Waste Not, Want Not

I really am Seriously Serious about trying to follow through on my New Year's resolutions this year. I've cut down on meat, started paying more attention to the ingredients in prepared groceries (though at this point I rarely buy anything prepared), and!-- most excitingly of all!-- have been diligent in my "make bread once-a-week" dedication.  I found a nice recipe for quick and easy French bread and the last couple of weeks I've been making that. Of course, without all the preservatives and whatnot, home made bread seems to go stale long before store bought. That means at the end of the week I'm usually left with a portion of hard, somewhat less than appetizing bread that I can either dry into toast or croutons or else revive in a different, more decadent way:

That's right, bread pudding. Bread pudding is basically French toast in loaf form, and French toast itself tends to hold up better when using old bread. Crusty bread like the kind I used is especially nice in the pudding, though, I think, because it maintains a more interesting texture than one made from a squishier loaf. As usual, I didn't measure any of my ingredients used for this dish, but here's approximately how I made it:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Cube one small loaf of French bread, then mix

• 3 eggs
• 1/4 c yogurt (I used plain, but a flavored one would be interesting too; alternatively just use more milk)
• 2/3-3/4 c milk (more if your bread seems really thirsty)
• optionally a pinch of salt, honey or sugar to taste, vanilla extract, cinnamon, cocoa powder, raisins, etc.

well in a bowl and toss in the bread to soak, folding occasionally, until most of the liquid is absorbed. At that point put the soggy bread mixture into a loaf pan, packing it fairly tightly, and bake for 20-30 minutes or until the top is dried out but not burnt. To serve, just cut a slice out of the pan.

I had mine this afternoon with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, a drizzle of my ginger lemon syrup, and a hot pot of black tea. What a delicious lazy weekend brunch!