It’s the weekend and the kids don’t want the same old breakfast they eat during the school week. Frankly it’s only on the weekend that I have time to make French toast, and even then, it’s very plain.

To make 6 slices of French toast, I just beat up 3 eggs with a pinch of salt. Heat up the pan with a blob of butter. Then dip 6 slices of bread into the egg mixture, one by one, and let them soak up the egg for a bit.

Lift each slice into the pan and fry lightly first on one side, then the other, till cooked through or browned. Basically, that’s all there is to it.

On a whim, I decided to spruce things up a little, add a little variety to the same old, plain old. I spread some honey on each slice of French toast, and lay a few pieces of bananas, cut slantwise, across the toast. Mmmm, it’s the best! Nothing like it. So yummy and healthy.

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I’ve been buying baguettes lately because I can never resist the buy one, get one free offers that some of the grocery stores are offering so often these days.

You’d think we’d have gotten bored and run out of ways to eat our baguettes. But no!! There’s always a new and more creative way to eat a baguette.

Me and the kids love baguette dipped in curry. It’s so yummy it’s hard to stop once you get started. If I lived in a cold country, heck I’d be cooking chicken curry every single day !

Never tried baguette dipped in curry? You don’t know what you’re missing. Actually curry is a cinch to make if you use my easy-peasy chicken curry recipe.

As you know, I’ve been searching for a few good bagels. They aren’t that easy to find around here but ever since I introduced my kids to them, we’ve practically gone on witch hunts for bagels.

Lately, we chanced upon the newly-opened Vienna Bagels on the lower ground floor of 1 Utama’s new wing at the spot previously occupied by Auntie Anne’s Pretzels.

We were just in time to catch their opening special where we buy one and get one free. My kids picked the Italiano (top right), Katsuo (bottom right), Sparkling Cheddar (center) and Dark Flakes (left).

Notice how the cheesy ones are rather burnt and messy. They look like they came out of an amateur kitchen, neither very professionally done nor pleasing to the eye.

Vienna bagels are also rather small, about two-thirds the size of what I would consider a regular bagel. I didn’t try the sweet bagels but I tasted the cheesy, savory ones and they are definitely way too salty.

Having said that, I just had to put up a picture of the box because I love the design. Lastly, I should add if you’re trying to decide between bagels and doughnuts, go for the bagel! Bagels are healthier being boiled, then baked while doughnuts are deepfried.

I remember many afternoons spent in my girl friend’s kitchen in California pigging out on bagels as we chatted and gossiped and laughed. Sweet memories! That was when I fell in love with bagels.

I finally came across some bagels recently at Yamakazi, a bakery tucked away just two doors away from the Cold Storage at the new underground bridge between Midvalley Megamall and the Gardens.

Like a desperado, I quickly grabbed 3 bagels - Raisin, Blueberry (left) and Poppy (right) - as if the shop is going to run away . Turns out these bagels weren’t anything I remember bagels to taste like. The search is not over. I’m back to square one.

I just haven’t been able to resist buying baguettes lately. My kids love the different toppings I’ve been putting on them. And obviously what better time to stuff yourself silly with baguette than when they’re on sale. Two for the price of one is so worth it.

I made this for breakfast last Sunday and again for lunch this week on my kids’ request. Simply lay strips of cheddar cheese slices along the length of the baguette and top off with a strip of streaky bacon. Pop them into the oven toaster for about 8-10 minutes.

I tell ya, the smell of bacon crackling in my oven toaster first thing in the morning is heavenly. I rarely buy streaky bacon but the bits of fat in it really do add a great sizzle of flavor.

If you’re making these as hor d’oeuvres for a party, you can cut the baguette into shorter lengths and stick a fancy toothpick in the center.

When I was pregnant with my two older kids, I used to run across the road from where I worked and order my favorite sandwich from Oliver’s Super Sandwiches during lunchtime.

I tell you, I’m such a sucker for their very substantial sandwiches crammed with fresh veggies and meat that I’ve always wanted to replicate them at home. But of course, not quite to the extent that they pile up theirs sky high.

Cramming a club sandwich into one mouthful to be quite a challenge, even more so for the kids. So I have my homemade club sandwiches less bulky, hence less likely to unhinge anyone’s jaw .

I just toast 3 slices of bread (white for now, till I can somehow convince my kids to like wholemeal). Butter the bread lightly.

Then I start layering one slice of ham, then sliced cucumbers, the second slice of bread, one slice of cheese, then sliced tomatoes, and finish off with the last slice of bread.

Stick a toothpick right through the center to hold all the layers together. Slice the club sandwich diagonally with a sharp, serrated knife and it’s all ready to go into a lunchbox or a growling tummy. Sweet !

We haven’t had pizza in a while. At one stage, the kids were eating too much cheese and they were starting to turn pudgy, so we really had to lay off. Cheese isn’t all bad and the kids do love pizza. So I decided to do a pizza on as a baguette topping for Skye’s lunchbox.

