Camille’s Meals: Good food for your health

The Whole Foods Experience

Among the highlights of my recent trip to Austin were the multiple trips to the Whole Foods flagship store.  It is massive!  Probably the size of a Super Walmart or something.  We spent 2 1/2 hours there on Thanksgiving, proving to be the most lovely Thanksgiving celebration I have had to date.  The only turkey we ate were smoked turkey legs, and that was mostly for the humor of it.  There has been word that a Whole Foods is coming to Santa Barbara.  If that’s true, watch out Lazy Acres, you just lost your best customer!

BBQ

Texas=BBQ and BBQ=Texas.  My one regret from the trip is that I didn’t

demand more BBQ.  We went to a really popular chain called Rudy’s and it was delicious.  No frills, just some of the best brisket I have had.  My Hawaiian friends would be so jealous.  The guy wanted us to try the pecan pie so bad that he told his manager that it was Meg’s birthday and for the rest of the night everyone was saying it to her.  Mostly funny because she is the kind of girl who doesnt lie about anything at all (except that time at barons with that game…)

My Culinary Creations

This was a vacation for me from cooking, except for the cookie decorating activity at the resort we stayed at on Thanksgiving night.  Given the lack of utensils and tools for decorating (a plastic spoon), I think I did a lovely job (made a piping bag out of used parchment paper).  I figured that the most authentic cookies would have to be cowboy hats with Longhorns…cant overestimate how attached Texans are to those.

On our trip to the Whole Foods in San Antonio, we were bewitched by this loaf of apple, cinnamon, and raisin Challah bread.  It really just called our names. Here is the basic recipe, though you may need to edit proportions.

Challah French Toast with Carmelized Bananas and Blueberries

serves 4 people

10,000 calories per serving, but worth every bite

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Ingredients:

1 loaf Challah Bread (I used one with raisins and apples in it)

2 cups eggnog (soy and rice available at some stores, I used Rice)

2 eggs

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon ginger

8 T salted Irish butter

3 bananas, peeled and sliced

2 cups fresh blueberries

Maple syrup (none of that Aunt Jemima crap)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 200 degrees.

1. Slice Challah into 1 1/2 inch slices. Combine next 5 ingredients in large bowl and whisk to fully blend egg yolks. Add 1-2 slices of bread at a time, turning once and being careful to not break or over-saturate.

2. Heat 2 T butter in large nonstick pan on medium heat. Once pan is hot, add first 2 slices of bread.  Cook for about 3 minutes per side, or until crispy and golgen with out burning.  If the outside is dark and the inside mushy, turn heat down and continue cooking until cooked through.

3. Repeat with remaining slices.  Add more butter to pan before adding new slices of bread. Keep slices warm in 200 degree oven.

4. Once all the slices have cooked, add remaining 3 T butter to pan and turn to high heat. Add bananas and blueberries and stir constantly for about 2 minutes.  It should all be sizzling now. Add 1 cup maple syrup to pan and allow bananas to carmelize.  You dont want the bananas to fall apart, just be browned on the edges.

5. To serve: Divide French toast among 4 plates and ladle fruit and syrup evenly.  Serve with more butter and syrup if desired, but probably not necessary.