Bread pudding is one of my family's favorite desserts, especially when it's cold out.  This is a recipe from one of my mom's old sorority cookbooks, from Diane Howell in Texas.  Scroll to the bottom for some yummy variations.  We love it because it's more custard and less bread.

Custard Bread Pudding

Beat 4 eggs, 1 cup sugar, 2 cups milk, 1/2 cup melted butter (cooled), and 1 tsp vanilla.  Stir in 5 chopped up slices of bread.  Pour into a 9 X 13 baking dish, buttered.  Sprinkle w/ a 1/4 cup of sugar mixed w/ a 1/2 tsp cinnamon.  Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes, until golden brown and set.  Serve warm or cold.

*Important note:  most bread pudding recipes, including this one, work best with sturdy firm stale bread.  Too fresh or soft bread just gets mushy.  We like homemade whole wheat, sourdough, ciabatta, or challah bread.  I freeze the last few stale slices from each loaf and save up to use for this treat.

Variations:  sliced bananas and chocolate chips; chopped apples, pears or peaches + nuts; fresh blueberries and cream cheese cut into chunks; caramel or chocolate sauce on top.  Any variation is yummy with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.  You can also use half the sugar and it turns out just fine.  Brown sugar gives a nice caramelly flavor.

Gratitude and gifts

Autumn is my favorite time of year.  I love the colors and the clean air, the clear blue sky and putting on a sweater again.  I love the way fall inspires gratitude in my heart.  It must have something to do w/ canning or garden harvesting, or maybe just the beauty of the world around me.

These a few of my favorite fall images - favorites because they recall a beautiful day spent with those I love.

Autumn in Yellowstone Park

2012 at the Gallatin River, September

2010 October at the Gallatin River

Today I continue my 29 Day Giving cycle and I feel more grateful each day for the insights this practice is bringing.  Some meaningful gifts in the past few days - a gift of friendship and reconnection with several women I admire, a workshop that helped me understand my own reactions better and interact with more empathy with all those in my life, some lovely simmering potpourri on the stove making the whole house smell like cinnamon and oranges and cloves, the chance to eat lunch with my daughters today.  When I start thinking deeply about the gifts in my life, it all begins to feel like a gift.

Bella

I'm really proud of my youngest today.  She is one of the "things" on my list of gratitude each and every day.

She picked out a puppy in June, and he was probably the sweetest guy in the litter to begin with, but he's only gotten sweeter and more obedient because she gives him such loving attention.  She has such a way with animals.  He just adores her and he's such a fun puppy because of his sweet disposition.  I love that he's very rowdy but if you just say "gentle" he gives you a little look, then puts his teeth away.  He wants to be good for you.

She's been so lucky this fall to have a great volleyball team.  Almost all the girls have been so positive and so encouraging to each other.  Bella is "Miss Encouraging" always on her team, and I love that maybe it's rubbing off.  She makes it ok to smile and shake off mistakes and go after the ball, even when there's little chance of touching it.  Yesterday, she got the game winning serving in a very tight match.  It's so awesome when all that hard work pays off and you see that giant smile and 12 girls jumping up and down cheering.

This weekend she's doing a campout with a youth group where she hardly knows anyone.  I know she is nervous, but she bravely said "YES!" when the opportunity came up.  It's going to be cold, she might have to hike a lot more than she likes, but there will be campfires and s'mores and hopefully new friends.  I'm so proud of her for bring brave enough to jump in the deep end.

She's wanted to play guitar forever and is finally getting the chance - her volleyball coach is her amazing guitars teacher and she loves it.  It's so good to hear her playing music again.  And I have to add, I think she's pretty good for someone who just barely started.

Whole Wheat Bread

Here's my favorite whole wheat bread recipe (with variations).  Someone requested it yesterday, so here goes.  If you'd like a serious bread baking adventure you can check out my sourdough recipe at SpinningLaughingDancing.

Whole Wheat Bread

Dissolve 2 pkg active dry yeast (4 1/2 tsp) in 1/4 cup lukewarm water.

In a large mixing bowl combine 1/4 cup canola oil (put it in a half cup measure then use same for honey and your honey won't stick), 1/2 cup honey, 2 tsp salt, 2 1/2 cups hot water.  Add 3 cups whole wheat flour and mix on low speed until moistened.  Then on medium for 3 minutes.  Add another 1 1/2 cups whole wheat, then slowly add in 2 3/4 to 3 3/4 cups white flour until dough forms a nice ball that is just slightly sticky to the touch but the sides of bowl are clean.  Start w/ a paddle and change to a dough hook when the dough begins to ball.

Put the dough into a greased glass bowl and let it rise until doubled in size.  I turn my oven on to it's lowest temp and then turn it OFF (that's really important!), and put the bowl in oven to rise, because it's cold where I live.  Cover the bowl w/ a clean dish cloth while it rises.

