Welcome!

Welcome to The Funky Gourmet! As this is my first adventure in blogging, I'm going to ask for a little patience while I get the hang of posting.

Basically, my mission here is two-fold: to write, which I love to do and don't do nearly often enough; and to share some of my recipes, tricks, and general love of food and cooking with the world. I love food. Being from a very Southern family, food to me is an expression of love. If you walk in the door of my house, my mother's house, or any house south of the Mason-Dixon line, the first words you'll hear most likely are, "Are ya hungry?" This, of course, is not specific to the South - my friend's family in St. Joseph, MI, is feeding me Easter supper tonight because they can't bear for me to not be well fed on a holiday - and that idea of food as love is what drives me to create recipes that are nourishing, satisfying, and completely delicious. It also drives me to share that love with you!

For now, the format will be this: A little exposition, maybe some musings on food, my day, life, or something totally unrelated, and then, a recipe. This could change, of course. Flexibility is key in all things.

Today's recipe is for the french toast I burned my hand making this morning. You probably won't see a whole lot of breakfast or brunch recipes here; when it comes to mornings, I am very much a creature of habit. However, today I broke the mold, and it turned out very well, if I may say so myself.

French Toast with Apricot Sauce and Marscapone Cheese

2 pieces Honey Wheat bread

2 Eggs

3 T milk

1/2 tsp mace

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp honey

1 T butter

1 cinnamon stick

Sauce:

1/3 cup sugar free apricot preserves

1/2 tsp brown sugar

2 T apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp mace

1/4 cup marscapone cheese

2-3 T chopped mint (optional)

In a shallow bowl, mix eggs, milk, honey, and spices until fully incorporated. Soak bread until fully saturated with egg mixture.

In a small saucepan, combine all ingredients for sauce over medium-low heat. Simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Melt butter in medium skillet. Add cinnamon stick; saute over medium flame until the stick opens and crackles. Remove stick. Add soaked bread. Cook 3-5 minutes per side until bread is cooked through.

Move bread to plate. Top with marscapone, then apricot sauce, then mint, if desired. Serve warm.

Enjoy!