Brunch: It's Not Just for Pretentious Childless Hipsters Anymore

I’m not one to bitch and moan about the things I’ve given up since becoming a parent, but there are a few things from my pre-baby days that I do sometimes pine for. Sleeping in until whenever I feel like getting up is one of those things. So is actually doing something spontaneously. Hell, there was a time when I didn’t really mean it when I would say that I was too tired for sex. We used to go out for brunch.

Of all of those things (and the few more I could name if I really thought about it, like not having an ass that was big enough for it’s own postal code), I may just miss going out for brunch the most. I have always loved going out for brunch.

During university, brunch was the chance my friends and I had to dissect the previous evening’s adventures, and to sop up the previous evening’s alcohol. Once I was with Chris, it morphed into a more sophisticated urban tradition among all of my sophisticated, urban friends. (As well as an opportunity to sop up the previous evening’s alcohol.)

We even managed to go out for brunch fairly regularly once we had Bee. Brunching, like doing most things with an infant, was pretty easy – have boob, will travel. She was just as happy sleeping in her bucket during brunch as she was anywhere. And I got to stuff loads of eggs benny into my ravenous post-partum belly while sloshing it down with as many refills of coffee as I would need to make it through the day.

As Bee got older, we brunched less often, not because she wasn’t good in a restaurant – one of the benefits of always taking your kid to restaurants is that they always know how to behave in restaurants – but because you can only expect so much from a small child, and it just wasn’t fun to chug my brunch so that we would be done before our toddler’s limit for sitting still was.

Now, with a toddler whose appetite insists we order her her own plate of food and another child in tow, brunch is becoming too expensive and too much of a hassle to be enjoyed as anything more than a special occasion – and a rare one, at that. So, we don’t brunch very often anymore.

And I miss it.

So I’ve started making a bit of a deal over brunches at home. And while it’s not quite the same, since to me, the point of brunch is to roll in hungover but happy and let someone else do all the work, it has been kind of fun. No child must be forced to stay in her seat, Chris knows me well enough to see that my coffee mug always stays full, and I get that special sense of pride that I’ve accomplished something nice for my family. (Oh, there’s that ‘I need to barf’ sensation that was missing.) It’s not exactly the way things used to be, but I guess if I really miss the spontaneity, I can always decide to scramble the eggs instead of poaching them. Par-tay!

Kgirl’s You're Not a Kid Anymore So Just Get Over It Fancy French Toast with Fancy Fruit Topping

Prep time: 10-25 minutes, depending on what you have to do to your fruit
Cook time: 15 minutes
Feeds: 3

6 thick slices of bread (about 1/2 a loaf)
5 eggs
1/2 c milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
cinnamon

4 c mixed fruit (I used raspberries, blueberries, blackberries and pitted, halved cherries)
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
2/3 c water
1/2 c sugar

Dredge your bread:
Mix the eggs with milk and vanilla and pour into a shallow, wide recepticle like a pie plate.

Soak your bread on both sides and let sit in a large, buttered frypan for 5-10 minutes so that the egg soaks through (otherwise your toast will end up looking like you just friend an egg on top of it).

Fry over medium heat until golden and starting to crisp, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle cinnamon on the side you are about to cook.

Meanwhile, pour the sugar and water in a medium saucepan and heat over med. heat until the sugar dissolves, about 1 minute.

Add the fruit and lemon juice and gently stir until the fruit softens but doesn’t mush, about 4-5 minutes.

Remove the fruit with a slotted spoon, and put into a bowl. Continue heating the liquid, stirring frequently, until it comes to a boil. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Pour the liquid over the fruit, and spoon on top of the French toast just before serving. Dust with icing sugar if desired.

Pretend that your ass hasn’t grown, your cashflow hasn’t shrunk, pour a big cuppa, and enjoy your fancy brunch!

*SoundBITE*
I’ll never admit it, but coffee does nothing to actually sober a person up, or to help a hangover. It just helps keep you awake, and that’s about as much as I can hope for. Some real hangover helpers include green or ginger tea, which reduce nausea, a vitamin b pill will help with the headache, and water, water, water will help get that furry feeling off of your tongue. Try to avoid ‘hair of the dog’ – I’ve heard that puppy just keeps on biting.

Comments

[daysgoby]

Wow....I know what I'm making this weekend!

[nomotherearth]

What a coincidence - I just made french toast FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER the other day. Technically, I made French Toast and mashed banana sandwiches. The Boy liked the banana, and then wouldn't eat it because it had banana in it. The Husband was shocked there was cinnamon in the recipe. Is that unusual?? Weirdos. I'm under-appreciated. And now I need me some brunch.

[Beck]

I freaking LOVE french toast.

If your bread is thick enough, you can actually cut a little slit in it and stuff some cream cheese or jam in it, should you be in need of extra cream cheese or jam.

Something I have found a new love for are late morning breakfasts on the porch. Not as social as my university-days brunches, but just as nice.

[Mamalooper]

I LOVE brunch and I LOVE french toast. Especially at Mitzi's on Sorauren....oh to linger with the SNYT and pails of coffee.

[kittenpie]

Looooove french toast. Also with mushrooms. Or even just maple syrup, really. Mmmm.

[Lisa b]

my old ass and brunch are also the things I miss the most
two kids really tips the scale from eating out.
I also made french toast this year for the first time it was EASY ( and I am useless in the kitchen.) so I'll be trying to kick it up a notch with your Fancy French Toast next time.

[blah, blah, blog]

Looks yummy!

I miss the days when the begat was calm enough to hit Bonjour Brioche for their baked French Toast. Impossibly good, but happened to their coffee...?!