Family Meal Plan: Cherry French Toast in a Mug + Cool Cherry Whipped Cream + Hot Chocolate Cherry Steamer

Carefree Cherry French Toast in a Mug

Happy & Healthy Cooking,

Fun-Da-Mentals Kitchen Skills

• chop :

  to cut something into small, rough pieces using a blade.

• coat :

  to apply a covering of flour, breadcrumbs, oil, sauce, or batter to food before baking or frying.

• dip :

  to briefly put a solid food, such as chips, fries, battered fried fish, hot sandwich (French dip), or veggie slices, into a liquid, like beef broth or a thicker sauce, like ketchup, dressing, or a dip to impart moisture and extra flavor to the solid food.

• juice :

  to extract or squeeze out the juice of a fruit or vegetable, like a lemon, orange, or carrot, often cutting open or peeling the fruit or veggie first to access its flesh.

• knife skills :

  Bear Claw (growl), Pinch, Plank, and Bridge (look out for trolls). 

• mash :

  to reduce food, like potatoes or bananas, to a soft, pulpy state by beating or pressure.

• measure :

  to calculate the specific amount of an ingredient required using a measuring tool (like measuring cups or spoons).

• melt :

  to heat a solid food so it becomes liquid, like butter or chocolate.

• microwave :

  to heat or cook food or liquid quickly in a microwave oven, which uses high-frequency electromagnetic waves to generate heat in the food's water molecules.

• mix :

  to thoroughly combine two or more ingredients until uniform in texture.

• shake :

  to rapidly and vigorously move a covered container filled with food up and down and side to side to combine ingredients and create a different consistency, such as shaking whipped cream to make butter.

• slice :

  to cut into thin pieces using a sawing motion with your knife.

• soak :

  to immerse a hard food for a certain amount of time in a liquid to soften it.

• tear :

  to pull or rip apart a food, like basil leaves, into pieces instead of cutting with a knife; cutting breaks cell walls more, so herbs can discolor faster.

• thaw :

  to gradually warm frozen food, melting ice crystals until it is ready to eat or cook.

History of French Toast!

• The first known reference to a food similar to French toast was found in the Apicius, a first-century Roman cookbook written in Latin. It describes a sweet dish made of large pieces of white bread soaked in milk and beaten eggs, then fried in oil and topped with honey. 
• Legend says that French toast got its current name from Joseph French, a 1724 innkeeper in Albany, New York. When he created his version of the dish, he named it after himself but inadvertently left off the apostrophe and 's' after his last name to make it possessive. So, "French's" toast became "French toast."
• Bread has been a staple food for most cultures since food first began being prepared. Up until very recently, the vast majority of humans would have never dreamed of wasting any food. The French call it "pain perdu" or "lost bread" because they use stale or "lost" bread to make the dish.
• Soaking bread in milk and egg and then cooking it seems logical enough, making a good tasty meal while not wasting any bread. Slices of bread are coated or soaked in an egg and milk mixture. You can also add vanilla, cinnamon, or both. The soaked bread is fried on both sides until browned and cooked. Chefs often recommend day-old bread because the stale bread will soak up more egg mixture without falling apart.
• French toast toppings may be simple, like butter and powdered sugar, or you can add honey, syrup, jam, or fruit in any combination.
• In the United Kingdom and Ireland, French toast is called eggy bread, Gypsy toast, pamperdy, or poor knights pudding; in Portugal and Brazil it is "rabanada;" in Spain, "torrija;" and in India, Bombay toast.

Let's Learn About Ancient Rome!

• Ancient Rome was a civilization established in 753 BCE with the founding of Rome, now the capital city of Italy. 
• In ancient Roman mythology, two twin brothers named Romulus and Remus founded Rome. The myth says the twins were abandoned and discovered by a she-wolf before being found and raised by a shepherd and his wife. Eventually (after many exciting adventures), they found themselves at Palatine Hill, where Romulus built "Roma." The Italian wolf became Italy's unofficial national animal.
• The original settlement of Rome was located on the eastern banks of the River Tiber in the central-western part of the Italian peninsula. The Roman Empire spread from there, taking over the whole peninsula and, eventually, the regions bordering the Mediterranean Sea, much of  Europe, Western Asia, and North Africa.
• The population of ancient Rome is estimated to have been between half a million to a million people. Their native tongue was Latin, a classical Italic language.  
• The Ancient Roman kingdom was governed for almost 250 years by elected kings from each of the Roman tribes. Then, the kingdom was overthrown, becoming a republic with a written constitution lasting almost 500 years. The government consisted of elected magistrates, the senate, and assemblies. 
• Julius Caesar declared himself dictator of Rome in 49 BCE. The republic became the Roman Empire in 27 BCE when Caesar's nephew, Octavian, became the first emperor of Rome, known as Caesar Augustus. The fall of the Roman Empire took place in 476 CE.
• Ancient Rome relied primarily on farming and trade, especially grains, grapes, and olives. Mining and stone quarrying (extracting) were also industries of the era. People taken from the foreign lands Rome conquered were enslaved, and the economy became dependent on them.
• Engineering advances from Ancient Rome included amphitheaters, aqueducts (waterways), arenas, bridges, roads, and public baths. You can visit some of these engineering feats today. The Appian Way, a Roman road, was constructed in 312 BCE. The Pantheon in Rome, an ancient Roman temple, was built from 29 to 19 BCE. The Roman Baths in Bath, England, were built around 70 CE. The Colosseum in Rome, built from 72 to 80 CE, is an example of an amphitheater where gladiator fights, chariot racing, and animal hunts took place. One of the aqueducts built in the first century, the Pont du Gard, still stands in southern France.
• Music and art were influenced by Greek culture. Ancient Roman art includes paintings such as frescoes on walls and ceilings, some of which have survived to modern times. Sculptures of people and sculpted landscapes and people in relief (carved to stand out from a surface) were also popular. The Ancient Romans were also known for their literature and public libraries.
• The cuisine of Ancient Rome included figs, pears, olives, garlic, onion, asparagus, beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, celery, cucumber, parsnips, and peas. Proteins included cheese, chickpeas, eggs, lentils, and fish. Foods were seasoned with coriander, dill, and olive oil and sweetened with honey. 

What Was It Like to Be a Kid in Ancient Rome?

• Education in Ancient Rome was focused on boys, who were taught to read and write by their parents or educated enslaved people. They were trained in civic life, traditions, agriculture, politics, and warfare. Wealthy parents may have sent their children, boys and girls, ages 7 to 11, to a private elementary school, a "ludus," to learn reading, writing, arithmetic, and poetry. 
• At age 12, students would be sent to a secondary school to learn Greek and Roman literature, and at age 16, some would go on to learn rhetoric, the art of persuasion. These students would also learn Roman laws to work in legal professions.
• Kids would play ball games, board games, and dice games. Boys would participate in sports that would help them prepare for military service, like boxing, running, and wrestling.
• Ancient Roman children would have enjoyed fresh and dried fruit, nuts, and olives for snacks. They may have eaten puddings and sweet cheese, fruit, or nut cakes for sweet treats.