Summer. The sky colored ocean blue. The
wind is gentle and kind. Flowers in full bloom, the gardens alive, and the
meadows stretch on for miles in technicolor splendor. The morning sun is soft.
Shadows scatter across the grass. Summer is the bringer of joy. Late night
parties, music with a soulful tempo, and comfort foods like steak and BBQ for
every meal. The warm air brings out the inner child in all of us. There is something about wearing vibrant colored shorts
and drinking out of mason jar that makes life seem simple. The day’s ephemeral and the nights kept alive just a tad
while longer. The table is set, and the
food is ready. Welcome to summer.
A few weeks back, I spent the morning
at the Japanese House Gardens with a
friend and fellow photographer. She and I met over a year ago at the hotel
where we both work. In the first week, we
bonded over our loves of photography and became
good friends almost instantly. Fast forward a year and I’m running a food blog and she’s starting up her own
photography business. The way time moves and pushes us to grow never ceases to
amaze me. She was asked to photograph our manager’s wedding, which is towards
the end of August. She asked if I would help her drive around town and pick
locations to take the bridal party on wedding day for photos. Our journey lead
us to the gardens.
The Japanese House gardens lie towards
the outer rim of the University. Time
seems to stall when at the gardens. The air is still,
and the light is clear and pleasant. Silence
rules the space and beauty gleams brighter than the rising sun. With beautiful
flowers, gorgeous gardens, and large grassy plains, it was the ideal location
to take some shots and talk about poses
and angles. We arrived mid-morning. The gardens were well deserted, besides the
group tour full of elderly tourist, snapping moments of the gardens grace and
tranquility, and a handful of volunteer gardeners working frivolously under the
hot summer sun.
Strolling through the gardens made me
take a step back and cherish the beauty
of it all. I love taking walks and admiring the simplicity
and the majesty of nature. Walks allow my
brain to unravel upon itself and think. I
believe nature possess a calming effect. I find my greatest amount of pure
inspiration after long walks at night or on a quiet Sunday stroll through the
woods. The way the shadows danced on the trees
trigger my senses and leaves me in sheer awe at the pure mysteriousness and
power of nature. I begin to think about the grand
scheme of life and how nature truly connects us to the core. Mother Nature is
no subtle mistress. She is a being of artistry
and demands to be displayed a spectacle for the senses. Smells of pine and
sounds of rustling leafs transport us into a
completely new reality, the reality of
our imaginations. Nature is a teacher. It teaches us to inspire, grow, change
for the good, and find the beauty within ourselves.
On a more culinary note; French toast is bae. In the growing debate between pancakes, waffles, and
French toast, I will time and time again choose a three stack high plate of
French toast above all else. There is something incredibly satisfying about taking
that first bite of a warm, freshly
browned piece of French toast. For years, my family has used store-bought,
processed white bread to make French toast, which is fine, delicious, in fact, don’t get me wrong. After using
the Brioche bread recipe from Huckleberry
to make the French toast, I was
forever converted. No longer shall I belittle my French toast tastes to
pre-packaged white bread. There was something strikingly life changing about eating
that warm brioche bread, the maple syrup slowly drowning
the buttered toast in a cascade of sweet delight. The French toast was
light in texture and butyraceous with a touch of sweetness that melted
beautifully together with every bite. Utterly perfection.
I
had read about bloggers using rose water for quite a few months before
purchasing some myself. With spring and summer upon us, rose water seemed like
the ideal ingredient to have on hand for some of my future baking endeavors. It
is supposed to help me embrace the beauty and tranquility of the changing seasons.
I purchased my rose water here. It smelled just as you would inquire it does,
like an endless bundle of rose bushes in bloom. I fell quickly in love with
rose water and knew I had to use it for a recipe. Strawberries are in season
here in the Midwest, so clearly I had to use them in a compote. The strawberry
compote recipe is from The Minimalist
Baker. The compote took the French toast to entirely new flavor level. It
brought a slight tartness to the sweet and syrup covered French toast. I added a tad more sugar to give it a sweeter
taste. It was delicious, and the perfect
pair of the French toast and the rose
water whipped cream. Garden walks and French toast; this was a splendid way to
welcome summer.
Brioche French toast with a Whipped Rose Water Cream &
Strawberry Compote
Yeilds 16, ½ inch thick, slices
For the French toast- adapted from Allrecipes
For the Strawberry Compote- adapted from The Minimalist Baker
Ingredients
- Two
loaves, preferably day old, Brioche bread
- 6 eggs
- 2 cups
milk
- ¾
teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾
teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 3
teaspoons vanilla extract
- Salt to
taste
- 3 cups
fresh or frozen strawberries, depending
on the season
- 3
tablespoons orange juice
- ¼
teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼
teaspoon ground ginger
- 4
teaspoons sugar
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 cup
heavy cream
- 1
teaspoon rose water
Pre-step: Take an evening or an
entire day and walk through your local gardens or woods. Experience the beauty
and majesty of Mother Earth.
1. For the strawberry compote: In a
medium saucepan, add the strawberries and
orange juice and bring to a medium heat. Once bubbling, reduce the heat and use
a potato masher or wooden spoon and gently muddle and mash the fruit, leaving
some bigger pieces behind. Continue to cook over medium-low heat for 10-12
minutes, occasionally stirring and muddling.
Remove from heat and transfer to a Mason jar or container to cool. Store
in the fridge until ready to serve.
2. For the Whipped Rose Water Cream: Place
a metal mixing bowl and metal whisk into the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes. Doing this will allow the cream to stay cold
and create stiff peaks quicker. Place the sugar into a mixing bowl and add the
heavy cream. With a hand mixer or metal whisk, whisk just until the cream
reaches stiff peaks, about 7 to 9 minutes. Add the rose water in one tablespoon
increments until desired taste is reached. Store in an airtight container for
up to 10 hours. When ready to use, whisk
for 10 to 15 seconds to reincorporate the air back into the cream.
3. For the French toast: In a
medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and
extract. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or cast iron skillet over medium-high
flame.
Tip: Test that the oil is hot enough
by sprinkling a pinch of water into the griddle’s or skillet’s surface. If the water “pops” up from the pan, the oil is ready.
4. Dunk each slice of bread in the egg mixture, soaking both sides. Place
two to three pieces of bread into the pan and cook on both sides until golden
brown. Serve hot with the compote and whipped cream.
