Treats for appetites of every size
I had a mildly traumatizing experience this week in the form of food poisoning. I say mildly because in the grand scheme of things, it really isn’t that big of a deal. But as a side effect, there was a period of 4 days where all of the foods I normally love to eat tasted awful to me. For someone that spends much of their time thinking about food, this does qualify as traumatizing.
I love breakfast. It combines everything I like in a single meal. Eggs. Cheese. Bacon. Carbs. Sweets. It can be warm and savory. It can be refreshing and simple. Many things that normally would not necessarily qualify as a meal find their way into breakfast. Smoothies, which are really just glorified frappes, become nutritious at breakfast. French toast, which we should all just admit is a vehicle for syrup and sugar, is a mainstay at any self-respecting breakfast establishment. It really is a surprisingly versatile meal.
It’s sunny! And warm! And not snowy! All of these things are beyond exciting after the winter we had, and even hold true up in Massachusetts, where I just spent a wonderful week at home. I made the most of my time with my bake center, and squeezed in another little project last night while watching the Bruins thoroughly confirm that they had no place in the playoffs this year.
“Pride keeps you warm on Easter.” That’s what my mom said to me as we speed-walked to church this morning in the bitterly cold wind wearing pretty dresses meant for much warmer weather. Being back in Massachusetts for the holiday, it really does seem like winter will never end. There actually is still snow on the ground. And I’m not just talking the snow piles in parking lots at the mall. In my parents’ backyard, there is snow.
I think I figured out how trifle was invented. We’ve all been there. You promise to make a cake for some event. You decide to wait until the day of said event because you obviously don’t want to bring stale cake somewhere. You follow the directions for making the batter to a T. And then you get cocky.
Yesterday, as I am sure you are aware, was the Pi Day of the century. 3.14.15. Naturally, as a teacher, I had plenty of people to invite over who were equally excited about such an event. And, obviously, this week I had to make pie. Now, my dilemma came when I realized that this would also be my last time to post before St. Patrick’s Day, which really is the highlight of the month of March. So my goal became to find a recipe that could double as celebrating both.
Thursday morning, I woke up at 4am. Normally I don’t get up until 5 on a work day, but I was wired. You see, there was vague talk of a serious snow storm coming. But as far as I knew, we still had school. My head was near the window, and I peeked outside, but without my contacts I can’t actually see well enough to confirm or deny said snow storm. So I laid in bed for another half an hour before accepting the fact that I wasn’t going to fall back asleep. However, I was not yet willing to …
Nine hours. That’s how long it took me to drive from Massachusetts to New Jersey yesterday. How long should it have taken? 4-5 depending on NORMAL traffic. But no, I was instead hit by a snow storm that kept me at no more than 15 miles per hour throughout the state of Connecticut. And if you know me, you know how I feel about driving on 95 in the Connecticut. So that’s why this post is a day late.
This weekend marks the first weekend of Lent for 2015, and, as I do every year, I gave up any and all sweets. A lot of people do this. But I don’t think that a lot of people have the level of dependency on sweets that I do. I legitimately had withdrawal headaches for two full days Wednesday and Thursday. So this is a big deal for me.
After being sick at the end of last week (which is actually the worst thing as a teacher – it makes you realize just how much energy you need on a daily basis), I made it up to Massachusetts for the weekend just in time to experience one of those blizzards I’d been hearing so much about. Down in New Jersey, this winter has been very much a story of “There’s a huge blizzard coming our way, everybody panic! Oh wait, it missed us, but it did hit Boston.” Up here, it’s a very different story.