Happy International Bacon Day! I woke up this morning to discover with delight that it was the first day of spring and also a little day called International Bacon Day… as an enthusiastic carnivore, I must say that this is one of my favourite days of the year 😉 While International Bacon Day is an American & Canadian holiday which is on the day before Labor Day, I thought there was no reason whatsoever that I couldn’t celebrate it too!

What to make? With short notice and a distinct restraint on my time at the moment due to mid-semester examinations, I defrosted a packet of bacon from the freezer and pondered this question. Eventually I went for a dish where bacon is a most famous accompaniment: French Toast!

Now to be honest here, I’ve never made French Toast before. I’ve only ever had it on one occasion, and that was as part of a hotel breakfast buffet. From what I remember, I was significantly impressed by those little yellow triangles of heavily battered, non-golden brown, eggy white bread. I’ve also steered away from ordering it at cafes as the description of bacon accompanying it was a turn off. I’m a firm believer in savoury things being salty, and sweet things being sweet, and not combining the two. Time to challenge my tastebuds!

I went down to the local supermarket and bought a few things, including a lovely soft loaf of white batard. Had I had more time, I might have hunted down some brioche or something similar, but this was an impromptu brunch.

I found a recipe online at taste.com and made some changes to it to suit myself 🙂

To serve two (or one hungry individual), you will need:

• 50ml milk;
• One egg;
• 20g butter;
• 1/2t cinnamon;
• 1/2t vanilla paste;
• Five or six slices of thick white bread;
• Maple syrup and bacon to serve.

1. In a small bowl, whisk together your milk, egg, cinnamon and vanilla. Dip in the slices of bread, one at a time, thoroughly coating them in the egg mixture. Allow them to drain before placing them on a baking tray lined with paper.

2. Heat a frying pan over a medium heat and melt half of the butter. Fry the slices of bread until golden on both sides.

3. Place on a plate and cover with foil before frying your bacon strips. Serve hot slices of the toast with the bacon, fresh strawberries and a generous drizzle of maple syrup.

Okay… I take back everything I said about savoury and sweet not going together! The cinnamon on the toast just marries beautifully with the maple syrup and the bacon…. hang on, can you have a three-way marriage? Oh, who cares – it was delicious, to put it simply!

Have an amazing weekend, lovelies! xx