One morning, I sat at my grandparent’s kitchen table and watched as my Pop-Pop put a few slices of bread in the toaster and slathered them with butter when they were golden brown– not a notable breakfast by any means. He then grabbed a shaker filled with a combination of cinnamon and sugar, sprinkled it on the buttered, crunchy toast and put it in front of me. I can distinctly remember thinking I was beating the system because I was essentially eating dessert for breakfast and, from that day forward, cinnamon toast became one of my comfort food staples.

One of the most basic breakfasts I make, cinnamon toast is effortless and practically impossible to mess up. It can, however, get better with a few extra ingredients, a couple extra steps and way more butter.

The man who introduced me to cinnamon toast deserves lots of kisses.

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Today is my final day of maternity leave and, luckily, my husband is off for Columbus Day. To celebrate surviving the past 12 weeks, eat my feelings, and take advantage of having the day to spend together, we took a walk to Coffee House Too on York Street for coffee and breakfast.

Coffee House Too is located at 2514 East York Street in Fishtown. Photo from coffeehouseco.com.

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When I was growing up, breakfast for dinner was always reliable when my mom was overdue for a trip to the grocery store. I knew it meant that we probably didn’t have another meal option, but I never minded. Bacon and eggs, pancakes, or French toast at any P.M. hour felt like breaking the rules, and I always considered it a special occasion.  Read More…

Last weekend, Francophiles and Philadelphians – the ones who weren’t down the shore, anyway- flocked to the Fairmount section of the city for the 19^th annual Bastille Day celebration. Across the globe, the French people celebrated their national holiday with picnics, parties and fireworks. Here, the Eastern State Penitentiary led the neighborhood in a celebration worthy of a block party with a light-hearted reenactment of the storming of the Bastille.

As tradition would have it, local “experimental cabaret troupe,” The Bearded Ladies, graced guests with an hour long outdoor stage performance, emceed by an Edith Piaf impersonator. There was plenty of dancing and singing throughout the set, and Marie Antoinette mocked the crowd from the walls of the Penitentiary, and shouted her command to “let them eat TaskyKake.” On cue, thousands of Butterscotch Krimpets were hurled at the crowd below.

While we weren’t lucky enough to catch a Krimpet, I did make something special and French inspired for a weekend brunch – traditional Quiche Lorraine.

Espelette from Paris replaced the Cayenne in this French recipe.

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