old bread and breadcrumbs - the how-to guide

I give up on the formatting of this page - sorry it looks like a mess...

Old bread - thank God for the goats in Kurozweki or most of it would reach it's demise in the bin. So in case you were wishing you had some means to dispose of your bread without feeling bad about the millions of starving kids, here are a few ways to recycle it. (In my opinion, boycott Starbucks, and you're already well on your way to stop exploitation and poverty, AND you get to avoid the morons that tend to swarm about there and raise your blood pressure....)

Reminds me of a comedian who was once discussing the benefits of recycled toilet paper. He was talking about how the pieces of toilet paper that were used to blow one's nose felt superior to the ones used for its intended purpose... but then, it was a different story when they went through recycling again and met their watery end... ok, that is starting to sound like a Paul conversation. But check this out, low and behold, the Japanese have come up, yet again, with a brilliant invention dubbed "The White Goat", pretty smart! http://www.geekwithlaptop.com/japanese-gadget-turns-waste-paper-into-toilet-paper With that price tag however, I wonder how many years it would take to pay for itself? One of Fredrik's friends calculated that it would take 8 millions years... Perhaps more useful in a public facility with a female clientèle? And how energy efficient is it really?

So for Restipy 1: Veggie Burgers

• 500g thawed frozen spinach, extra water removed - I usually cut a small hole in one of the bottom corners of the bag and let it unfreeze in a colander in the sink so it drips out on its own, and then you can give it a final squeeze before using it
  
• can borlotti or red beans or whatever you can find, drained
  
• can corn, drained
  
• onions, 2 medium, chopped
  
• garlic, 2 cloves, crushed or chopped
  
• 1 cube bouillon
• salt & pepper
• 1-2 tbsp herbes de provence (to taste)
  
• 250 g breadcrumbs (just pass your old bread in the food processor)
• oil

1. Preheat oven to 175 C or 350 F.
   
2. Heat oil in pan, add onions and cook until soft and transparent. Add garlic, herbes de Provence, pepper and crumbled bouillon cube and cook/stir until it looks homogeneous.
3. In a large bowl, put the spinach, the onion and herb mix, the corn and the beans and give it a good mix - works best with your hand.
4. Then start adding the breadcrumbs, you want it to bind the whole mixture, I usually use a couple cups or 250g. You can taste it and add more salt and pepper if needed.
   
5. Once it sticks together nicely, start forming them into burgers and place them on a foiled baking tray.
6. Bake for 30 mins or until the sides become golden and crispy. Let them cool before removing them.
7. You can store them for a few days in the fridge in a tupperware or are great to freeze and reheat in the microwave. Nice with some salad and lots of ketchup :o).

Next recipe is really nice on a cold day. We had some old white bread lying around yesterday, as well as a bag of bought onion soup and a chunk of cheddar that was about to crawl out of the fridge. Combine them all, and it makes a great starter. As George Stroumboulopoulos said in The Hour - Mart you will get to know this guy once you get here - "in the winter months, Canada should be called Soupistan".

I made the soup at Christmas to try to make a dent in the onion swimming pool in the back room. I took 2 minutes and tasted good. If you are on your own, perhaps make half a batch, because it makes a lot. Also, avoid red onions, they make the soup look like psychedelic magic potion.

Restipe 2: French Onion Soup

• 50g butter
• 1kg brown onions, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tbsp thyme, fresh or dry
• 3 tbsp dry sherry, or martini, or glass white wine, sure vodka would work too
• beef or chicken/veg stock fresh, cube or concentrate made up to 1.2 litres
• bay leaf
• salt & pepper

• bread
• cheese, grated
  
• garlic, optional
• oven proof bowls
  

1. Heat the butter in a large pan and gently cook the onion and thyme until the onion is softened but not browned - about 20 minutes. Add garlic and increase the heat slightly and cook for 15 minutes, until the onion becomes dark golden, sticky and caramelised, stirring now and again to stop it catching. Or cook it as long as you have patience...
   
2. Add the booze and simmer for 2-3 minutes until evaporated, then add the stock and bay leaf, and bring to the boil. Add salt & pepper to taste. Simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, you can rub the bread with garlic, not advised if you plan to go out afterwards, cut it into large cubes.
4. Put the oven on "grill" setting.
5. Pour soup into OVENPROOF bowl, dump in the bread cubes, grate cheese over it and place under the grill. It should only take a couple minutes until the cheese is crispy and bubbly.

   

For the next recipe... it's a variant of the classic home dish of meatloaf, mushroom sauce, smashed potatoes and broccoli trees usually with a Ketchup Red Sea. I had a couple pounds of minced meat in the fridge and I wanted to make something freezable for Fredrik to bring for lunch at work so I tried this recipe. I had some old garlic-flavoured croutons to use up and also grinded up some old bread. I think it's too spicy to make a whole meatloaf out of it, but we made hamburgers and lots of meatballs and it tastes great! Just pick up some fresh buns on the way home and take a couple burgers from the freezer, fry up some onions and add some lettuce and cheese and you have a really nice dinner - wash some extra lettuce to make a side salad if you feel healthily-inclined. As for the meatballs, either boil up some pasta with pesto and add them in, they are very tasty on their own. Or else, make some tomato sauce: fry some onions and garlic until soft, add a can of chopped tomatoes or pasata (or old fresh tomatoes, just chop them), season with salt, pepper, oregano, basil or whatever you want. Depending on the taste, I usually add some tomato paste or dash of balsamic vinegar for acidity, and to bring out the taste, a teaspoon of sugar or a squirt of ketchup do the trick.      Restipy 3: Spicy Burgers and Meatballs

