Too good not to try

How to Make Stuffed and Crusted French Toast
By Dennis Weaver

If you can make a sandwich, you can make stuffed and crusted French toast. In fact, a peanut butter and jam sandwich made into French toast is quite good.

Full-OrangeCrustedFrenchToastTo make stuffed French toast, you literally make a sandwich, dip it into your egg batter, and fry it on the griddle. It’s that simple. The magic is in the fillings. You can use a cream cheese filling and fresh fruit.

You can use jam. We usually use pastry fillings, often Bavarian cream, to make fillings like strawberries and cream.

You cook your stuffed French toast exactly as you do “regular” French toast except that you turn the heat down and cook it longer so that the heat drives through both slices of bread.

When making stuffed and crusted French toast, after dipping your sandwich in egg batter, you dredge it in chopped nuts or coconut. I’m sure there are other things you can dredge your French toast in.

In our cooking class, we dredge French toast in a candied toasted coconut topping. The sugar in the coconut melts creating a crunchy coating. By the way, in this same class we make pecan crusted French toast filled with either a cherry or raspberry filling paired with Bavarian cream or cream cheese filling. We simply squeeze some of the fruit filling with some of the cream filling on the bread before sandwiching the two bread slices together. (See all our pastry fillings.) You can make breakfast exciting.


Pecan Crusted French Toast with Cherry Cream Cheese Filling

Full-PecanCherryToast

You can make this stuffed and crusted French toast either withpremade pastry fillings from scratch using cream cheese and jam for your filling. The scratch recipe follows.

Ingredients
4 ounces cream cheese (regular or low fat)
2 tablespoons sour cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
about 2/3 cup cherry jam
bread slices
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1 to 1 1/2 cups finely chopped pecans

Directions

Finely chop the pecans. We used a plunger-type nut chopper. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whip the cream cheese, sour cream, and extract. Fold in the jam. Spread the cherry and cream cheese mixture between two slices of bread sandwich-style.
Whisk the eggs and milk together. Dip the sandwiches in the egg mixture and then dredge the egg-coated sandwiches in the crushed pecans.
Cook the coated sandwiches on a medium griddle or in a frying pan first on one side and then the other. Serve immediately with the syrup of your choice. Our preference is cherry syrup.

Yield is about four double French toast sandwiches.

Dennis Weaver is the founder of The Prepared Pantry. He is the author of How to Bake, a 250 page book about the art and science of baking. You can download a free copy of How to Bake here.

Garden talk

How to Plant Your Garden
First, you Come to the garden alone,
while the dew is still on the roses.
FOR THE GARDEN OF YOUR DAILY LIVING ,
PLANT THREE ROWS OF PEAS :
1. Peace of mind
2. Peace of heart
3. Peace of soul
PLANT FOUR ROWS OF SQUASH:
1. Squash gossip
2. Squash indifference
3. Squash grumbling
4. Squash selfishness
PLANT FOUR ROWS OF LETTUCE:
1. Lettuce be faithful
2. Lettuce be kind
3. Lettuce be patient
4. Lettuce really love one another
NO GARDEN IS WITHOUT TURNIPS:
1. Turnip for meetings
2. Turnip for service
3. Turnip to help one another
TO CONCLUDE OUR GARDEN YOU MUST HAVE THYME:
1. Thyme for God
2. Thyme for each other
3. Thyme for family
4. Thyme for friends
WATER FREELY WITH PATIENCE AND CULTIVATE WITH LOVE.
THERE IS MUCH FRUIT IN YOUR GARDEN BECAUSE YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW.

NOT BAD, HUH?!

Have you ever tried making your own yogurt?

Homemade Yogurt

Epicurious | April 2012

by Megan O. Steintrager



yield: Makes about 4 cups
Store-bought yogurt may be convenient but it can't compare to the mild creaminess of homemade. The good news is that making yogurt is incredibly... more ›
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Ingredients

4 cups (1 quart) milk
3 tablespoons plain yogurt (purchased or homemade)* or powdered yogurt starter (amount specified on package)**
Flavorings such as jam, honey, dulce de leche, molasses, fresh or dried fruit, garlic, herbs, etc (optional)


Ingredient info:

*If using store-bought yogurt, choose a yogurt that tastes good to you. It's important to select an unsweetened version that contains live cultures, but the fat content doesn't matter.
**Powdered starters can be found at some grocery and health food stores and from online sources such as the New England Cheesemaking Supply Company. Read the package instructions to determine how much starter to use for a batch of yogurt—many come in small envelopes or packets perfectly sized to make a single batch.


