thai tea, coco-anise french toast bites

an oldie but a goodie plus Q4 life updates

this week we’re doing something different

thus far, my substack has been 100% recipe-focused & while that will likely continue, this week we’re doing something different: a peak into my very hectic life during the last quarter of the year.

not a photo of me in my hotel bed but same energy tbh

I’m drafting this with heavy eyes from my hotel bed in San Diego. My midwestern conditioned body sprung into action bright & early at 4 am this morning due to the time change (CST to PST - a two hour difference). A few hours later, I found myself a bit perkier & ready to hit the stage of crEATor Live. I was unaware of what to expect, a bit nervous but mostly excited to share a bit about my story & journey as a creator.

I spoke on a panel titled “Scaling your Content Business” & discussed how I went from being a Geographic Information Systems Engineer (say that three times fast) — it’s a formal way of saying I made maps & occasionally played with rocks, to the digital powerhouse that I am today. Please note that I did not brand myself a ‘digital powerhouse’ but the greater powers of crEATor Live did — I’m too humble to ever do that.

Once I return home, it’s on & poppin’ y’all — the Q4 scaries are here & I’m pleasantly horrified. You know the feeling of leaving a well-executed haunted house? Slowly recovering from the pure fright while simultaneously feeling ecstatic? That’s where I’m at.

Well actually, I haven’t started recovering from the fright quite yet — a more accurate description would be happily afraid or afraid-did-ly happy. Anywho, I’ll be serving as a spokesperson for ALDI yet again this holiday season gracing daytime television shows nationwide, from coast to coast and sea to sea. Alongside that, I’m leading some exciting but intensive content developments for Impossible Foods.

I will be stretched wafer thin.

New recipe development may come to a halt but I’ll compile my all time favorite recipes to release here along with tid-bits from my day-to-day life. Deal? Deal. Glad we could align on this, pleasure doing business with ya.

Go forth & enjoy some of the best french toast bites known to (wo)man).

recipe!

thai tea coco-anise french toast bites with sweetened condensed milk

3-4 servings 10 mins prep + 15 mins cook | 25 mins total time

ingredients

• 3 eggs

• 2 cups thai tea - linked is my go-to brand

• 1 1/2 cups coconut milk

• 1/2-1 teaspoon star anise extract

• 1-1 1/2 teaspoons cardamom

• pinch of salt

• 3 tablespoons butter

• 1-12 count package king’s hawaiian sweet rolls

• 1/2 cup coconut sugar

• sweetened condensed milk, for dipping

instructions

in a bowl, whisk eggs, thai tea, coconut milk, star anise extract & a pinch of salt. Set aside. In a separate bowl, mix sugar & cardamom. Set aside. Melt 1/2 tablespoon of butter in a pan over medium-high heat. While butter is melting, add half of the sweet rolls to the thai tea-egg mixture; submerge them for 6-8 seconds. Shake off excess mixture or allow to drip off on a wire rack-lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining rolls. Place rolls in pan ensuring that there is no overcrowding. Brown on all sides. Remove from pan & set aside. Repeat process until all rolls are cooked. Toss rolls in prepared cardamom-sugar mixture, if desired. Serve hot with sweetened condensed milk.