What you need are just a few simple ingredients.

• a baguette, cut into foot-long lengths, then split down the middle
• pasta sauce
• frankfurters, sliced
• grated mozzarella cheese
• grated cheddar cheese

I first ‘butter’ the pasta sauce on the baguette slice spreading it rather thick. I use Prego as it’s already flavored with herbs and mushrooms and whatever else. I don’t have to add anything to it.

Next I roughly distribute the round slices of franks all over the open-faced baguette and top off with a generous sprinkle of mozzarella and cheddar.

Because we were going to have to bake these in batches anyways, I decided to use my toaster oven. Shove in about 4 slices for about 8-10 minutes till the cheese is melted.

My kids say this tastes like ‘the real thing’. I say it beats the thin crust pizza because it’s slightly thicker (so it’s more filling for someone like me with a skyhigh metabolic rate) and oh so crispy on the outside.

On occasion, I also like to have a variety of other toppings on my baguette. You can get more interesting ideas for baguette toppings here.

Skye, my 12-year-old daughter, stays back after school on certain days of the week and I’ve been packing lunch boxes for her. Chicken pie is a favorite and easy enough to make, especially with ready-made pastry. The weather is so hot and humid these days I try to spend as little time in the kitchen as possible.

This pre-packed Kawan brand pastry I found at Tesco comes in packets of 10 squares but you can use any brand from your regular grocery store. It’s very inexpensive and works like a charm, just be sure they’re at room temperature before you use them.

For the pie filling, you’ll need:

• 1 chicken breast, diced
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1/4 carrot, chopped
• 1/2 cup chicken stock + dash of salt, pepper and black pepper

Saute the onion and garlic in olive oil till soft and fragrant. Add carrot and chicken stock. Cook on medium heat till carrots are softened. Add chicken and let it simmer down till there’s very little sauce left.

Grease your baking tray with butter or margarine. Lay one pastry square on the tray. Scoop chicken filling into the center of the square. Remember you need to cover the top of that with another pastry square, so put in too much filling. Otherwise the sides of the pastry might split open during baking.

To seal the edges of the pie, press down with a fork to create a serrated effect. Pierce the top a few times with the fork to let the air escape when baking. Lastly, brush the top of the pie with egg yolk to give it that beautiful golden finish.

Bake at 180C (350F) for about 20 minutes. See how beautiful it turns out. The pastry is really soft and flaky. The filling is entirely made with fresh ingredients so it’s pretty healthy.

You can make this the night before and pack a lunch box to the office. Heat it up at the office and everyone will soon smell it and head to your desk! A great way to save on gas and lunch money too, don’t you think ?

One of the hardest things to resist when you’re at a kopitiam (new concept coffee shop) is the kaya toast, or coconut jam toast. The bread is so airy and light that when it’s toasted, it tastes so good with all that butter and kaya oozing out at every crunch.

But I’ve only ever ordered it once or twice in all the times I’ve been to a kopitiam. I just don’t believe in paying rm2-3 for two slices of bread, no matter how good it tastes.

And it’s so-oo easy to replicate at home too. I can get a whole loaf of this airy bread for around rm3 at Tesco or around rm2 at the market. Yes, a whole loaf, not two slices!

One loaf is enough for our family of five to have one heck of a teatime party, I tell you. It’s perfect too for when visitors or my nieces/nephews drop by. It’s cheap, it’s yummy, everybody loves it especially the kids.

The trick to getting it to taste like the ones at the kopitiam is to slob on lots of butter and kaya. That’s what makes theirs so yummy (and fattening too !).

I wouldn’t usually think of buying a baguette (or French loaf, as some call it). But if I happen to see them, I’m always be tempted to buy one or two.

Last weekend, they were on sale - two for the price of one, so I didn’t think twice.

With two baguettes starring at me, I had to get creative pretty quick. The kids and I were having it as a full meal for lunch.

So I thought I’d add a little variety so they could choose what toppings they wanted.

I cut up the baguette slantwise into inch-think slices and threw them into my oven toaster for 3 minutes while I readied four different toppings to go with it.

Naturally I had to have my coconut jam (or kaya) spread (top). I also made some plain ones with just butter (bottom) which smells and tastes really good.

Then I also made some with tuna topping - plain tuna with mayonnaise (right) and spicy chilly tuna (left). Tuna on toast is something else ;).

A couple of quick tips here. Baguettes are easiest to cut when they’re fresh. Use a super-sharp bread knife if you want the pieces to keep their shape.

If your knife is not sharp enough, you end up having to press harder against the bread in order to saw through it, causing the pieces to get squished out of shape.

Misshapen pieces don’t look half as nice, aren’t as flat and offer less surface area for you to work with. So you may find you have less space to lay out your toppings.

Baguette toasts are great for a quick snack, or even a main meal if you add a fairly substantial topping.