I have been craving something sweet. What caught my fancy was bread pudding. I’ve been thinking about bread pudding ever since the Instant Pot came into the house. I have gotten out of the habit of serving desserts with a meal, so it seemed that this craving would not be satisfied. This morning I thought, well, why not for breakfast!
I don’t like “fussy” recipes, ones with lots of ingredients that are not usually found in our home. For instance, bread pudding recipes that call for egg bread, or cinnamon bread, are glossed over, those kinds of specialized ingredients won’t be found in the Mist Cottage kitchen.
I don’t plan menus, or make grocery lists from them, never have. I look in the garden, in the freezer, in the refrigerator, to see what is available. I choose an ingredient, and then the search is on to find or create a recipe that will bring that ingredient to the table in a pleasing way. This past week it was a forgotten cabbage at the back of the vegetable bin, which inspired several meals of cabbage roll casserole and a wonderful Sweet & Sour beef and cabbage casserole. This morning I noticed two withering apples at the back of the other vegetable drawer… and I meant to chop one of those apples to add to my bread pudding. Perhaps I will make another bread pudding tomorrow, chop one of the apples to add to it, and restrict myself to only eating one serving for my breakfast!
Here is my recipe, developed by reading dozens of recipes, coming to the conclusion that I could use bread ends, saved studiously in the freezer so that nothing would go to waste. So I rummaged around in the refrigerator freezer and produced a small bag of rye bread ends. Perfect. I used the equivalent of two slices of that bread, which was very easy to cube in its frozen state. I used one cup of milk, one egg, some sugar, some raisins, some vanilla, some cinnamon… Maggie’s Bread Pudding For One!
What I am very impressed by is the nutritional lineup of this particular dish, lots of nutrients to counterbalance the indulgence in calories, sodium, sugar, and cholesterol. No empty calories here!
The dish was meant to last for two breakfasts, one hot out of the Instant Pot, and the other cold from the refrigerator, to be heated in the microwave. Well, that didn’t work out, I celebrated my successful recipe by eating the whole thing at one sitting! And even then, if I’m careful for the rest of the day, it won’t put me over any of my daily limits. An improvement for future puddings: I will use my own low-sodium homemade bread instead of store bought bread, which will reduce the sodium content to almost nothing. The nutrient information with the recipe reflects the amount of sodium in commercial breads, not my homemade bread.
The last loaf of bread I made, on Sunday, turned out very well. I used less than 1/8 tsp of salt in that loaf, so eating it will not affect my daily sodium intake. It will be better for Attila too, he needs to cut down on sodium, because he is a condiment hound. He love salty condiments of all kinds. That is where he enjoys his sodium intake most, so cutting down the sodium in other food items helps him keep his intake down, while eating the foods he loves.
11:00 a.m.
A thunderstorm is predicted for today, and rain. The garage roof is a bit vulnerable to the rain just now, the strapping will prevent the water from draining off the roof, so it will pool on the upside of the strapping, and lead down into the holes where the nails are holding down the sheeting and strapping. It can’t be helped. Tonight Attila will be adding flashing to the roof. And when the whole thing dries again, when fairer weather returns, the metal will be installed. So close and yet so far. I am not cleaning the garage until the metal roof is installed.
The rain has started. I was just down in the garage, in my rubber boots, proper footwear, to check the roof for leaks. No leaks so far, but the day is young. I covered all open containers and cardboard boxes with tarps, it is the best I can do. If the roof leaks, these few days of rain will be the last time, this will be the last cleanup after a rain. I don’t think I’ll ever be comfortable with the pound of cure approach to projects.
I notice the wind is billowing some of the waterproof sheeting. This is a bit of bad luck. Some of it has been lifted, torn from the nails that were holding it, that will need to be repaired before the metal roof can be installed. This might involve pulling up some of the strapping, I hope not. Attila, when pressed, has been known to take the “good enough” approach to resolving an issue, which is a very bad idea when it comes to a roof. I will get involved in the decision making about this issue, when the time comes, for my own peace of mind. The roof is worth taking the time to do it right the first time.
Roof renovations remind me of farming. So much risk due to weather! I would not have made a good farmer, scratch that, I would have made an excellent farmer, I worry enough to watch and to think ahead, but I wouldn’t have been a happy farmer, not happy at all.
Worldly Distractions
Weather
18°C
Date: 12:32 PM EDT Wednesday 27 June 2018
Condition: Light Rainshower
Pressure: 101.3 kPa
Tendency: Falling
Temperature: 17.7°C
Dew point: 17.0°C
Humidity: 96%
Wind: SE 23 km/h
Visibility: 8 km
Quote
“When all is said and done, the weather and love are the two elements about which one can never be sure.”
Alice Hoffman