• 175g garlic-flavoured croutons, old dry bread, or just normal breadcrumbs
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (or less if you don’t like spice)
• 1 tsp chili powder (or less if you don’t like spice)
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and cut into 3 (it has to fit in food processor)
• 3 cloves garlic, use a couple more if not using garlic flavoured croutons
• 1/2 red bell pepper
• 1 1/2 tsp salt & dash pepper
• 1kg minced meat

1. In a food processor bowl, combine croutons/bread/breadcrumbs, black pepper, cayenne pepper, chili powder, and thyme. Pulse until the mixture is of a fine texture. Place this mixture into a LARGE bowl.
2. Combine the onion, carrot, garlic, and red pepper in the food processor bowl. Pulse until the mixture is finely chopped, but not pureed.
3. Combine the vegetable mixture and minced meat with the bread crumb mixture. Season the meat mixture with salt and pepper. Add the egg and mix well – best use your hands.
4. Shape the mix into burgers or meatballs. Eat some and freeze the rest once it has cooled down.

     

This wouldn't be complete without a quick mention of Wiener Schnitzel. I know perhaps Fish & Chips should figure on this page, but I have a great recipe that uses a corn flour batter instead of breadcrumbs so it will come later, but it's the same idea.       Restipy 4: Wiener Schnitzel

• veal filets, pork, chicken or whatever tickles you pickle, you can hammer them if you want them very tender and paper thin
• salt & pepper, herbs if wanted (try tarragon with chicken or sage with turkey)
• flour
• egg, beaten, in wide bowl
• bread crumbs, in a bag
  

1. Dip washed meat in flour mixed with salt, pepper (and herbs if wanted).
2. Coat meat with beaten egg and then toss in breadcrumbs.
3. Fry in very hot oil for a couple minutes.
4. Place on paper towels to get rid of some of the oil and to prevent it from getting too soggy.
5. Serve with lemon slices. If it's pork, it reminds me of Pani Helena's butter buraki mix, but I have no idea how to make that :o)

   

I've just been out jogging with Fredrik, he had early meetings with Sweden today so has been working from home :o) It's sunny and just below 0, perfect day! For the last recipe, don't say "yuk" before you have made it and tasted it. If you asked me to describe Bread Pudding in 3 words, I will say: boarding school, icky custard, stale-smelling, and I could go on ad infinitum. However, I tasted this version of Bread Pudding at a Cajun restaurant here in Montreal and then Fredrik and I made it for a New Year's Eve party, and it was quite a hit! It makes a decent amount, so you might want to halve it or make it for a dinner party. If you want to go all out, make a shrimp etouffé as a main and have this for desert. Just be warned, the more Bourbon/Whiskey you put in this, the better it gets, but it may get pricey... so we used some Famous Grouse instead and it turned out perfect. It's a three part process. First you make the bread pudding, then the sugary syrup to put on top to make it nice and moist, and then the whiskey sauce with which it is served.  Restipy 5: Bread Pudding Bread Pudding

• 1/4 cup raisins
• 2 tbsp bourbon
• 1 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup sugar, white or nice golden organic sugar cane
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• dash of salt
• 4 medium eggs lightly beaten
• 4 1/2 cup cubed bread (approx. 250g)

1. In a small dish combine the raisins and 2 tbsp booze. Let this stand for 30 minutes. Drain the mixture but reserve the liquid.
2. Break the bread in small pieces and set aside.
3. In a large bowl whisk together the reserved liquid, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and eggs.
4. Add the bread to the mixture, tossing gently to coat all the bread. Spoon the mixture into an 8 inch square baking dish coated with butter.
5. Sprinkle the raisins evenly on top, pressing them gently into the bread mixture. Cover with foil and refrigerate 30 minutes or up to 4 hours.
6. Preheat oven to 175 C/ 350 F
7. Bake covered for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 more minutes.
8. Remove and leave to cool (and store ahead of time) or serve immediately. If cool, make sure you heat it a little before serving and pour the warm syrup unto it.
   

 

Syrup 

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup corn syrup/golden syrup or whatever you can find
• 1/8 cup butter
• 1/4 cup bourbon

1. In a small pan, combine the sugar, corn syrup and butter over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, cook 1 minute stirring constantly.
2. Remove from heat and stir in the bourbon. Pour this on top of the warm bread pudding.

 

Whiskey Sauce

• 1 cup cream (the heavier the tastier, not too sure about cardiovascular benefits)
• 1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
• 1 tbsp water (or more, add enough to dissolve the starch)
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1/4 c bourbon whiskey

1. Whisk cornstarch and water together.
2. Place the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Add cornstarch mixture to cream and continue whisking until it returns to the boil.
3. Whisk and let simmer for a few seconds, taking care not to burn the mixture on the bottom. Remove from heat.
4. Stir in the sugar and the bourbon. Add more sugar and/or bourbon to taste.
5. Cool to room temperature. Serve over syrup-drenched bread pudding.