The celebration of Saturday Mornings

Most Saturday mornings, my kids do a little celebratory dance.

There are all the reasons you would expect from any 6 and 8 year old - no school! Cartoons all morning! Sit around in our pj's till noon (or in the case of my children, their underwear)! Mom and dad not nagging us to hurry up and put on your shoes,brush teeth and get your backpack ready or you'll be late for school routine.

But in our house, the main reason for the dance is gastronomic - challah French toast.

At about 7:00 am rather than hearing the week-day alarm clock, I hear whining for French toast. My first evasive maneuver – keep eyes closed and roll over – buys me about 5 minutes of peace. For another 30 minutes my kids and I are locked in a game of role-reversal with them pushing me to get out of bed while I pretend they don’t exist. They always win because let’s face it, high-pitched whining in your ear after a long week at work is about as pleasant as enduring the voices of the Chipmunks and Smurfs ... in the same cartoon at full volume ... with a hangover.

I think French toast is rooted as a Saturday morning tradition in our family because it’s a carry-over from our Sabbath meal the night before. Since dinner is kicked off with a braided loaf of buttery, golden brown and slightly sweet challah, it seems only fitting that our Saturday start in the same way. It’s like having that last morsel of velvety rich chocolate cake that lingers in the memory of your taste buds for hours.

After several years of using my kids’ reaction to the most recent experimental recipe, I think I have developed the perfect one. Or, at least the one that leaves them asking for seconds. And, although I’m usually only feeding 2 kiddos, I buy an extra loaf of challah to make for French toast putting any leftovers in the fridge. Throughout the week, we heat up 2 or 3 pieces in the microwave, cut them into strips and put the strips in a little plastic cup. We then have the perfect home-made fast food breakfast that the kids eat on their way to school (without syrup).

Challah French Toast

4 eggs

½ c. 2% milk

½ c heavy whip cream (or half and half)

¼ tsp nutmeg

¼ tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp sugar

1 whole Challah loaf

13x9 pyrex dish (or large rectangular dish that you can lay out the sliced challah for soaking)

Non-stick griddle pan

Butter or cooking spray

1.       Mix the 4 eggs through sugar together in a large bowl. I like to blend it with a hand blender to whip air into the mixture and get it frothy. If you don’t have a hand blender, you can use a whisk or even put the ingredients in a blender.

2.       Slice the challah into inch thick pieces

3.       Place the slices of challah into the pyrex dish and pour the mixture over the pieces being sure to soak each piece.

4.       Let the challah soak for a few seconds, flip each piece then warm the griddle.

5.       Spray the pan or put one small slice of butter over medium heat

6.       Place soaked challah slices on the griddle and let cook until golden brown.

7.       Turn over until cooks golden on the other side.

8.       Serve warm with syrup, fruit or a sprinkle of powdered sugar.

  

The Organization/s

It seems only fitting that since this recipe is centered on kids, that the organization be the same. Although growing up I wasn’t constantly reminded of the starving kids in some far away country, I was made aware that healthy food, for some families, was a scarcity.

Last year, while working for a client, I learned that 1 in 5 children in the U.S. struggle with hunger. This means that there are 1.7 million Texas children who are at risk of hunger. In fact, Texas has the 9th highest child food insecurity rate in the country (Texas Hunger Initiative). And of the 3 million children in Texas who participate in free and reduced lunch programs go without a meal on the weekends or don’t know where their next meal is coming from during the summers. For many kids, Friday lunch is their last certain meal until Monday’s school breakfast. Maybe there is a fast-food burger or other highly processed, nutritionally lacking meals sprinkled throughout the weekend – all of which fill the tummy but don’t necessarily fuel the body.

There are a lot of organizations locally and nationally that help families struggling with hunger. The food banks in your area (in Austin it’s the Capital Area Food Bank)  are often the gateway organizations from which families find other resources to help lift them from their current circumstances. From farmers markets to school gardens and cooking classes, the Sustainable Food Center here in Austin educates kids and families about food and making the healthiest decisions possible. On a national level, ShareOur Strength and the No Kid Hungry campaign aims to combat hunger where children live, learn and play. They have brought national attention to the issue of child-hood hunger through their partnerships with the Food Network and other corporations. But, more importantly, they work towards long-term, systemic solutions to combat hunger by ensuring families have access to the governmental resources already available in their area. 

* Full disclosure – I first wrote this waaaay back in February and didn’t post it because I wanted to edit it further. Share Our Strength was a RYLO client in 2011and since writing this, is a client again.