Real food

Real food, aka not an endless stream of canning. Which is delicious, but not a meal, per se.

My current Mad Love is for Baked French Toast. Conjured out of a Foodland Ontario booklet (which are all shockingly good for free govt recipe booklets), and then modified all to hell for allergies and realizations of a lack of fruit (frozen or otherwise) when faced with a tray of french toast. It does require a certain degree of organizational skill and fridge space, both of which can be hard to come by around here.

Baked French Toast

6 slices thick good bread
4 eggs
2 cups milk (or in my case 'milk', we use almond milk around here)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp each nutmeg and cinnamon
500 ml jar homemade (or not) peach pie filling or 2 1/2 cups berries (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup (or more) granola

The night before, arrange bread in a single layer in a 9 x 13" casserole dish, squishing (or trimming) to fit. Whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla and spices (the original recipe calls for 1/2c of sugar here, but I have sweetened almond milk). Pour over the bread. Cover and refrigerate overnight (or for a good 3 or 4 hours minimum.)

Just before baking, spread with berries or pie filling you're trying to use up. Sprinkle with granola (or nuts, or some rolled oats tossed in melted butter and a bit of sugar.)

Bake at 400F for 35 - 40 mins or until the bread is puffy and the fruit is bubbly. Serve with maple syrup, or not as you prefer.