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| Scumptious! |
Wait a minute-did I hear Free? I'm all over it. In all my years as a resident of Annapolis I've never been into a place called The Great Harvest Bread Co. That's wonderful-abbreviated just like that-Co. Cool.
So my girls and I got all gussied up (they did-I look like mom in her work out clothes) and headed out into the winter cold with one idea in mind-free heart shaped, giant sized cookie!!! I felt like Cookie Monster from Sesame Street, Cookie, Cookie, Cookie! Now, I have to have cookie!!!! (I'm laughing now).
I have to admit I have always been curious about this bread company. I've often passed it in many of my travels; to church, to my girls pre school, to cut through traffic to get to the Severn Bridge, to the Mexican Cafe for dinner, but never for bread. I'm an anti-bread kind of person I have to admit. I love bread; bread is delicious and perfect but I get tummy troubles when the word bread comes up. I must have a wheat intolerance I think. Oh well, I'm going in....... (they have gluten free options people!)
My girls were so excited. They were dressed in their Valentine's best. I was also proud of them-they have good manners when approached by adults (or anyone) and this was no exception. They were receiving a coloring page (we brought the crayons!) and in exchange a GIANT HEART SHAPED COOKIE! When we arrived (nice accessible parking lot) we were happy to see what looked like local Annapolitans getting their coffee and danish or bagel. Oh yummy....what would I get I thought? The smell was contagious. I'm getting something.
We were greeted by a nice woman named Pam-the lucky owner of the establishment. She told us something incredible: they were actually out of coloring pages but she would happily take down our mailing address and mail them to us. Really, that's nice but wait, I had to tell my girls the news-no free heart shaped cookie. As they excitedly looked at all the coloring pages adorning the windows of the Great Harvest Bread Co, they were kindly surprised and moved onto what they would be eating next. Shew! I was relieved! Pam asked the girls if they'd like to come behind the counter and choose a freshly baked muffin, scone or bagel.......Oh, I know what I want......the spinach scone....yes dare me, I want that one! It was done. The girls chose their yummies and I was sold into morning happiness. My girls proud of being big girls and choosing their own piece of happiness. Neat.
Pam was such a hospitable owner and very lovely. She told us the history of the store, how proud of the kind of breads they make, the choices, the wholesome and honest ingredients in their products. I embarrassingly told her in all my years as a local I'd never been into her blissful shop. As I looked around at her operations, more and more patrons were getting happy and choosing their favorites. It was a delight. She sent me off with a recipe, gladly shared and I asked her permission to post it. I hope this blog makes her proud. She deserves it. I will make it for my family on Saturdays now, as often as I can. I will also be back for another scone, not necessarily in the morning but for a late afternoon snack. Brain food as I call it.
Happiness to me is also when you visit people doing what they love and you get out of the house in the middle of winter to share your warmth, your light, and it encourages; it helps people along. Here is Pam's recipe for French Toast Casserole. Thank you Pam for making my daughters feel special.
FRENCH TOAST CASSEROLE
Perfect for breakfast lovers who don't want to have to actually make breakfast on Saturday morning-you can make it the night before!- 1 loaf Great Harvest Bread (Challah, Apple Scrapple, Old Fashioned White, Cinnamon Chip, etc) cut into 1-inch cubes (appr. 10 cups)
- 8 eggs
- 3 cups milk
- 4 teaspoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3/4 tsp. salt (optional)
Place bread cubes in a greased 13x9x2 in baking dish. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla and salt. Pour over bread. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Dot casserole with 2T butter (cubed). Combine 2T sugar and 2t cinnamon and sprinkle over the top. Cover and bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 5 minutes. Serve with your favorite syrup. Makes 12 scrumptious servings!
For more information on this amazing bread company, visit their site at www.greatharvestannapolis.com
Note: I had no negative tummy reaction to the delicious scone I chose. Good news. I'll be back for another!
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