Not so Still Life

I leave today for a week to Bluffton, SC with a mixed bag of emotions.  It starts a whirlwind chain of events which includes the opening of a new Panera and ends with seeing so many of my friends at Vanessa and Mike's wedding in Florida.  I cant wait!  But long days are ahead of me.  Think something like 6am-10pm.  And that's just the clocked-in hours, not actually counting my drinking time.

So wish me luck!  And let's hope my preparation is enough to get me through this.

January is Gone, Can You Believe It?

There are so many things that I haven't made the time to tell you.  And I'm not even sure if now is the right time...



First off, the start of my Master's Degree, of which I was so excited, has been postponed.  I could have, and maybe even should have, but I'm okay with it.  So far, at least.

On a lighter note, I'm still very much involved with the show.  La Dolorosa goes forward as planned!  Even more exciting, I have my first coaching tomorrow.  It will be nice to work with someone again.  I do miss the wonderful Dr. Elizabeth Graham.  What a woman.

The decision has led to greater responsibilities at work, and hopefully soon, greater recognition.  Stay tuned.  It's currently out of my hands, but I threw my name in the hat in dramatic fashion on New Year's Eve. 


The time to myself?  Good.
The other evening I had the wild hair to open up my Fauré book of melodié and sing through about 10 different songs.  It was nice.  Beautiful, even. 
Retail therapy has helped.

The time to myself. 


I'm currently eating some whole grain pasta covered in John's wonderful marinara sauce with pine nuts that I found in the fridge.  The pasta is a little past al dente, because, let's face it, sometimes I have the attention span of a squirrel.  And of course, it's smothered with cheese.  But it's delicious.  And soon to be gone.  A side note: Don't put the opened mozzarella in the same bag with the opened brie.  The moldy rind transfers.  Lesson learned.


I love Panera and the people that I work with.  I know many others that feel the same.  Here are a few shots from when I actually bring my camera in to work.

That last thing is a Cobblestone, by the way.  Our Cinnamon Raisin dough cut up and mixed with spiced apples and molasses, topped with struesel and white icing.  You wouldn't believe the speed in which I can rattle that line off when customers ask.  :o)

Snow Day!

Yesterday the skies in Columbia, SC dropped 4" of snow.  I spent an opening shift at Panera playing in the snow, snapping pictures, and gossiping with customers who were brave enough to drive in a grab some of our hot coffee.  It was wonderfully magical and beautiful!

  

I my have spent some time drawing the Mother Bread logo...

I had such a bonding experience with my staff, those that showed up.

I also had my first experience of living in a place where it snows.  This doesn't happen in Florida.  And driving in it, and having to scrape it off my car, and slipping in it, and how it changes the landscape into something much more beautiful...

More from this later, I promise! We'll see how driving tomorrow on all of the melted snow/ice goes...

French Toast

As you can tell by many of my food postings, I like Breakfast.  I have such a sweet tooth, which makes eating lots of sweet things at the start of the day very appealing.  I find days when I don't eat breakfast to be unsettling and frantic at times.


There have been posts about waffles and a country breakfast bowl, but now my favorite and easiest to make: French Toast!


The dish was designed to make the best of stale bread.  The stiffness of the bread keeps it from getting mushy and falling all over the place in the egg mixture.  I always try to use stale bread, bread from the freezer, or one with a dense crumb.
This time I used Panera's Cinnamon Raisin Bread, because, well, I work there. And it's delicious.

The recipe is fairly basic: eggs, milk or cream, then flavorings like cinnamon, vanilla, and nutmeg.

I normally do not use measurements, but instead crack an egg in a shallow bowl and beat in some milk until it looks right, but here is a simple recipe from allrecipes that includes measurements:

 
Ingredients:

6 thick slices bread
2 eggs
2/3 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
salt to taste

For me the biggest thing is getting the bread equally saturated on both sides.  For God's sake, please don't let it soak, unless you are planning on baking it in a casserole dish...

Then just fry it up until the sides are golden and delicious!

Today is my birthday!  

I turn an insignificant 23, but life seems pretty good.  I have been in a new city and state for a few weeks now.  In that time I've made lots of friends with my work crew at Panera Bread.  I've actually started a project "commisioned" by my General Manager to take pictures of all the employees and some product for a wall in the dining room.  Small fries, but I enjoy it.

My boyfriend gave me a waffle maker this morning, so we enjoyed homemade birthday waffles!  It's the super-pimp flip kind.  I've had my eye on one since Christmas, and he remembered.  Other presents that came in the mail include a beautiful pearl strand necklace with tassels on the end, meant to tie in the front and a Target gift card.
Yep, life is good.

I haven't been singing since I moved, a product of busyness and stress and just lack of studio space in our small apartment.  As of now, I'm okay with that-- money has to be made, but give it some time and my guilty conscience will force me back to the practice room to resurrect some arias for new teachers to come.

One of my last memories in Gainesville, FL is with a local and talented artist and friend, Anne Seraphine.  Throughout the month of June, I sat for some of her paintings.  On a farewell lunch she gifted me with one of them!