Stale Bread

When you've been given lemons make lemonade, but what it you don't have lemons, but stale bread? Today was just that case. We had left almost a whole loaf (home made) out and it was very stale. I just couldn't see wasting a other wise good loaf of bread by throwing it out or giving it to the birds.

So I made yummy French bread and bread pudding.

Today I was able to make bread, bread pudding, French toast and meals for my husband. Thank goodness for the person who invented the bread machine and the crock pot. Whoever they are I certainly hope they won the Nobel Peace Prize.

While reading a crock pot recipe for bread pudding, I read the words "eggs, beaten"---and than I thought to myself jokingly "why should I beat the eggs they haven't done any thing bad" and than I must confess, I laughed out loud----if any one was looking into my kitchen at that moment they would have thought I had gone insane, at least I wasn't talking to myself, well at least I don't think I was---you know those voices in my head get so loud some times, hahahaha.

The whole scenario reminded me of one of my math professors back at UB. I'm not mentioning any names, because well I'm sure they are a very well know public personality in the math world. They are probably very well know for some kind of genius math formula that I will never be able to figure out in my life time. Any way this math professor to me looked some what like a witch, long flowing grey hair and a very long skirt, vibrant colors that at the time to me didn't match. She also wore slippers to class (granted she may have had foot problems, but to a 20 something this really looked weird). There were 2 over head projectors set up on both sides of the room with carpets remnants running from one to the other. She would write copious notes very fast on one projector and than leave the one over head projector to go to the next one. As she left the one she would do a little skipping motion and she would tell a joke that only she could hear and than would proceed to laugh out loud. Looking back now I wonder if she was just laughing at us.


Sweet and Simple Bread Pudding
(p. 125 Gooseberry Patch recipe book called "Slower Cooker Recipes" copyright 2005)
3 c bread cubes (I used whole wheat)
1/2c raisins (Dan doesn't like them so I omitted them)
3/4 brown sugar, packed
3 eggs, beaten
3 1/2c milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

Mix all ingredients together until bread cubes are thoroughly soaked. Place in a lightly greased slow cooker (crock pot). cover and cook on high setting for 3-4 hours, until knife inserted into the middle comes out clean. Serve warm or cold. Serves 8

YUMMY FRENCH BREAD
3 eggs
1/4 c milk (or a little more)
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp cinnamon

Beat all ingredients together and soak the pieces of bread one at a time and than cook them in a frying pan.

Does Water Burn?

Does any one else remember when they were young and just learning how to cook one of your adult friends or family members jokingly saying to you; 1) don't burn the house down or 2) make sure not to burn the water? Well I do.

I never understood why any one would say these things nor did I understand how you could burn water. So I did an experiment a couple of weeks ago to see if water burns......OK so it wasn't an experiment. I wanted to boil some water for rice noodles. Whenever I watch the water it seems that it doesn't boil so I thought I would out think it and leave the room and work on the computer. Oops the water out thought me....while I got all caught up on every thing on the computer and my mind began to fog over in the distance of our home I could smell something burning. Slowly proceeding into the kitchen where I smelled the burning I quickly realized that I had forgotten the water that I left to boil.

So does water burn? I would have to say no but the pan does when the water evaporates. To this day whenever I use that pan I can smell the burned smell---I think that I actually started to melt the metal of the pan.

This little "experiment" reminded me of  another experiment that I performed for little children when I was maybe 9/10 years old. We were staying at a family friends house at the time. They had a large family, many of their children were 6 or younger. For some reason all of us kids were left alone in the house and the older ones, 8,9, 10 were supposed to watch the younger ones. So I decided that I would be a scientist and show the younger kids how snow actually was water frozen. I carefully went outside with a small bowl that was made of a type of plastic (the kind that was really popular during the 70's---it was hard and mustard yellow). After retrieving the snow I needed a heating element to melt the snow into the water---I knew this would be great showing the younger kids, it would be alike a great magician performing the greatest trick of all!!! So I turned one the heating elements of the electric stove and place the bowl on top of it.

What a shock I had when the bowl proceeded to melt---what had happened? The snow was supposed to melt, not the bowl??? Last time I visited our family friends the mother brought out that same bowl to show me that she had kept it as a relic---