Looking Busy

I'm distracting myself while my sweetie is deployed. I have lots to do, since I am suddenly parenting alone, and it'll be the better part of a year (optimistically) that I'm doing this. So, why not turn it to my advantage? I'm taking my frustration (and lonliness, and sadness, and just plain missing my other half) and using it as fuel towards my goals.

I have introduced a new daily/weekly routine, one that is designed to not be easily disrupted when he comes back. It's easier to do this while he's gone, anyway, since I'm not working around his routine right now.

A major change is that I'm using the kids as a vehicle for more exercise. I need to exercise - I hate feeling this weak. In any case, MrGiantBaby is finally old enough to take to the park and chase around (plus he doubles as a weight, since he's about 30 lbs now). We now go out for an hour of walking/playground time every day, come home for lunch, followed by naps. I do housecleaning during naptime, and this will likely be my last mid-day internet time, since that's restricted to an hour and a half max per day, preferably in the early morning or late evening.

On the creative front, I got the tree up and decorated it with cut paper snowflakes (among the things we left behind were our Xmas decorations). Pictures to come when I get enough made that you can't actually see the tree unless the lights are on. I'm also rearranging my office/workspace this weekend (I've got a 30-pound, 18 month old motivator for that, let me tell you - he spend more time taking my craft area aprt thatn I get to put it back together again), and might actually get to budget in some sewing time again once my routine gets, well, routine.

It's still pretty chaotic around here, but I'm at least looking busy.

Happy Holidays

"Crayola Toast!" or leftovers for breakfast

I made French toast with our leftover sweet cornbread and a sweet seasoned egg batter and jokingly called it "Creole toast." My four-year old took this and ran with it, proclaiming that were going to have "Crayola Toast! Crayola Toast!"

We had:

• "Crayola Toast" (Pain Perdu, except made with the cornbread I made for T-day).
  
• Sliced and lightly fried sweet ham (sliced from our T-day Brown Sugar Ham)
  
• Patties, or "croquettes" made of leftover cornbread dressing.
  

The "Crayola Toast" is made using any sweet-batter french toast recipe, and any light, sweet cornbread (It must have at least 1:2 flour:cornmeal, though a lighter recipe of 1:1 flour:cornmeal would work better). It should be baked in a loaf pan to get the right shape. My recipe, from today (normally I wing it on my egg batter, depending on my mood), is:

• 1 loaf of light, sweet cornbread, sliced and buttered, cooled overnight, missing a slice or two
  
• 3 eggs (or 4 egg whites and 2-3 yolks, maybe with a dash of cream or milk)
  
• 2 tsp sugar (superfine is bast, or dissolve it first a little hot water and let cool)
  
• a little vanilla (I like Bourbon Vanilla), maybe 1/2 tsp
  
• a very little nutmeg, and likewise cinnamon (pinch of each)
  

Mix all ingredients except cornbread, then put in a shallow dish big enough to coat a slice of bread without crowding. Warm a griddle or wide, flat pan, and butter or oil it (according to your custom), using your usual heat setting for cooking eggs.

Take each slice of bread and coat both sides,placing in the pan when coated. Only coat as many as will fit in the pan without crowding, and do not let the bread soak too long (cornbread becomes friable when wet).

Cook a minute or two each side until you are satisfied with how the egg coating looks. Remove from pan and serve with syrup, powdered sugar, jam, or cinnamon sugar.

The dressing patties are fairly self-explanatory. I think they might have held together a bit better if mixed with a bit of egg, but they held together just fine just from being pressed together in my palms and lightly toasted on the griddle.

The fried ham is obvious - slice, fry on a griddle or pan until warm, serve. If you cook it just after the Pain Perdu, you should not need to use more oil on the pan.