“Picture[s] of the [last few] week[s]” and B&B book club

I haven’t been terribly good at keeping up with my “picture of the week”, so I thought that for this week I would share a whole bunch of pictures with you to make up for it. Here are a few shots of the last few weeks…visiting Peggy’s Cove before it got too cold, baked oatmeal dish, my birthday salad made by my wonderful husband, baking cookies with mom and dad over Christmas in Toronto as well as a couple of others.

Also, since it is January and lots of us are making new year’s resolutions (many of which may have to do with finances), I thought I would tell you about a book I recently read that you might like.  Its called the “Smart Cookies Guide to Making More Dough and Getting out of Debt”.  The idea of the book is premised around these five women called the “Smart Cookies” who got together and formed a “money group” to help keep themselves accountable financially.  The authors suggest that you form your own money group and read the book as you would in a book club.  It discusses all sorts of different money related topics and is written especially for women.  I personally read it on my own and learned a lot and found it really helpful. I imagine you would get even more out of it if you formed a group, but I definitely wouldn’t forego reading it just because you don’t have one.  One more tip: they have a Canadian and an American version of the book, so if you are going to order it, make sure you get the right version.

The best brunch dish ever

So, I am not one to use superlatives very often.  In fact, they’ve always kind of scared me.  When I was in grade school and my teachers used to ask us to pull out our “best” handwriting, I would always get a bit anxious and worried that I would have used up my limited supply of “best hand writing” by the age of 9.  I would get a similar feeling when people would ask me what my “favorite” song, or “favorite” colour was.  I always felt that if I gave a song name or a colour out, than that song or colour would have to be my favorite for the rest of my life.  At 29, I still sometimes experience anxiety over these sorts of things.

Having admitted this publicly on my blog, I must also say that once in a while (but very rarely), I can use a superlative sans anxiety.   For example, there is this red curry chicken soup at this Thai restaurant in Ottawa which my friend and I have qualified as “the best soup in the world”.  A few years later, I still sleep well and have no regrets about having used this title.  So today friends, let me introduce you to “the best brunch dish ever”.  I hope you will find it as delicious as I have.  This dish is great for serving to guests, and is also extra awesome because you can prepare it the night before.

Here is the recipe:

Overnight Proscuitto & Feta Egg Bake

*Note: The original recipe calls for goat cheese, but I have substituted feta cheese instead.

Ingredients:

-14 to 18 slices English muffin bread

-6 oz. prosciutto, thinly sliced and torn into bite size pieces

-8 oz. crumbled feta cheese (or goat cheese if you prefer)

-8 oz. shredded provolone cheese

-1/4 c. chopped green onions

-6 T. thinly sliced fresh basil

-5 large eggs

-2 c. whole milk

-1 T. Dijon mustard (optional)

-1/2 tsp. salt (you may want to use less, depending on the saltiness of your prosciutto/ham and goat cheese)

-1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

3 T. unsalted butter, melted

Preparation:

Spray a 9″ x 13″ baking dish with cooking spray. Then line the bottom of the dish with 1 layer of bread, cutting some of the slices to fit if necessary. Arrange half the prosciutto evenly over the bread, and then half the goat cheese and half the provolone. Sprinkle with half of the green onions and basil. Top with a second layer of bread slices. Layer on the remaining prosciutto, goat cheese, provolone, green onions, and basil.

Whisk eggs, milk, mustard, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Pour egg mixture evenly over the egg bake, letting it soak in. Drizzle melted butter evenly over the top. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

The next morning, preheat oven to 350°. Uncover the egg bake and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Bake until the center is set, about 55 to 60 minutes. If you want to crisp up the top even more, set it under the broiler for a minute or two, until golden. Cut into large squares and serve.

Yield: 6 to 12 servings

Source: adapted from the recipe box of Meghan Cornell, adapted from Bon Appetit ”Entertaining Made Easy”, December 2003, also seen at http://www.afarmgirlsdabbles.com/)