On Saturday, Spouse asked me a question and I burrowed headfirst into the pile of laundry on the couch like a netherworld sand worm going deep. Amused, Toddler crawled in with me and we ignored Spouse together. What was he asking about? It doesn’t really matter. I’m the kind of tired that has no room for questions. The kind of tired that just can’t even right now.

And it’s a grateful kind of tired, because it’s a magical, gratifying kind of busyness. Sure, I’ve reached a point where I might burst into tears if you ask me to do just one more thing, but they’re happy tears. Happy tears that get me out of doing stuff.

This past weekend, my book made its debut and we celebrated in a fancy local bookstore and ate food made from recipes I wrote, and I wore a new dress and shape-wear and high heeled shoes. It felt like a wedding, only with less 90s hip hop and no one had to help me go to the bathroom. In the week leading up to the launch, I did one million candid interviews with newspapers and pre-recorded radio programs and magazines, and showed up live on the radio and on TV. I only took three days off of work. And Toddler was still all about Toddler, of course.

So, this week, it’s all about comfort food. In particular, the comfort food that has comforted me my whole life, from sitting at my parents’ table those rainy nights after field hockey practice, to cooking for roommates after exams, to dinnertime at the end of one of those seemingly endless newborn days. When I couldn’t pull myself together, I could always pull this together.

Toad in the Hole will get you through.

Recipe perks: Carbs on meat. Kid-friendly. Easy and fast. Soy-free if you check your sausage contents. Shameless.

Toad in the Hole

Makes 4 servings.

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup milk or buttermilk, at room temperature

4 eggs, at room temperature

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

Pinch salt and pepper

Two strips of bacon, chopped

2 tsp. butter

1 medium onion, sliced

1 lb. pork sausages, such as English Bangers or Bratwurst

Preheat your oven to 425°F.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, milk or buttermilk, eggs, mustard, and salt and pepper until smooth. Set aside.

In a cast-iron pan over medium-high heat, fry the bacon. When cooked, scoop the bacon out of the pan and drain it on paper towel. Add butter. When butter is melted, add onions. Brown onions. Don’t caramelize them – just cook them until they are translucent with brown bits around their edges, about three minutes.

Add the sausages, and brown them too it doesn’t matter if they are cooked through, but you want them brown on all sides. Remove from the pan and slice into bite-sized pieces.

Add the bacon and sausages back to the pan, pour batter over top, and stick in the oven for 25 minutes, until batter has puffed and turned golden.

Slice and serve immediately, with a glob of mustard or steak sauce, or a dollop of yogurt or sour cream. Goes well with a simple garden salad, stretchy pants, and all the shows piling up on your DVR from the past week or so.

(Images: Emily Wight)