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10 Brunch Recipes Perfect for Mother’s Day

It’s Mother’s Day this Sunday!

Do you have anything planned yet?

For our family, we haven’t quite decided what we want to do yet. Most of the time, we just go out for an early dinner, that way we don’t have to deal with the wait or the crowds. Other times, we’ll buy crab or lobster and make it an event at home. But this year, we’re still not sure what we’re doing yet.

I’m thinking maybe we ought to change things up a bit and make it a Mother’s day brunch.

Since brunch is my favorite meal, I have a lot of recipes that would work to celebrate the occasion.

See anything you might like?

Citrus Croissant French Toast

Bite size pieces of croissants dipped in a citrusy egg mixture and baked until the top is flaky and the center custardy. Served with an orange maple glaze, this citrus croissant French toast is delicious, simple, and perfect for Mother’s Day brunch.

This croissant French toast! <3

One of my favorite brunch dishes (I apparently have many) is French toast. There’s something about the simplicity of this dish dusted with powdered sugar that’s just so appealing.

Slightly sweet and custardy, French toast is a classic that can come in so many different flavors. Do you have a favorite?

In this version of baked French toast, I used leftover croissants. These croissants are torn into bite size pieces and soaked in an orange-almond milk-egg mixture then baked in the oven until the top is crunchy and the center is custardy. This croissant French toast with the slightest hint of orange is then dusted with powdered sugar and topped with a handful of sweet blackberries and fresh mint. To finish off this croissant French toast, an orange maple sauce is poured on top to give the dish a more citrusy taste before serving.

Crispy Truffle Fries with Fresh Herbs

Baked crispy fries tossed with truffle salt and fresh herbs. This crispy truffle fries with fresh herbs will be the perfect appetizer for any gathering.

Oh, hello May!

I can’t believe it’s already May. I know I say that every month, but really, time does go by so fast.

There are so many events planned for May so it’s going to be super busy and hectic the next few weeks. There’s Mother’s Day next weekend, then the following weekend, both of my sisters are graduating, and two weeks after that, my cousin is graduating. So a ton of events to attend. Not to mention all the May birthdays.

So, today, to celebrate the arrival of May, I wanted to share with you these amazingly crispy truffle fries with fresh herbs.

It takes more time than one of my usual recipes, but I promise you, it’s worth the wait.

Crispy fries, a hint of the earthy yet addictive truffle salt, and freshly chopped herbs. I swear, these fries taste like spring.

We couldn’t even wait to plate these fries so I just transferred all the fries from the baking sheet onto a large piece of brown paper. And served it just like that with roughly chopped fresh herbs. Use your favorite herbs to bring a refreshing taste to your fries. I chopped up basil leaves, mint leaves, parsley, and perilla, but you can choose your favorites.

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There’s a new bakery I recently discovered called Butter Love Bakeshop. Such a cute name for a small bakery with amazing baked goods.

They have scones, fritters, cookies, tons of pies, croissants, and so many other pastries. What I love is that each day you visit the bakery, you’ll get something different. The flavors for the pastries change on a daily basis.

In this box, I got a banana apple fritter, chocolate croissant, plain croissant, and a pineapple scone. My new weekend pick me ups =)

Chicken Zucchini Noodles in Coconut Peanut Sauce

This post is sponsored by Foster Farms® Organic Chicken, but all opinions are my own.

Zucchini noodles in a deliciously creamy coconut peanut sauce with shredded chicken, kale, mushrooms, and carrots. This chicken zucchini noodles in coconut peanut sauce makes an amazingly easy and refreshing meal.

It’s currently spring, but it already feels like summer. With the weather quickly warming up, I think it’s the perfect time for zucchini noodles. They’re easy to prepare and just so versatile. Since I’ve been craving Thai style noodles, I thought I could create a version using zucchini noodles.

This zucchini noodles dish is filled with shredded chicken, kale, mushrooms, edamame, and carrots then tossed in a creamy coconut peanut sauce. It’s soo delicious, healthy, full of flavor, and fresh vegetables. If you’re a fan of peanut sauce, you’ll want to make this dish frequently. Trust me.

The best thing about this dish is that you can have it ready in about 35-40 minutes, and it requires only 10 main ingredients, minus the olive oil, salt, and garnishes. Super easy to make with very little fuss. My kind of meal.

