Smoke Alarmed French Toast

This morning I decided to make an old favorite, French toast. Mind you, in this house between the hours of 6:30-7:30 I am like one of the folks on "Iron Chef", making lunches, getting breakfasts ready and getting people out of the door in 3, count them 3 shifts. Now add a little kindergarten neighbor who is extremely, cheerful in the morning and you have a recipe for fire. So her I go, Mr decides he wants a different lunch than the one I packed for him, Spring chick got up late, Science dude is chatting away, Cali girl is sleeping late and Queen E is I don't know where in the morning. So I get Mr and Spring out the door, get the French toast started, cut on the iron to iron some "out of the black hole" clothes for E and bake some cookies that Wyndon mixed last night. (The recipe follows this blog.)

So I get the first batch of French toast out and start the second one. The little folks are eating and I'm enjoying the moment of silence (rolling out cookie dough) when all of a sudden, from the next room, Science dude says, "Mom, I smell smoke!" Not a lot, I tell you, but just enough to trigger the loud and oversensitive British smoke alarm. That's not what you want to hear when you have 20 minutes to get hair done, cookies baked, bags checked, coats on and children out the door. Here we go, Science dude runs upstairs to baby who is screaming in terror, Queen E, covers her ears and hovers in fear and I'm yelling for a fan to cut on and blow away the cough of smoke that triggered that stupid thing on! Nobody hears me and I'm running to get the fan, open a door and window, plug up and aim the silly thing, shut the door to the screaming baby and cover my ears! Oh Lord,help me! Now the fan on and aimed,I endured the eardrum piercing shrill for 6 minutes before that thing finally went off. Then, seconds after the air was clear, the phone rang, someone was knocking at the door and I can't remember what else happened.

I did get the cookies to the children and they made it to the bus on time with ears still ringing. But the kicker was that the toast wasn't burnt, but just a lovely dark brown.

Now, how can I disconnect that thing?
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Mama Reed’s Tea Cakes- Recipe from www.southernplate.com

1 C butter or margarine
1 C sugar
3 eggs
3 1/2 C self rising flour
1 tsp vanilla

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and mix again. Add vanilla and flour and mix well. Roll thin on floured board, cut with cookie or biscuit cutter. Bake at 350 for ten minutes. Sprinkle with sugar while warm or ice with simple icing.

Simple Icing

2 T softened butter or margarine
1/2 C Confectioner’s sugar
2 Tablespoons milk (can add another if needed)
1 tsp vanilla
Few drops food coloring

Cut butter into confectioner’s sugar. Add milk and stir until lumps are gone. Add one teaspoon of vanilla and a few drops of food coloring, stir until combined. Spoon onto cookies or tea cakes and spread with back of spoon. Top with sprinkles while still wet, if desired. Let dry before stacking.

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