french toast

Thick slices of homemade challah bread make the best french toast. A special treat for the very few times we do sit down and have breakfast on weekends. I've made french toast with regular sandwich bread many times before but I think the egg ingredient in this bread makes it better and richer in flavor. I've always craved breakfast food any time of the day. French toast and pancakes still top my list. I have always loved this perfect idea of saving leftover bread and making something good out of it.
Traditional Filipino breakfast often starts off with a good cup of coffee and often includes rice in the menu, eggs with pan-fried meat like sausages, marinated pork slices called "tocino", salted duck egg, Spam, canned corned beef, etc., usually accompanied with tomato slices and seasoned vinegar dips. Other choices are breakfast street food available from street vendors like "taho" ( made with soybeans ) sweetened with brown sugar syrup ( always popular especially with kids ), puto, cuchinta and bibingka ( assorted rice cakes ) etc. But although these traditional Filipino breakfast items remain to be a favorite by many, with the strong influence from American culture and other countries, and with more people trying their best to eat healthier, we have since adapted and grown used to a variety of breakfast options like whole grain cereals with fruit, low-fat yoghurt with granola topping, granola bars, plain oatmeal as well as different oatmeal flavors and combinations, etc. But not all of this processed instant food are good for us and it's still best to check the labels and nutrition facts.
I must admit I have adapted well to my "no breakfast" working years back in Manila. My mornings were usually spent getting extra sleep rather than preparing breakfast and sitting down for a full meal. I remember I was always rushing out of the house early to avoid traffic, grabbing some coffee and a piece of bread on the way out. My weekends were always more laid back but even then, I would make french toast and pancakes more for an afternoon snack than for breakfast. It's the time of day when I could relax more, enjoy the break and this popular breakfast treat.

French toast topped with cottage cheese and blueberry syrup