Free Range Friday on Thursday

It is Thursday, I'm pretty sure. Tomorrow I'll be up in the wee hours to bake bread, so I figured, since I actually cooked something sort of interesting yesterday evening AND remembered to take a photo of it, I'd make today Free Range. And maybe from now on, though Free Range Thursday lacks a little in the roll-off-the-tongue factor...


We've been getting some beautiful showers here, well unless you are trying to do much outdoors beside pull weeds, The cisterns and plants are happy though and the wafting coolness in the air has lifted my energy levels. Which is a good thing because I have lots to do and I think the idea of being curled up with a book and a cup of tea would be the alternative.

Tomorrow, I'll come home from my yearly House/dog/cats Sitting on the Hill gig (CWIM is happy about that), so the going back home routine is in high gear. That means getting rid of little tidbits of food that aren't quite enough to either leave for the home owners or take home myself.

There I was, hungry, with some rosemary garlic bread (shocking, I know), a couple of eggs, a half inch of sharp cheddar...what to do? That's when it occurred to me to make a savory French toast with all of it. So I did!

Savory French Toast with Melted Cheese (and a bite missing)

 

This recipe serves one but can easily be adjusted to the amount of people you'll be feeding. It would also depend on the size of the bread used; this wasn't a huge loaf. The truth is, the recipe is ridiculously easy; the exciting part is I'd never thought of making savory French toast before, and it was great!

Two slices of an herbed type of bread
2 eggs
Minced basil
Cheese (I had sharp cheddar and it worked)
Finely minced garlic (or garlic powder if necessary)
Salt and pepper to taste

Beat the eggs, salt, pepper and garlic in a container big enough to soak the two pieces of bread.

Place the bread in the egg. You want to REALLY soak them, so let them sit awhile before carefully turning them over to soak on the other side.

Heat about a tablespoon of oil in the pan over a fairly high heat, the same as you would use for French toast.. If you have a flavored oil, all the better!

With a spatula (or your hands if you are careful), place the egg soaked bread in the oiled pan.
Let cook two or three minutes and gently lift a corner of the bread to check the color. If it is a nice golden brown, turn both pieces over.

Place the slivers of cheese on the cooked side of the bread, patting it gently down with the spatula. Let cook another two or three minutes, or until golden brown on the bottom.

Remove from the pan and serve (I always wondered at this direction in a recipe...I mean, do people just eat out of the pan if it doesn't say this?)

Wa la! Savory French toast. Buen provecho!

Have a tasty Thursday! Do something toasty.

Apparently...

Somehow I got a bit lost on what I was supposed to be doing today...but, being Culebra, it's all a good thing! Yesterday in running errands and slowly gathering up my life to move back down the hill, there were sights to be seen...that continued right into this morning's sunrise and bloom discovery. Life is good!






I did a double take walking by Arte Fango, because of this awesome African gourd instrument, along with Ani's leatherwork, which is stunning.

 Not for sale...but you can play with it...carefully!

 Definitely Mardi Gras material

Yes, that is a fossil!

Then, there was the rest...

 Fast cat

 Bouncing off the moon

 Mystical cactus bloom

 Oh yes, it's going to be an excellent day!

And as I hit the top of the steps heading out, there was this...wow!

Have a wonder filled Wednesday! Do something wistfully.

Halloween Treats R Us

Kelli's Flower of the Day

First off, maybe some of you have noticed some rather dramatic changes going on at the cart corner. That's because there is a new owner ! Hannah is going gangbusters on refurbishing and renewing what will now be known as Sea Gypsy. I won't give away what to look forward to seeing there but it's going to be a whole new kind of fun and I wish her the best of all the good I enjoyed over the years on that corner. Photos will be up soon, of course.

Remember yesterday I mentioned that with Halloween on Culebra, you never know what might happen? That's exactly what happened. A great friend returning to Culebra gave us a jump start on the afternoon and evening. She could say her just-off-the-plane outfit was a tourist costume while a couple of us were in 'uh - your plane got in early and completely messed up our plans, so we're dressed as worker bees, minus the pollen' costumes, though I did get some decoration later in the evening.

Now I know why I'll never have a tattoo..it's fun at first, 

but when I woke up and saw my arm I thought, 

I'd be bored by this I'm already bored by this! 

Though truly, last night, I liked it lots! Thanks, Crayola Girls.

Others however, put a lot more time and effort into their creations. Here are a few of them.
And to you clever pusses who wore one costume Saturday and had a completely different one last night? I applaud you!

 The Crayola girls

 Zuley the Culebra Riveter 

 This is what happens with too much time on the computer, tell the children!

Mrrrrrooooowwww!

Too cute!

Susan and Michael are back! And Francie too! And Steve and Gail! And..........

Truthfully, this costume scared me all night long. Well done!

From head to toe, this costume and the woman inside it = gorgeous! But I loved this shot.

So now we know where Elvis is. And his groupie. Culebra really does have everything.

I didn't mean to cut Heather's Little French Maid head in half 

but I was entranced by her shoes                      

(as in, they look great and how the hell does she walk in them and not fall down?)

So a good time was had by all. We started early and left early; the streets were starting to fill up with more goblins and pirates and ghosties as we flew out of sight saying to all, a good night! Mixed holiday metaphor forgiveness requested.

Have a tender Tuesday. Do something tolerantly.