Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Coconut Syrup and French Toast

Good morning my lovely readers! This past weekend might have been the best weekend in the history of weekends for me. Did I just hear you ask what I did? Well let me tell you... I did nothing. Well mostly nothing. I spent most of the weekend alone, in my house. It was glorious. Well in this state of euphoria I made myself some coconut syrup on French bread French Toast.

This syrup was the most amazing thing that has touched my lips in quite some time. I wish I was a better photographer to show it all to you, but alas... I am not. Maybe if I was using something other than my iPhone my pictures would be better, but alas... I am not. :) My syrup was so decadent and so incredibly rich. It was also extremely easy to make and I will never taint my French toast again with maple syrup.

Without further adieu, I present to you my lovelies coconut syrup in the making and eating process:

Coconut Syrup Ingredients:
1/2 c. butter
¾ c. buttermilk
1 c. sugar
½ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. coconut extract


Place butter, buttermilk and sugar in a medium saucepan. Stir over medium heat until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil and boil one minute.




Remove from heat and add baking soda and extract, stirring constantly. It will bubble up, so if your pot is small, hold it over the sink to avoid spillage. Continue to stir syrup and let it rest for a few minutes before serving.  


Take a picture of the flowers in your kitchen window sill that have lasted an amazing 2 weeks:


French bread French Toast ingredients:
4 eggs
1 c. milk
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 c. + 2 T. flour
1 lg. loaf French bread, sliced thick (about 12-13 slices)

In bowl, combine all ingredients except bread. Whisk until mixture is lump-free.



With one large loaf of fresh French bread, slice it thick: 





Quickly dip both sides of bread in mixture and place on greased, hot skillet (heated to 325 degrees). Flip over when browned.
 

Serve with hot Coconut Syrup.
 The left over french toast freezes quite well also. You can then just pop it in the microwave for a minute and it keeps its texture and consistency.


The serving dish is one of the few things I have left from my mother. It is the china that has been passed down in my family for a few generations now.

 Take a picture of your empty plate to share with all your friends. 


Save the extra syrup and give to your friends. It has to be microwaved and mixed up to use again but it keeps really well.


What I would do differently.... I would not use the flour in the french toast recipe, no matter how much I whisked it would not stop being lumpy. Also, it is essential that you cut the bread straight with no sharp edges, otherwise it will cook in some areas and not in others.

Overall, this was the best dang syrup I have ever eaten in my entire life. I had it for breakfast Saturday, breakfast Sunday, and dinner Sunday... and I still want more but my arteries are objecting.

I hope you all try it and enjoy it as much as I did... I'm having brunch at my house at the end of April in your pajamas... if you really want to try it, come over.

Amanda







Thursday, February 21, 2013

Fashion Week

With Fashion Week in full bloom all around the world, I can't help but sit and think of this quote I am very fond of: "Go to work, get married, have some kids, pay your taxes, pay your bills, watch your TV, follow fashion, act normal, obey the law, repeat after me: I am free."

Have you all see the crap that is coming off these runways? I am a huge fan of not looking like a big roll of shit when I walk out of the house on most days... other days I don't care and the Ugg's come out with the hoodie, unwashed hair, and paint on my jeans. The problem I have this year as compared to most years with Fashion Week is they are getting even more cruel in their designs. They are incorporating leathers from exotic animals and furs from endangered animals.

Fashion has always been a sore subject among animal rights activists, and rightfully so. Fashion exudes the Western cultures tendency for flamboyance, over-indulgence, greed, excess, waste, and utter depravity toward lesser creatures than one's self. This years Fashion Week has gotten to the point that they are not even bothering to try to pretend that they are using the animals for any purpose other than to carry around.

This model is carrying a dead, stuffed Arctic Fox that has silk covering its belly. What is the purpose of this? Tell me why an animal died so it can be paraded around by a woman in a fancy dress in front of thousands?

You can thank Marc Jacobs for this treasure right here:


We kill at will for whatever whim we want to follow or stupid fashion trend that lasts all of 26 days. Many people speak of a coming "Zombie Apocalypse" but personally I do not think it will be quite like that. We will come to an end, but I feel like it will be Mother Nature righting the wrong that we have done to this planet to restore the balance that once was. We are not meant to carry dead foxes as decoration, we are not meant to gorge ourselves on processed foods, we are not meant to be trapped in concrete buildings pecking away at keyboards ranting and raving about the atrocities that occur in our daily lives.

This makes me incredibly sad and it makes me hate the people who would think that this is attractive, or beautiful in anyway. It is not beautiful, I see a half-starved woman that is carrying a dead animal in hopes of being considered beautiful.

I will leave you with a picture that I have saved on my tablet that moves my soul every time I see it though. It makes me so happy, and sad at the same time no matter how many times I look at it... which is quite often because I am not quite certain why it stirs my soul so much.



Check Your Feelings at the Door

Something is amiss. I need to pay attention to this discontent I'm feeling with life and see where it leads instead of trying to ignore it.

I do this thing with my email and text messages... I save almost all of them in organized folders, because I have a terrible memory. So when I get this hair up my ass that something is a good idea, all I have to do is go back to my emails/text messages and read them to remind myself of certain things that I have forgotten... or wanted to forget. You can not change the words that were written or the date they were written on, and sometimes I need that hard coded information to make me remember to keep my crap in order and not forget where I stand. It is easy to forget, so darn easy to forget.

Check your feelings at the door, Miss and move along.