Nice day

Today was a nice day.  There was a lot of cooking and friends and food all around. 

It started simply enough with a mention of brunch to a couple of friends.  That blossomed into a couple of other friends.  Then H's brother and wife were available only for the day so we figured, hey why not? 

It also began with bagels and smoked salmon, well some of our friends don't like fish, and the kids certainly won't eat them so I started adding a couple of 'options'. 

I asked H about french toast but he didn't want to make something high fat or anything that needed to be cooked while people were around.

I found a recipe for baked french toast that you make the night before and bake for 30 minutes.  It is full of butter and eggs and cream, but if you ignore everything and use egg whites and skim milk, grease the pan with a little olive oil spray and just brush the bread with a slight coat of margarine you can make practically fat free french bread.  It was so very yummy yummy yummy.  It soaks in all night, then you put some sugar and cinnamon over the top then bake for about 25-30 minutes at 425. 

We put some strawberries and light cool whip over the top and so very good. 

Of course you can't just serve french toast and bagels with smoked salmon and all the trimmings.  That would be silly, so lets cut up 3 lbs of potatoes into matchsticks, and hey, lets just add some sausage just for a little variety. 

This happens a lot.  I start a project and then think 'oh, wouldn't that be cool to add this or that, then it would be so much better'.  I really enjoyed the day and it works out for a party and group of friends, but it doesn't seem to work out when I try to translate that into a job search or decided what I want to do with my life.

It does make a damn good breakfast though.  DELICIOUS.

After clean-up, and a fire in the pit backyard...

oh by the way, it was 50-odd degrees in January in Boston!  Yay!

...I couldn't just sit there and see a clean kitchen.  So I figured I would add french onion soup to the mix.  There seems to be a theme happening.  Anyway, I have made it several times and my husband loves it.  I don't eat it so I can't tell you how it takes, but it makes the house smell like onions to the studs.  It also takes hours to cook down to usability.  I do love the process though.  H is always so very happy when it is done and he gets to eat it every day for weeks.  I make a couple of buckets at once so I don't have to make it again for a long long time.  I smell of onions for days, as it gets right into every pore of my body and nothing gets rid of that smell. 

Still, my family does seem to love it, so it makes me look good and I certainly like that. 

It was a very nice day.

Next up, lets talk about a car!