Hooray for Strawberries!

It's nearly summer, though from the heat in Los Angeles, it feels like we should be prepping our grills and seasoning our Fourth of July burgers already.

But since it's really only April, and strawberries are cheap and fresh and oh-so-sweet, it's time to celebrate the Farmer's Market bounty instead.

I woke up starving this morning, probably a result of my itty-bitty dinner last night. Rather than the big weekend breakfast that I was craving, I decided to start on getting my daily recommended serving of fruits...

Strawberry-Stuffed French Toast
No need to run to IHOP, people. You can put together this moderately healthy treat for yourself in 15 minutes.

Serves 4.

1/2 loaf bread, sliced into 1 to 1 1/14 inch thick slices
5 large strawberries, washed and pitted
4 tbsp. fat-free cream cheese, softened
2 tbsp. sugar or sweetener
2 eggs
1 tbsp. skim or low-fat milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. powdered sugar or sweetener
4 strawberries, washed and pitted, for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Mash together strawberries, cream cheese, and sugar. I like to throw it all into my mini-blender (gotta love that attachment on the magic stick blender) and pulse until fully combined.
3. Slice mostly through the thick bread slices, being careful not to cut all the way through. "Don't break the hinge," as the cheesesteak lady says.
4. Spoon 1/4 of the cream cheese mixture in each pocket.
5. Beat together eggs, milk, and vanilla.
6. Dip bread into egg mixture, letting it sit for 5 seconds on each side, before placing dipped bread on a wire rack or parchment paper to give the egg mixture time to soak into the bread completely.
7. While the bread is resting, heat a large skillet to medium-low. Melt 1 tbsp. butter.
8. Cook 2 french toast in skillet for 4 minutes on each side, or until desired brownness is achieved. Add remaining 1 tbsp. butter, cook remaining 2 french toast.
9. Bake french toast on parchment paper-lined cookie sheet for 8 minutes.
10. Serve hot, garnished with powdered sugar and strawberries (for dessert, I like to top the french toast with a mini-scoop of ice cream along with the sugar and berries).

If you're cooking for one (like I am), wrap ungarnished french toast in foil, separated by parchment or wax paper, and keep in refrigerator. To re-heat, simply toast at medium to dark setting in toaster oven or bake at 350F for 10 minutes on a cookie sheet and covered with foil. These make great last-minute desserts or snacks, and can be frozen for up to 2 months when double-wrapped in foil.

Special of the day -- Grapefruit

I'm not usually one for fresh fruit in the morning. It's too early, I'm too sleepy, it's too much effort. This morning, though, was different. I woke up with a craving for fruit, something sweet and juicy. But you know I can never leave things alone, and I ended up with a dish that is better than just your average grapefruit.

Grapefruit Breakfast Salad
I grapefruit
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. sugar (I used colored sugar leftover from baking cookies)
1 tsp. honey
1/4 tsp. lemon zest

1. Thoroughly wash grapefruit, then cut off the top and bottom 1/2 inch. Slice off the skin in strips, following the curve of the fruit from top to bottom. You should end up with a whole grapefruit, minus the peel and bitter white pith. Carefully cut out the segments of the fruit, leaving behind the membrane that separates the segments. The remaining membranes will look like pages in a book. Discard any seeds. Some people call this process "booking" a fruit, or making "supremes."
2. Place the supremed fruit in your breakfast bowl, then sprinkle with salt and sugar. Drizzle lightly with honey, then dust with lemon zest.

I've found that the honey and sugar cut the sometimes bitter and tart flavors present in grapefruit. The salt works to bring out the sweetness of the fruit, while the lemon zest ties together the whole dish. You might want to try a tiny pinch of freshly grated ginger root or chiffonade mint leaves to make this dish less sweet and balance out the citrus.