Special equipment: Candy thermometer; yogurt maker or other incubator, such as a thermos; cheesecloth for straining (optional); Mason jars or other container for storage

print a shopping list for this recipe
Preparation

Start by cleaning and sterilizing all your equipment and tools as well as your work surface. Most utensils and storage containers can be sanitized in the dishwasher (some machines have a sanitize setting). Alternatively, sterilize everything in boiling water.

Prepare an ice bath, filling a large bowl or sink with ice.

Attach a candy thermometer to a heavy, large pot and add the milk. Place the pot over moderate heat and heat the milk until it reaches at least 180°F or boils, stirring occasionally to prevent a skin from forming and making sure the milk doesn't scald or boil over. Alternatively, place the milk in a large microwave-safe bowl or a large glass measuring cup with a spout (for easy pouring) and microwave it in 2- to 3-minute intervals, until it reaches 180° or boils.

Remove the milk from the heat and allow it to cool to 110°F to 115°F. To speed the cooling process, place the pot in the prepared ice bath and stir the milk occasionally. (If the milk temperature drops too low, return it to the heat.)

If using yogurt as a starter culture: In a small bowl, combine about 1 cup warm milk with the yogurt and stir to combine. Add the yogurt-milk mixture to the remaining warm milk and stir until completely incorporated. Do not stir vigorously.

If using a powdered yogurt culture: Follow the manufacturer's instructions and add the specified amount of powdered culture to the warm milk; whisk until completely incorporated. Do not stir vigorously.

Pour or ladle the mixture into the yogurt maker containers or another incubator (if using a thermos, first warm the inside with hot tap water) and incubate between 110°F and 115°F for 5 to 10 hours, depending on the desired flavor and consistency—longer incubation periods produces thicker, more tart yogurt. Do not disturb the yogurt during incubation.

Cover the yogurt and refrigerate until cold, 2 to 3 hours. (If you used a thermos to incubate, transfer the finished yogurt to a non-insulated container for chilling so the temperature will drop.) Stir any flavorings into the yogurt just before serving. (For thicker, Greek-style yogurt, after incubation, spoon the yogurt into a cheesecloth-lined colander set over a bowl and let it drain, covered in the refrigerator, for at least 1 hour or overnight. Discard the whey that drains out of the yogurt or reserve it for another use.)

Yogurt can be stored in the refrigerator, in covered glass, ceramic, or plastic containers, for up to 2 weeks, but the flavor will be the best during the first week. As yogurt ages, it becomes more tart. If more whey separates out of the yogurt, just stir it back in before serving.

Cook's notes: • Yogurt needs to incubate for at least 5 hours, but it can safely incubate for much longer, even overnight. If you're using a yogurt maker with a timer and you set it for a shorter incubation (5 hours, for example), it's fine to let it sit there for several more hours. The same is true for a thermos or other incubation method; just keep in mind that the longer the incubation period, the thicker and more tart the final yogurt.
• The whey that drains from the yogurt is full of vitamins and minerals and can be added to smoothies and lassis, used as a cooking liquid, or made into a simple drink with a bit of sugar or salt.
• As an alternative way to thicken yogurt, whisk in 3 or 4 tablespoons nonfat powdered dry milk when you add the starter.
• This recipe may be doubled or tripled; increase the amount of starter and milk proportionately.

Read More http://www.epicurious.com:80/recipes/food/views/Homemade-Yogurt-395111#ixzz1sPfKcwed

Relief Society lesson

Don't miss out on "extra credit"! See note to the side under the topic, "Did You Feed Yourself Today?". Find the article at http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/04/how-to-obtain-revelation-and-inspiration-for-your-personal-life?lang=eng

Are you or members of your family interested in indexing old records for the family history center? It can be done from home and is quite rewarding.

Following is a message from Lynn Zenger who is our stake Extraction Director:
Good Morning,
It is wonderful to live in Colorado, especially during the spring time, and watch all of the growth and renewal that nature exhibits.
Thanks for your service in Family Search Indexing. I thought you might be interested in a couple of statistics about Family Seach Indexing. Since Indexing began some years ago, 726,566,200 records have been completed. So far this year, 31,079,800 records have been processed, with 105,600 indexers actively assisting throughout the world. Here in Arvada, CO we have 165 registered indexers, and 70 have chosen to participate this year. If you are one of those who has been active, I extend my sincere appreciation. If you are one who has not been, I invite your involvement. If you need help, training, or have questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Wonderful news has been received by Salt Lake. This week, the church is releasing the 1940 Census records, and needs all of us to assist in Indexing this big project. There are special training aids available to prepare for this project, and there will be a special training fireside held here locally on April 12th at the Denver North Stake Center, 100 E. Malley Dr. from 6-9pm, so if you are avialable, you might put that on your calendar. This seminar is for indexers and arbitrators both.
Thanks again for your service.
Lynn Zenger
Arvada Stake Extraction Director
303-424-3290