Milk foam tutorial!

How do you like your coffee? My hubby likes his, get this, 1/3 of his mug filled with french vanilla creamer, 1/3 coffee, 1/3 whipped cream and then a drizzle of caramel and a sprinkle of cinnamon. whoa. sugar overload!!! I am more of a simple milk and sugar kinda girl... 3/4 coffee, 1/4 milk and then a little sugar (as of lately Truvia actually) Sometimes I got for a teeny tiny glug of the french vanilla stuff. I am also a big fan of foam. We don't have a fancy schmancy machine to make our fancy schmancy coffees so we get creative over at our house. I don't know where I first saw this but this is how I make my milk foam:

1. I grab a jar... shorter ones work best but I had this tall little guy hanging around so I grabbed him. Pour some milk in. (make sure your jar is big enough so that you can put your milk in and still have about 1/2 of the jar empty) I spilled some milk... don't worry, I didn't cry. :)

2. Put the lid on the jar and shake VIGOROUSLY for 30-40 seconds. Ya gotta shake it good so that it foams up.

3. Take off the lid and put the jar in the microwave for 30 seconds.... see it in there? see the foam rising up? that's the ticket! (side note- if you are doing this and taking pictures for your blog, this would be the time where you would get embarrassed and realize you need to clean your microwave, like, now!)

4. The foam will deflate a little bit but it'll still be there!

5. Grab a spoon and scoop it out. Plop it on your coffee and voila! I usually put my coffee and sugar in my mug and stir it up while the jar is in the microwave, scoop the foam out on top of my coffee and then gently pour the milk in.

When I really want to make my coffee special I take my hubby's caramel and make a swirl on top of the foam, take a tooth pick and pull from the middle out to the edges of the mug making a sort of web design. Fun right?

So, that's how I make my morning coffee into a fancy schmancy coffee house latte with a few household items!

Pumpkin Pie French Toast

Look at this... go on, take a closer look...
This, my friends is pure breakfast delight. 5 words... Pumpkin. Pie. French. Toast. Bake. OHEMGEEEEE. This is good stuff. I saw this recipe posted on a blog that I frequent (cookingwithmykid.com) Her blog is amazing... great recipes, ideas, beautiful food and pictures and its so encouraging to see her getting her son involved in the kitchen every singled day. I think its so important that our kids know where their food comes from and I also think that its important for moms to teach their kids practical things like cooking & its so fun for them to get them involved where they can even when they are wee ones. Another fun blog I like along these lines is weelicious.com. Great stuff. Anyways, I saw this recipe in the fall when I was on a detox (seriously worst time to got on a 3 months detox... comfort food galore, Halloween candy, Thanksgiving feasts, holiday prep and parties which all involve copious amounts of sweets. worst idea ever Amanda) Well, I made it through the detox without cheating (much) all the while compiling a list of foods that I was coming across dieing to try to whip up and now is the time that I am getting to make them! yay! goodbye detox, hello pumpkin pie french toast! Hey, dont most people resolve to eat better come January? :) Its all about moderation people! Thank goodness my hubby is just as obsessed with pumpkin any time of the year as I am because this recipe is AHHHHH-mazing if you are a pumpkin lover. Our family are not, I repeat NOT morning people... we sleep in, our boys sleep in & we stay in our pjs for as long as we can. BUT we also love love love breakfast foods and sweet ones at that so if you were to stop by our house around 11 or 12 on a Saturday morning you would most definitely find us chowing down on something like this...
My hubby and boys haven't been feeling 100 % so Friday morning became Saturday morning and I made us a treat for 'breakfast' this morning. Seriously. If you don't make this you WILL be sorry. Delicious eggy Challah bread soaked in a heavily spiced pumpkin custard and then baked until its slightly crispy on the outside and ooey gooey on the inside. Yum. It was so delicious I didn't even get a picture of it when it was piled high on my plate with a sprinkling of powdered sugar, a drizzle of maple syrup and a dollop of whipped cream... oh yeah, and don't forget the pat of butter. Delish. So yeah, all you get a pic of a half eaten dish of pumpkin pie french toast and an empty, dirty, plate! :) It was amazing, but don't take it from me- go make some!

Go here: http://www.cookingwithmykid.com/recipes/pumpkin-pie-french-toast/ for much better pictures and the recipe!