A Mishmash

First off, here is another piece chosen from my grandparent's house. A child's seat. My grandmother doesn't remember much about it's origin. It's missing a seat and therefore is at my parent's house waiting to be re-caned by a friend of the family. I can't wait to use it when we have company.

Secondly, here are a couple pictures of my attempts at Mama JJ's Five Minute Bread. Mine are not nearly as lovely as hers are. I skipped the flouring of the tops and didn't spray my oven often enough. Even with my shortcomings (or was it laziness?), they still turned out very tasty straight from the oven and as panini sandwiches for dinner the other night.

This is my little girl at her favorite post. The day this was taken, she turned three. She still uses those toddler pronunciations. For example, she calls her belly, her "bobby". When she wants a snack, she says she's "hungee". I can't bring myself to correct her yet. Maybe when she's eight or nine.

And lastly, something to bake. As regular readers know, our family eats baked oatmeal for breakfast every morning. One thing I have failed to mention, because it's a bit complicated, is that I don't eat the baked oatmeal with the family.

During the last couple years of college, I was plagued with stomach problems. The doctors thought maybe I had a stomach ulcer and prescribed medication. That did not help. Jamey and I married and I continued with stomach problems. Finally, I read about celiac disease and cut all gluten from my diet for a month or so.

It was like night and day. As Jamey and I took our evening walks I can remember telling him that it felt so weird to be without stomach pain, as if something was missing. It had been so long since I didn't have stomach discomfort. I was able to slowly and I mean sloooowly introduce gluten back into my diet. Those with real celiac disease can't do this. I discovered I just had a sensitivity to gluten.

All this to say, while things have been much better since, I still pay attention to how much pasta and bread I eat. Starting every day with baked oatmeal is not a good way to start my gluten-sensitive day. Oats affect me more than other gluten, for some reason. So, what do I eat while my family enjoys delicious baked oatmeal every morning?

Rice crispies. Yipee.

Do not cry for me. I can handle the temptation (I still love baked oatmeal). And the rice crispies. But, alas, I have found a much better alternative. While I am not a big fan of scrambled eggs or eggs sunny side up or omelets for breakfast (I do enjoy them later in the day), I have found an egg recipe that works for me for breakfast. And, we do have plenty of eggs. Jamey brought in a baker's dozen the other day.

It's called Strawberry Brunch Souffle. I made it one night for dinner back in the spring when we had fresh strawberries and then again the other night because we had several dozen eggs in the fridge (this night I used thawed, frozen crushed strawberries). I was reminded of how much I enjoyed this recipe back in the spring. So, after changing the recipe slightly (cutting back on the sugar, cutting out the butter), I have found a delightful breakfast for me. You'll note it does contain flour, but this amount, for me, is safe. And, I am doing my part to plow through the many cartons of crushed strawberries in the freezer. Oh, the sacrifices I make. You do know that strawberries come again in four short months, do you not?

Hmmm. They will come around the same time this baby comes. We are having trouble thinking of a girl's name. What do you think of Strawberry?

Back to the recipe. Don't be afraid of the lofty golden brown sides. They are delicious and make quite the impression right out of the oven. This souffle is velvety smooth and custardy. Topped with strawberries, it is divine.


Strawberry Brunch Souffle (adapted slightly from Simply In Season)

6 eggs
3 cups milk
1 1/2 cup flour
1/4-1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
2-3 cups fresh, sliced or crushed strawberries (adding 2 tbsp. sugar to the fruit is optional)

In a mixing bowl, beat (with a whisk or hand mixer) eggs and milk together. Add flour, sugar, salt and vanilla and beat again. Transfer to a greased 8x8 inch baking dish and bake at 375 degrees for 40-50 minutes or until the edges are high and golden brown and the center has set. Top with strawberries. This reheats well in the microwave.


If you don't have strawberries on hand, I would think any frozen fruit (peaches, blueberries, etc) cooked down on the stove a bit with a touch of sugar would taste amazing. Pin It