Each time I visit a pastry shop for the first time, I make sure that I order a slice of L'Opera or an eclair,  the classics. It would somehow be my basis of rating their pastries ha.ha. Theirs is so-so. 

Check out Darling Quarter http://www.darlingquarter.com/ .
Average Bill per head: AUD20

Banana Bread

Here's a very easy recipe. This is actually the first recipe my eldest daughter learned to bake when she was fourteen. My children love having their banana bread toasted for breakfast topped with ricotta or cream cheese and jam. Bananas are quite expensive here but fruit shops sell them on special when they are over ripe. Perfect! it's just what I need . If you have excess of the over ripe bananas, it can be stored in the freezer. Pre-weigh then just thaw as you need it.

Got this recipe while doing my apprentice ten years ago but I've tweaked it a bit according to my preference. It is in grams as almost all of the recipes in the professional kitchen are measured by weight for obvious reasons. The addition of honey will make it moist. I sometimes make cupcakes for my children to bring in school then half of the mixture, I turn into a loaf or even a round cake and cover it with chocolate ganache. Very versatile ha.ha.

Try it guys!

Banana Bread

500 g ripe bananas, mashed (more ripe, the better)
500 g brown sugar
450 g plain flour (one cup is approx. 125 grams)
25 g  baking soda
6 pcs. eggs
250 ml fresh milk
250 ml oil
50 g honey

Procedure:

• Pre-heat oven at 350degF or 180degC.
• In a bowl, using a wire whisk, mix mashed bananas, sugar and liquid ingredients until properly blended. (I used my kitchen aid because I'm lazy to manually mash the bananas.)
• Add dry ingredients. Mix until there are no traces of flour.
• If desired, add chocolate chips.
• Pour on greased & floured loaf pan. If making cupcakes, scoop mixture (at least 2/3 full).
• Bake 50 to 60 mins for loaf and 20-30 mins. for cupcakes or until done.

Important things to remember:

• If using fan forced, remember to reduce the temperature to 160degC.
• For large loaf tin, reduce the temperature to 170degC.

French Toast

It's a nightmare dealing with leftovers. Whenever I have leftover breads, French toast will always be part of our breakfast menu. It is true, once you start earning hard earned money, it is very difficult to throw stuff easily. I wasn't like this when I was younger, I guess, it's because I haven't realised the real value of money and hard work.

Anyway, here's what you need:
(This is not a fuzzy recipe, measurements not very crucial)

French Toast

2-4 pcs . Left-over breads
1/2 cup to 1 cup of milk (the amount will depend with the bread size)
1-2 pcs. eggs
cinnamon powder, as desired

Topping:
Bananas (any fruits in season will do),sliced into pieces
2 Tbsps. butter
3 Tbsps. brown sugar

Simple Ganache:
One part thickened cream (all-purpose cream for others) and One part chopped cooking chocolate
(e.g. 1/4 c cream & 1/4 c chopped cooking chocolate)

Procedure:

• French Toast
• With a fork or whisk, mix milk, eggs & cinnamon powder.
• Dip each piece of bread until it has absorbed enough of the liquid mixture. Soaking it too long will give you a very soggy french toast.
• On medium heat, cook each bread using a non-stick pan sprayed with canola spray or lightly brushed with butter until golden brown in color. Set aside.
• Topping
• To save time, using the same pan used for cooking the French toast, melt butter and add the brown sugar. Cook until slightly caramelized.
• Add cut-up fruits.
• Ganache
• Quickly heat the cream in the microwave  (if making a big batch, cream can be heated on the stove in a small sauce pan, just before boiling).
• Off the heat, add chopped chocolate & mix until smooth.
• To assemble:
• Arrange the caramelized fruits on top of french toast and drizzle some ganache using a teaspoon. Chopped walnuts can be added for some texture.

*Note: excess ganache can be used as ice cream topping or dipping sauce for your fresh strawberries