Fresh Vegetable Soba Noodle Salad with Soy Lime Vinaigrette

Soba noodle tossed with bok choy, snow peas, carrots, bean sprouts, and chopped almonds in a soy lime dressing. This fresh vegetable soba noodle salad with soy lime vinaigrette embodies spring with all the different vegetables and refreshing taste.

It’s Monday, my least favorite day of the week. There’s something about this day that always seems so stressful. Maybe it’s because we just came from a relaxing weekend? But that doesn’t quite work either because when I have Mondays off, Tuesdays don’t seem as daunting. And you would think that if I had a long weekend, Tuesdays would be difficult, right? But it doesn’t seem that way so I think it’s just Monday itself that I don’t like? Is that weird?

But that’s okay because I get to share this amazing recipe with you today. This dish is vegan and can be gluten free too if you use gluten free soba noodles.

I love soba noodles. I always have them on hand for those days when I’m too lazy to cook. It’s like pasta. You always have to have them on hand for those late night dinners where you don’t want to do anything fancy.

So…..

It’s time for another soba noodle salad!

Meyer Lemon Citrus Bars

A caramelized and chewy crust topped with a sweet and tart citrusy filling. These Meyer Lemon Citrus Bars are soo addictive and perfect for spring!

These Meyer lemon citrus bars!

You need these in your life, like now.

I made another trip to the farmer’s market, as you can probably tell. And whenever I browse the stalls and vendors at the farmer’s market, I never leave empty handed. Sometimes, it’s fresh cheese or seasonal fruits. Other times, it’s dried fruits or a jar of ollalieberry or tayberry jam. This last trip, I came home with pounds of citrus. Blood oranges, grapefruits, sweet limes, and Meyer lemons, I bought them all. I wanted to stock up on these citruses while they’re still in season.

Since I had Meyer lemons, I knew I had to make a dessert with them. How could I resist, right?

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Some of my favorite chocolate bars are from Jade Chocolates. Mostly because they have Asian inspired flavored chocolates such as Genmai (roasted brown rice with roasted green and jasmine Tea), or Krakatoa (Cracked black pepper and lemongrass), or Terracotta (tamari almonds and pink sea salt). They’re wrapped in washi paper, and inside, you find chocolate bars with such gorgeous designs, like this.

Roasted Garlic Asparagus and Bacon Eggs Benedict with Basil Avocado Cream Sauce

**This post is sponsored by Smart & Final, but all opinions are my own.

Delicious and simple to make, this roasted garlic asparagus and bacon eggs benedict with basil avocado cream sauce is perfect for spring brunch.

Brunch is my favorite meal of the day. It’s not quite breakfast, not quite lunch. It simply feels like a meal of its own. Unfortunately, I don’t get to have it as often as I would like due to a busy schedule.

Maybe it’s because brunch is later in the morning. Most mornings I’m rushing out the door with breakfast in hand as I head to work. But when I have time to brunch, it means I actually have time to sit and enjoy my food. How can I not love that?

What about you? What’s your favorite meal of the day?

One of my favorite dishes to order whenever I’m out for brunch is eggs benedict. There’s something about poached eggs over English muffins, or toast, with hollandaise sauce that’s so addictive. Cutting the egg and seeing the yolk run down the sides? Sooo good.

At least, it is for me.

Green Tea Chia Pudding with Shredded Coconut and Almonds

Chia seeds soaked overnight in matcha powder and vanilla almond milk until thickened into a pudding consistency. This slightly sweetened green tea chia pudding with shredded coconut and almonds is delicious and convenient as a breakfast on the go.

How was your weekend?

Hopefully it was nice and relaxing. We’ve been having summery weather the last few days and it is unusually hot, especially for San Francisco. Unfortunately, I had to work this last weekend so I couldn’t enjoy the perfect weather. I was sooo disappointed that I missed the Cherry Blossom Festival this year and the Goat Festival at the Ferry Building Farmer’s Market! I’m not always a fan of goat cheese, but I would have loved to pet and play with a goat for a few minutes.

A few weeks ago, I shared with you a simple Vanilla Chia Pudding with Granola, which I love since it takes little time to make and doesn’t require much of a cleanup. I’ve been playing with different flavors and several versions of this overnight chia pudding, which I’ll definitely share with you in the near future.

What I love most about chia pudding is that you can prepare it in about 5 minutes. You can make it while cooking dinner, or right before going to bed. It’s really up to you. Once you’re done, you can stick the jar or glass into the fridge so that the chia can thicken overnight. By morning, you can grab the jar and enjoy your breakfast on the go.

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