{"id":9716,"date":"2025-07-04T02:00:47","date_gmt":"2025-07-04T09:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zojirushi.com\/blog\/?p=9716"},"modified":"2025-07-03T22:34:03","modified_gmt":"2025-07-04T05:34:03","slug":"happy-birthday-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zojirushi.com\/blog\/happy-birthday-us\/","title":{"rendered":"Happy Birthday, Us!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"slice<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n

What are your plans, this July the 4th? We plan to be at the Dodgers game, eating junk food and watching our Boys in Blue. We\u2019ll stay for the fireworks after the game of course, and hope we beat those crummy Astros, ha-ha! If you\u2019re doing the BBQ thing at home, maybe you could bake a cake?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

We got this one from Smitten Kitten<\/a><\/strong>, who adapted it from someone else pretty famous, which we then adapted again by adding blueberries. This type of easy baking cake is perfect for a toaster oven and doesn\u2019t require a whole lot of skill, like me. Yes, that\u2019s sugar sprinkled on top, but if you don\u2019t like your desserts too sweet, like me, I don\u2019t think you need this step.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"4th<\/a><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

One suggestion if you\u2019re using a smaller toaster oven like the Zojirushi one, I would cover it with foil and monitor it a bit so it doesn\u2019t burn. The smaller cavity tends to get hot, so be careful. Not a big deal and it\u2019s a minor task in return for keeping the big oven available for something else.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"4th<\/a><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Happy Birthday to Us! And I mean us, because yesterday was my birthday too. It\u2019s true, I missed it by one day, but I\u2019m still happy that everyone celebrates my birthday with fireworks!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"4th<\/a><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

So my wife said she wanted French Toast for breakfast, so go buy us some sausages. You don\u2019t have to tell me twice to go get some unhealthy food for a change, LOL. But the first thing I did was bake some Brioche for the bread\u2014after all, if we\u2019re going to have French Toast, we need to do it right, right?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

This breadmaker recipe is from Food.com<\/a><\/strong>, but I had to adapt it to reduce the ingredients from a 1.5 lb. loaf to my 1 lb. Zojirushi breadmaker. Here\u2019s my scaled down recipe; add in this order into your breadmaker and use the white bread setting.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

2 tbsp water (lukewarm)<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

3.5 tbsp milk (lukewarm)<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

2 eggs<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

0.5 tsp salt<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

2 cups flour<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

1-1\/3 tbsp sugar<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

6 tbsp butter (softened)<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

1 tsp yeast<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

I can confirm that it worked. There\u2019s an alarmingly amount of butter being used, but that\u2019s what Brioche is.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"Brioche<\/a><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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As usual, I specifically hunted for a recipe that didn\u2019t require rising or shaping the dough separately, and would bake it all in the breadmaker. I\u2019m not going to be picky about bread that is destined for French Toast, but more on that later. As it was, this was an excellent buttery textured loaf that came out great.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"homemade<\/a><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

French Toast in France is called pain perdu,<\/em> which translates to \u201clost bread\u201d because it\u2019s usually made from stale bread that is already \u201clost\u201d. It\u2019s a great way to use stale bread of course, but it\u2019s even better when it\u2019s made from freshly baked Brioche bread.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"French<\/a><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

BTW, if I haven\u2019t mentioned this already in previous posts, the best way to use your Zojirushi griddle like this is to set it at 300 degrees. It\u2019s the best temperature for cooking pancakes and this type of food slowly enough, yet hot enough to brown evenly. I mean, I love French Toast.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"maple<\/a><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

There is one more important day in July; National Eat Your Jello Day on July 12th. And even though it\u2019s a contrived holiday by the famous gelatin maker, they still deserve their flowers for creating such a fun dessert. Do you know why hospitals give patients jello? It\u2019s because it\u2019s easily digestible, provides hydration and offers a source of calories for people recovering from illness. It\u2019s often the first food they give you after surgery, so be sure to eat your jello!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

To celebrate, I made a Japanese-American type of coffee jello that\u2019s been around for ages and I don\u2019t have a clue whose Auntie or Oba-chan first invented it. It\u2019s different from the traditional \u201ccoffee jelly\u201d that is so popular in Japan\u2014the kind that you find in almost every coffee shop. I like that one too\u2014if you want to make it you can find it on the Zojirushi recipe<\/a><\/strong> page.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

This one starts with condensed milk for sweetening and a pot of strong dark roast coffee. You bloom the gelatin first, and mix to create the jello.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"pouring<\/a><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\"pouring<\/a><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

I have the coffee maker from Zojirushi that I used, and if you want to read a little about the way it works you can see my past take on it here<\/a><\/strong>. For a 12-cup coffee maker it handles just 4 cups really well, which is unusual for a coffee maker this size. That\u2019s an important detail!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"coffee<\/a><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

I guess you might say this type of Coffee Jello isn\u2019t as sophisticated as the Japanese one, but it\u2019s friendlier to eat in its own way.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"coffee<\/a><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

You don\u2019t even need a spoon, because it\u2019s basically a finger food, so it\u2019s great for kids. And that\u2019s what I remember most about it as a kid. \u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"coffee<\/a><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Have a fun Fourth everyone!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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Products used in this post:\u00a0Micom Toaster Oven ET-ZLC30<\/a>, D<\/a>ome Brew Programmable Coffee Maker EC-ESC12<\/a>0, <\/a>GourmetSizzler\u00ae Electric Griddle EA-DCC10<\/a>

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