Now punch it down and turn it out onto a pastry mat.  Divide it in two and roll each into a nice long oblong rectangle, then beginning at the side nearest you, roll it up tightly until you have a loaf. Put each in a greased bread pan and let rise again, until double or nice and high above the bread pan - 30-45 minutes, covering again.

Heat the oven to 375.  Bake for 30 minutes, then turn oven down to 325 and bake another 10 minutes.  Loaves should be brown and sound hollow when tapped on top.  Let cool a few minutes and turn out onto a wire rack to completely cool.  Don't slice until cool.

Variations:  I usually add in a cup of whole oats w/ the liquid in beginning, some sesame seeds (these give a really nice sweet flavor), ground flax (1/2 cup or so) and some ground oat flour (I just use my blender to grind whole oats) for some of the whole wheat flour.  I've made this recipe w/ all whole grains (no white), and it's good, just won't rise as high and it's more dense.  You can also spread the rolled out bread dough w/ butter, then sprinkle w/ brown sugar and cinnamon and roll up really tight to make your loaf, for cinnamon swirl bread.  Really yummy toast on a cold day.  You could also change the water for scalded milk or use whey from cheese making.


There is no change for high altitude.

I will soon share my recipe for Custard Bread Pudding - the very best reason to bake bread IMO!!

Gifts: Days 8, 9 & 10

Day 8:  My gift was a loaf of home-baked bread to my sweet friend Sandra.  This was really a small gesture of gratefulness because each year for the past many, she has let me come pick from her huge garden at the end of the season.  This year I brought home potatoes, chard, spinach, parsley, onions, carrots, beets and broccoli - all organic and delicious.  Just seeing her family's garden is really a gift.  And Sandra is the kindest, most giving of people.  While we picked she told me how she is going to start distributing free cloth diapers to mamas who need them.  I'm so lucky to call her a friend.

The second part of this gift is really cool too.  Because Sandra has such a large garden I am able to take food not only for my family, but for my friend/neighbors too.  So I got the joy of sharing all this bounty.  That feels really good.

Day 9:  Yesterday I brought a hot chocolate to my dh.  He was so happy and grateful.  It felt like a really good gift.  He's now working in suddenly very cold conditions outside, all day long.  The day before it was in the 70s, but yesterday brought snow.  I am happy for the snow, for many reasons - putting out our wildfires, cleaning the smoke from the air, bringing moisture to our dry climate, and because snow is really beautiful.  I celebrated by taking my dogs for a little snow hike - Mr. Ed's first time playing in the snow.  Predictably, he loved it!!  (Mr. Ed is known to be so easy going and fun loving, he can have fun just about anywhere).

Dh with his cocoa treat

Day 10:  Today I sponsored my friend at work for Bowl for Kids Sake.  That was easy!!  I'm also driving pretty far to watch my youngest play volleyball this afternoon - probably the last game I'll get to see.  That feels like a gift for both of us.  And my friend just invited me to walk dogs with her.  That will be a huge gift for me.  Thank you Universe for answering my call - to help me feel better today.

Giving Challenge days 6 & 7

My sweet family

Day 6:  The gift of forgiveness for someone I love, for in forgiving another, you learn that forgiveness for your own mistakes is possible.

Day 7:  I'm doing various chores today for my family - laundry for my dh, cleaning a tub in my girls' bathroom, and planning good things to eat for the week (AND doing the shopping).  Small gifts, but from a place of love.


These were the words on my green tea bag tag this morning, a small blessing I pass to you:

May you have love, 

kindness

and compassion 

for all 

living things.

Day 5 - Pancakes :)

My gift today is one of patience (well, sort of patience, still working on that one) and being a peacemaker in my family.  This is not a job I enjoy and one that I often just refuse to do.  But today, with much love, listening and reframing, I think can see some progress between two very hurt and angry people, who just happen to love each other very much.  Gifts are all about intention, and waking up to yelling today, I promised myself that I would help in whatever way I could, despite wanting to simply grab the dogs and leave for many hours.  The dogs and I will still have our little adventure, but I think a couple of hearts are feeling a tiny bit better because I chose to help.

Here's my gift to you today: 

Pumpkin Oat Pancakes 

(somehow everyone at my house is feeling better after a big plate)

2 cups ground whole oats (it will resemble flour)
1 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon

2 cups buttermilk or whole milk mixed w/ a tsp vinegar and/or part plain or vanilla yogurt (more yogurt results in a thicker batter)
2 eggs
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup pureed pumpkin or canned

Mix dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately, then stir together.  Cook on a griddle and serve w/ butter and maple syrup.  (The oat flour results in a somewhat fragile pancake - a little trickier to flip than usual.  If you want easy to flip cakes, just sub some white or whole wheat flour for some of the oat flour).

Enjoy!