The ongoing trend of going out and having a nice brunch with friends, maybe a partner, or by yourself has been seen all over social media. Getting dressing cute and taking pictures outside with your fabulous plate of delicious food is the thing to do. Now, what exactly makes brunch, brunch? Urban Dictionary simply defines brunch as a “contradiction of breakfast and lunch, usually occurring around the hour of 11 a.m. Typically reserved for snobs and biddies who like tea and jam.”
So, those who like to sleep in and call their late breakfast “brunch,” make their mornings seem that much more… fancy. Or at least I feel fancy doing so.
Although going out is fun and all, there are days where you might want to stay in and try to recreate a nice brunch at home. This might be better than going out to a restaurant, especially for students that are low on funds. It’s a great excuse to stay home and a fun away to be able to invite some friends over and whip up something special in the kitchen.
A lot of restaurants make their brunch menus look like a special, gastronomical meal that only a chef can make. In actuality, a majority of the meals are super easy to make at home. What they do to jazz up the plating of a dish is creating an illusion by making the food look like art. You know how it is, they stack those mouthwatering lemon ricotta pancakes, place the fresh berries on top, have thin slices of lemon placed perfectly on the left side the short stack, and dust powdered sugar over the whole plate with a cup of organic syrup on the side.
Just to reassure you that, yes, this is super easy to do yourself, here are some recipes I found through magazines, blogs, and other publications that inspired me to encourage those of you who want recreate a nice brunch in the comfort of your own home.
WHAT YOU NEED
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Seeded bread or any bread of your liking
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Neufchâtel cheese // you can also use cream cheese as a good substitute
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Figs
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Olive oil
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Honey
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Sea salt
PREPARATION Toast your bread and spread cheese generously on top of toast. Top with sliced ripe figs Spread toasted seeded bread with softened Neufchâtel cheese. Top with sliced ripe figs and drizzle with olive oil and honey. Season with flaky sea salt.
Recipe by Dawn Perry, Photos by Peden + Munk
Nectarines and Peaches with Lavender Syrup
WHAT YOU NEED
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½ cup pecans
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3 tablespoons honey
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3 ripe white or yellow nectarines, cut into wedges
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3 ripe white or yellow peaches, cut into wedges
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2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
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1 cup of (greek or vanilla) yogurt
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Cinnamon
PREPARATION Preheat oven to 350°. Toast pecans for 10-15 minutes on a baking sheet until lightly toasted, make sure to stir around the pecans every 3 minutes or so, so they don’t get burnt. Let pecans sit until completely cool.
Slice your peaches and nectarines into wedges. Scoop a cup of yogurt of your choice into a small bowl and place fruit on top. Place pecans on top of your fruit and yogurt and drizzle a generous amount of honey over the bowl and sprinkle cinnamon over the top. For an extra fresh taste, take a washed lemon, and lightly grade the skin of the lemon over the top of your bowl of yogurt and fruit. Make sure not to grade too much because the white part of the lemon is the part where is bitter.
Ideas pulled from Bon Appetit, Photo by Alex Lau, Original recipe by Thyme Cafe And Market, Santa Monica, CA
WHAT YOU NEED
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Bread (any kind of your liking, personally like whole grain)
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Avocado
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Poppy Seeds
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Flax Seeds
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Sesame Seeds
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Pinch of Paprika
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Salt
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Pepper
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Eggs
PREPARATION Toast your bread and you can slice or smash up your avocado and place on top of your toast. Crush some black pepper, a pinch of (pink, kosher, sea, lava -yes there’s such thing as lava salt and it’s amazing, or anything your liking) salt, tiny pinch of paprika, sprinkle some flax, sesame and poppy seeds.
Heat up your pan on medium heat for a minute and spread a thin square of butter or some coconut spray for a healthier option onto the pan. Crack the egg and let it bubble up and fry on the sides. Sprinkle a pinch of salt and pepper on the egg and place on top of your avocado toast and eat up!
WHAT YOU NEEDÂ (4 servings)
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2 Ripe bananas
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2 eggs
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1 tsp vanilla extract
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½ cup oats
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½ cup of blueberries
PREPARATION Mashup bananas in a bowl until completely smooth. Stir in eggs, vanilla, and oats at the end until a batter consistency and fold in your blueberries. Heat your pan on medium heat and scoop  you batter on top. Cook on one side for 2-3 minutes until small bubbles start forming and flip. For about 1-2 minutes until golden brown.
Top off your pancake stack with more berries, syrup, powdered sugar, or anything of your liking and eat up!
Recipe by Mercedes Sandoval on Tasty, Photo by Brian Ferry on Food52
WHAT YOU NEED
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Yogurt
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Fruit of choice (strawberries, blueberries, etc. etc.)
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Granola
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Poppy seeds
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Flax seeds
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Almonds
PREPARATIONÂ Scoop a cup of yogurt into a bowl. Slice your fruit of choice and place on top of your yogurt. Top off with your poppy and flax seeds and almonds. If you choose greek yogurt and want to sweeten it up, drizzle some honey on top.