4th of July

Hello all,

I have taken a rather long break from blogging since I have been so busy lately! I have changed jobs and am now enjoying the freedom of part-time and relief veterinary medicine. My new job will keep me rooted in Beaufort, SC and allow for some traveling in the Great State of South Carolina.

I am hoping that the new traveling, especially in the Charleston area, will allow me to source some of my local favorites right from the farms in that area! I was able to pick my own blueberries on my way home from an interview last week.

I have finally gotten around to posting baby chicken pictures! They are now 3 weeks old. The top picture to the right is them at 2 days old. We got 3 Rhode Island Red hens in the mail through http://www.mypetchicken.com/. They should start laying at about 20 weeks of age or so. Their names are Tandoori, Parmesan & KeBab!

This 4th of July I woke to the sounds of boats racing up the Beaufort River and of the chicks peeping away on the porch for their breakfast.

After a breakfast of "Deconstructed French toast" (In honour of the French and their dedication to the Colonists quest for Independence)---recipe to follow---Doug set to work on the chicken's outdoor coop and I took the chicks for a garden outing!

I'm actually writing this sitting on one of Ivy's saddle pads (that needs washing) next to the bird bath in the center of our garden. I have to make sure that the chicks are staying safe since Danger isnt much of a chicken-shepherd. He mostly sits next to me and watches the chicks run by!

We received enough gift cards at the wedding from our loved ones (THANK YOU!) that we were able to buy the Dyson vacuum AND a nice bread & baguette maker. I tried out the baguette maker yesterday and made 4 individual-sized loaves with an extra crisp crust. This morning I figured there was nothing left to do with the leftover bread than make FRENCH TOAST!

"Deconstructed" French Toast...for those of you who find you have too much custard left over!

~ Remember ~ LOCAL and FRESH ingredients are best!

4 eggs

3 tablespoons of honey

1/2 cup milk (we used skim)

pinch of sea salt

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cardamon (this makes it extra-exotic tasting!)

Whisk all these ingredients together the night before and store in the refrigerator.

Remember to put your bread in the microwave overnight to let it go stale. If you're like me, you may just skip this step since fresh, homemade bread that contains no preservatives goes stale in 1 day anyways, often even if refrigerated!

Morning: Pre-heat your oven to 375 F. Turn on your griddle and let it heat up while your bread is soaking. I do this on my double-sided cast iron griddle/indoor grill that I set directly on the gas burners. Don't forget to lube up with butter or non-stick cooking spray. A frying pan is great too.
Take out custard, whip one more time and soak your bread in it--1 minute on each side.

Move directly onto the hot griddle, let cook until golden on both sides.

Place on a cooling rack. When all slices have been on the griddle, put the whole cooling rack into the heated oven for 5-7 minutes.

I THEN took the leftover custard and cooked it like scrambled-eggs on the still hot griddle. I had turned the heat off at this point.....still enough residual heat to do the job nicely.

~ Remove the toast from oven, top it with the scrambled eggs "Bruschetta-style" and enjoy with whipped cream, fruit and maple syrup on top. (Grade B is my fave or that smoked maple syrup my Dad gets from Indiana...awesome awesome awesome!)

Yes, it is OK to use your knife and fork, especially if you used soft Wonder Bread or Challah. Our French bread French toast still had enough crust on it so it was stable for eating "Bruschetta-style."

~ We also love to put fresh fruit on ours....this morning it was SC Peaches from Barnwell County!

Next blog.....SUMMER FRUITS and other BOUNTY!