Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Bread and soup...

Though we're patiently waiting for Autumn to arrive, it still hasn't.
And that's a shame because to me Autumn is about bowls of soup, cool evenings, and fresh baked bread - three things I love. 

On Monday Blossom and I decided to go ahead and create a soup and bread lunch, pretending the 24C air flowing from the air conditioner was our cool Autumn evening. Desperate? Us? You bet.

Bloss brought a pot of her freshly made chicken noodle soup over to my place, and I baked yummy light rye bread and a few rolls. 
My sweet pregnant girl has had a tough time with her health these past few months, and in answer to those beautiful emails arriving in my inbox asking how she's going, the news is that she must rest a lot and take life much slower over the next 14 weeks until her little cherub arrives. 
As I heated her delicious soup on the stove Blossom rested on her daddy's sofa, waiting to watch the first episode of Poldark (which was wonderful!)....

 ...then we sat around the coffee table and feasted 'Autumn style'.
This was a new bread recipe I found in one of my baking books, and it was so good that Blossom took some rolls home, as well as half the loaf. 
Her DB loved it too, so I guess I'll be baking it again.
On Tuesday, after a morning spent working at the computer, I picked up Bloss and we headed over to the pool for our Tuesday swimming break. The water is so relaxing that it's hard to leave and go back to work, but we do make time for lunch together before I take her home again.


I still had some bread left from the day before and wondered how to use it, which stirred some interesting conversation on the drive back to my place about what can be made from stale bread - not that it was stale, but what would we make if it were.

 We came up with...

* breadcrumbs
* croutons
*  bread and butter baked custard
* French toast
* toad in the hole (cut a hole in the middle of a slice of bread and fry it in butter with an egg in the hole) 
* grilled cheese and avocado on toast

...so for lunch I made French toast and Blossom was so excited because she hadn't had it for years.
It was yummy, and she returned home with a big smile on her face.

Wednesday morning I used the last of the bread to cook 'toad in the hole' with ham and tomatoes for Mr E's breakfast, and he also wore a big smile as I waved him off to work.

Simple things like fresh baked bread and homemade soup create smiles.

Blossom and I thought you might have some stale bread ideas you'd like to share with us 'cause we're going to be baking a lot of bread. 
It might nudge Autumn into finally arriving!

 What do you do with bread that's a few days old?


12 comments:

Wendy said...

We have toad in the hole in england too but it's completely different. It's sausages in an oven pan with yorkshire pudding batter layered over it and baked.

Little Quiltsong said...

We love toasted bread with different toppings, but for lunch we love to put cheese on toasted bread - it slightly melts the cheese - Delicious!! Love when you share your favorite dishes and stories. Thank You!

Little Penpen said...

What a sweet post! I love the pic of Blossom lying on the sofa in the background. So pretty!

cucki said...

Such a sweet post my dear...
I love autumn myself so much and all your three things are fav too,,
Love the yummy bread.
Big hugs x

Ladydukes said...

I would LOVE to have that bread recipe! It looks delicious! Wishing the best to your sweet daughter! Hugs!

Dolly said...

Jenny, I live in the U.S. And I just love bread pudding! There are several ways to make it and will send a recipe if you are interested. In the Deep South...I'm from Mississippi orginally it is always used with left over bread. It sort of like a creamy sweet sauce poured over cut up bread. We all make what we called dressing. It's stale bread with onions, celery, carrots...and Herbs and some left over like chicken pieces and maybe sausge mixed with chicken broth covering it and baked...its popular at thanksgiving here.

Anonymous said...

I sent you a couple, but I don't know how they will translate into Australian. =) I loved reading about, and seeing, the days you spent with Blossom. How lovely it is that she is so close at this delightful time. I pray for an easy rest of pregnancy.

Winifred said...

Our bread never gets the chance to go stale. I love soup whatever time of year. My favourite is carrot & coriander. Fandabbydozy!!!

Águeda said...

When my bread is a few days, I put it in the toaster, smeared olive oil and tomato, and I put up a slice of ham. : P could make a dish of "Migas ruleras", but if there serrano ham, "Migas" have no chance :))
Have a nice day.

Gill said...

I use it to make Queen of Puddings, which is breadcrumbs baked in a rich egg custard, topped with homemade jam and a meringue topping- delish!

Denise SA said...

I like to make bread pudding with my stale bread it's made with bread crumbs milk egg a little butter currants raisins mixed spice all mixed together then either baked or steamed nice on its own or with custard

Allie-oops Designs said...

Always praying for Blossom!!! Your bread looks so yummy - it never lasts around here, so I wouldn't know WHAT to do with stale bread, lol! I hope your autumn arrives soon, hon...