Tuscan Bread Salad

Tuscan Bread Salad

Bread? As a salad? Yes Yes and Yes! Who doesn't love croutons? Why not just skip over the whole green leafy part for a change and make the croutons the star of the show.

ingredients

baguette or crusty french or italian bread
grape or cherry tomatoes (or any kind of fresh tomato)
cucumbers
red onion
green onion
salt
pepper
garlic powder

dressing: olive oil, white wine vinegar or balasmic, salt, pepper, dijon mustard

directions

1. Slice bread into good size cubes, which will be the big juicy croutons of the salad.

2. Chop cucumber, tomato, red onion into bite size pieces to be mixed with bread.

3. Heat some oil in a pan, and once its hot, toast your bread cubes in it. Toss around the cubes to make sure they don't get burnt and that each side gets slightly brown.

4. While the croutons are still warm. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
5. Mix bread with diced up vegetables.

6. Add in your salad dressing made from oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, dijon mustard. Or whatever salad dressing you want but preferably oil and vinegar.

Blueberry and Lemon Bread Pudding

Blueberry and Lemon Bread Pudding

I was gifted some ramekins for my birthday, so then I was able to make some individual sized bread puddings like how I always dreamed. I had some old hot dog buns from a camping trip I used, which surprisingly worked great, but you can use any bread product. The lemon zest complimented with the blueberries is what really makes it special.

ingredients:

old bread or hot dog buns
1 pint blueberries
2 eggs
2 cup almond milk
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp lemon zest

directions:

1. Cut bread or left over buns into chunks. About 1-2 inches wide. And then set aside.

2. Add 2 eggs, 2 cups of almond milk, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 2 teaspoons lemon zest, 1 cup sugar, and mix.

3. Fold in your blueberries, and your bread pieces until the bread is completely wet and is soaking up the mixture. Let the bread soak for 30 minutes.

4. Fill mixture into greased ramekins, and put in the oven at 350 F derees for 30 minutes, or until it feels firm in the centre.

Coconut Milk French Toast with Homemade Brioche Bread

Coconut Milk French Toast

I had always wanted to try French Toast with coconut milk, and you know what? It was so good! I also made the brioche bread specifically for making the french toast. Of course you could use any bread, and store bought bread might work even better. I was just taking the time to experiment.

ingredients:

4 pieces of bread
1 can coconut milk
3 eggs
1/4 tsp cinnamon or nut meg
1 tsp of sugar
maple syrup

directions:

1. Break 3 eggs and add to a bowl or flat pan that is a little deep. The wider the dish the better because you are eventually gonna sit the bread in it. But you can still do all the mixing in a bowl. Add 1 can of coconut milk. Then add your spices (cinammon and nut meg to your liking), 1 tsp of sugar. And then beat the mixture well so it all combines.

2. Dip in bread and cover the bread and let it soak up the egg mixture. If the bread is thicker and denser it may need to sit for a while to soak it up. If it's softer and not to thick, it may not have to sit for more than a minute.

3. Fry eggy bread in a frying pan with your choice of grease. So that it doesn't stick. Maybe a few minutes each side. Depends how hot your pan is. But peel up the bread to see how it's doing and flip when you get a brown golden crust.

4. Top with maple syrup. And if you really want to kick it up a notch, top with some chopped pecans as well.

PLT (Pastrami, Lettuce, Tomato) with Potato Salad

PLT (Pastrami, Lettuce, Tomato) with Potato Salad

I saw this sandwich on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, and I wanted to make my own at home. It's pretty much a BLT, but replace the bacon with some fried pastrami. It was definitely a fun way to change things up. I made the bread homemade, but you can just use store bought bread too.

ingredients:

your choice of bread
pastrami from the deli, shaved
tomatoes
lettuce
mayo

red skinned potatoes
eggs
frozen peas
salt
pepper
mayo
vinegar

directions:

1. Grab a handful of shaved pastrami. About 100 grams per sandwich maybe. And fry in a frying pan over medium heat. If you have any of metal dishes or container you could put it on top to keep the pastrami flat.

2. Slice some tomato, break off some chunks of lettuce, and slice up or grab two slices of your favourite bread. Put a little mayonnaise on each slice of the bread. Layer the pastrami on to the bread, then the tomato, maybe crack some pepper on the tomato, add lettuce, and then finish off the sandwich with the last piece of bread.

3. Eat with a side of potato salad! Cook some frozen peas and add to make the potato salad a little fun and different.

Homemade Bread

My first attempt at ever making bread, and not even with a machine. Just my hand, an oven, and some simple ingredients.