Challah and French Toast

My life has been hectic these past few months. I'm talking lots of ups and downs, very little downtime (or sleep). I know-- we're all dealing with some real shit right now, right? Especially IN THIS ECONOMY. I've become a pretty good multitasker; but somewhere between dealing with school, work, finals, car problems, money woes, and surgery in two weeks, I broke.

On a typical Saturday night, gentle reader, you can generally find me somewhere in a tight skirt with a drink in my hand, acting a fool. This week was an exception. I was (am) exhausted. The last thing I wanted to do yesterday after work was be around other human beings, so I took my antisocial inclination as an opportunity to meditate. And by meditate, I mean bake. And drink.

I love bread. Carbs of all kinds are very near to my heart, but bread is the king. I don't think I have to justify that statement to anybody. Normally when I want bread, I just chuck all my ingredients in the breadmaker, mash some buttons and wait 3 hours for a tasty, if not visually appealing, loaf. It makes good sandwichy bread, but I hate the weird little square loaves and the breadmaker belly-button from the paddle is deeply disturbing to me. If I'm going to dedicate a Saturday night to baking, the result is going to look pretty, goddamn it. This is why I decided challah was in order.

I followed Vaishali's recipe, substituting quick rise yeast for the regular kind, and felt particularly clever about proofing the dough in front of the space heater. Pardon my ghetto food photography (I'm working with a blackberry camera and an apartment without overhead lighting), please. It was a beautiful loaf. When I pulled it out of the oven, I wanted to cradle it like a baby. In fact, I may have done exactly that because it was after midnight by the time it was done and vodka makes me feel feelings. At any rate, I almost felt guilty cutting into it. Almost. It was delicious; and I went to bed victorious, a proud mother.

I woke up this morning and was completely unphased by the beautiful braided baby in my kitchen counter, so I skipped breakfast-- not usual for me, and dumb considering my friend Shelagh and I went to 2 hours and 15 minutes of yoga classes this morning (I make it a point to mention the 15 minutes because yoga abs is brutal). I started to regret the decision to skip breakfast about 30 minutes into the class. So, what's a girl to do?

French toast, when she gets home, that's what! I had some vanilla hazelnut Rice Dream on hand, so I whisked a little flour and a dash of cinnamon in and used that as my batter. Delicious. I stuck my foot in it.

That's all I have to say about that.

In conclusion, bread is awesome, cheap, and you can make stuff with it. Next time I'll post recipes and such. I'm just happy to have completed a post with actual content.