Lemon Vanilla French Toast with Strawberries

Okay so I've been absent for a little while! Here's the deal. Graham and I got married on Friday, for real, so I took a couple days off to plan and celebrate. Then on Monday I had some problems with a rapid drop in blood pressure which resulted in me not leaving the couch for two days, and I'm still not quite back to normal. And Graham just finished up his master's application documents which I've been helping with for the past week or so during all of this, along with packing up to move out of our apartment this coming weekend. It's all a bit crazy! I'm not sure how much I'll post before Monday but fingers crossed I can get one or two more new recipes in before then, and from then on things should be just about back to normal. 

In other news, the weather has been amazing and all the leaves have suddenly popped out over the past few days - I'm going to miss our amazing view over the canal now that everything's green again! I don't feel crazy attached to this house but it has been our home for the past year and a half, and I'll definitely miss living in this awesome neighbourhood. If anyone's reading this from Groningen, shoot me a message, because we'll be moving there soon! I doubt anyone is, hah. 

One more thing just before I get to the recipe. If you're a blogger or food photographer reading this, Heidi of The Simple Green and I recently started a group to support other veggie-based bloggers/photographers/etc. and here's the link if you'd like to join. The goal is to provide a very open space to talk about photography, working as a plant-forward blogger, tips and tricks, and so on. Everything out in the open because sometimes it's so hard to find helpful information and support in this field of work!

So, french toast! Healthier, dairy-free french toast, that is. I made this with leftover vegan lemon vanilla challah that I made a million times before Easter (and yet under baked the one I actually brought to Easter brunch, ridiculous). Of course I've made this with that particular bread in mind, but you do add lemon zest and vanilla to the egg mixture to make sure those flavours come through, so you could easily use another challah or brioche instead. If you want a vegan french toast, try using this as the base recipe and add the lemon and vanilla. I haven't personally tried it but I trust Love and Lemons - I'll post a vegan french toast recipe at some point! My digestion gets along pretty well with eggs but we often don't have them in the house, so an egg-free version would be handy.

To keep this mostly breakfast-friendly, I topped my stack with coconut yogurt instead of whipped cream and lots of strawberries, plus a tiny sprinkle coconut and of dark chocolate (why not). French toast is the best, especially at this time of year, and even though it takes hardly any time to make it's always special. I think I like it even more than waffles and pancakes. 

In a shallow bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, vanilla, salt, and lemon zest. Dip the bread slices into the egg mixture, letting them soak for a minute each side.

Heat a large pan over medium heat with about a teaspoon of coconut oil. Once the pan is hot, cook 2-3 slices of french toast at a time, until golden, about 3 minutes each side. Repeat until all of the bread has been used. Serve immediately with coconut yogurt, strawberries, and maple syrup.

* The eggs I use are closer to medium in size compared to North American eggs, but large will be fine.