>Bread Pudding

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>I learned to like bread pudding long ago when I made it for a chain restaurant’s breakfast buffet. I also learned not to order it off the menu or buffet unless I’d made it myself. Just knowing that restaurants made it from stale leftover bread made me a little leery of the contents. Home made bread pudding, however, can be a lovely comfort food: breakfast, snack, or dessert, depending on how you want to serve it.

Bread Pudding
2 1/2 cup scalded milk
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3-4 bread pieces, cut in chunks
2-3 eggs, beaten
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place bread, sugar, & cinnamon in a baking dish (1 quart size). Add eggs, milk, and butter. Mix well. Place baking dish into a pan of water (1 inch deep) and into oven. Bake 20 minutes or until knife inserted 1 inch from edge comes out clean. Serve warm or cold with milk or cream.
I also diced one and a half ripe bananas into the mix. I had the bananas, and I remembered using leftover bananas that were too ripe for banana splits in the buffet bread pudding. Yum. Oh, and about a quarter cup leftover apple confit, too. Tasty!
I served it with whipped cream and coffee. Are you surprised? No, don’t answer that. But try it; this is a good recipe for using excess bread and rapidly ripening fresh fruits, and a good comfort food as well.


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>Random thoughts on – spelling tests?

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>Actual thoughts running through my head while I corrected the first spelling tests of the year…

This developmental work study is good for my struggling students. Seven, eight, nine out of ten – these guys rocked their first test!
This girl in the higher level group didn’t study at all. Typical. She’s capable, but doesn’t work hard. That’s my goal for her this year; teach her all about effort and how hard work can pay.
Oh, dear, only one out of ten. Should I reassign this kid to an easier group? No, not yet. He needs to first learn to study.
Prefixes group handled the prefixes well, but the roots stymied them. Disbelief? First, learn to spell belief.
Here’s another high level reader and writer. She’s one who expects to know everything from the get-go. My goal for her this year: study skills. Take her from her high level and move her higher. Note to self; she may resist, as she’s accustomed to school being easy.

All that from a list of ten words. Wow. And I didn’t even mention the girl who spelled the word favor F-A-V-R-E.

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>The rationale behind the banana bread and bread pudding

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>In order to carry out a successful pantry raid, the pantry must supply decent ingredients. For today’s raid it was baking supplies.

We had too many bananas. Chuck 9the main banana-eater) was ill earlier in the week and not eating much. I added a banana half to my cereal yesterday and my oatmeal today, but we still had four and a half ripe bananas. Banana bread, right? Right. Sort of. Almost.
I also had several bread crusts and a few slices of homemade white bread with flaxseed from earlier in the week. I had enough bread crumbs in the freezer that I didn’t want to grind up any more. I could have composted these, but I thought I’d try using them up first.
AND — if that weren’t enough, I had two rogue zucchini that had managed to ripen during the recent warm weeks.
Hence the afternoon baking results:
Hybrid quick-bread: banana/zucchini with chocolate chips.
Bread pudding with bananas
While the oven was working its magic, I worked on updating my gradebook for upcoming parent-teacher conferences. Whether conferences go well or not, I’ll know I fed my family some good food and did it with a minimum of waste.
Oh, yes. The recipes? Banana bread is here. I doubled the recipe, cut down on the eggs, added a little extra flour and wheat germ to counteract the moist zucchini, mixed in several Tablespoons of cocoa, and finally used 3 bananas and 1 1/2 cup grated zucchini. As for the bread pudding, I’ll post it Tuesday.

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>A Good Use of a Sick Day

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>Darn this ankle. Thank goodness for a good doctor. He put me on medicines that helped shrink the swelling and another daily maintenance medicine that will help prevent it from coming back. For a couple of days, though, I needed to rest.

I spent a Monday afternoon with an ice pack and then traveled to the clinic for my appointment. After the appointment and a quick run to the pharmacy, I was home with another ice pack. I stayed up late enough to get the doses I needed (watching Monday Night Football, wondering where Deanna Favre was when Brett hit the 500 mark for touchdown passes) and then went to bed.
Tuesday was a sick day for me. Resting on the couch, alternating ice and heat packs, drinking lots of liquids, and getting updated on my work. Preparing a few posts, setting up my weekly guest posts on MidCentury Modern Moms and Green Spot-On, clearing my Inbox, and then finalizing grant application letters.
Yes, dear readers, I’m determined that my students will have books that fit their unique needs. I sent out three letters today and responded to another that had asked for more information.
All that while sitting on the couch with an aching ankle and foot. Sometimes I even impress myself.

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>Green in the City

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>
I do a lot with my small city yard. Small city, small yard, and it’s just right for our needs.

We live in an older neighborhood not far from downtown: old Victorian homes, narrow streets, parks, big trees – lovely, really. Neighborhoods near us are similar, but many don’t have yards. We are lucky. Most homes near our downtown were built in an era when garages weren’t necessary and yards were just work. Only one block away from mine, large houses overlook a gorgeous ravine, but have no place to shelter the cars. My block doesn’t have a prestigious address, but it offers great neighbors, 2-car garages, and room to grow tomatoes.
I feel very lucky to have the space we do. True big city dwellers might have a balcony if they’re lucky, and it may or may not get sun. With a little square foot style gardening and a small section of rhubarb, we get a remarkable yield from our downtown piece of land.
In my own little corner, in my own little yard, we compost, use rain barrel water, grow tomatoes, herbs, and more. I always feel a little down in the fall as I bring the pots inside and start piling leaves on top of the garden plot. It’s a bittersweet time: lovely, colorful trees surrounding dying tomato plants and zucchini vines, picking tiny beans that never got enough warmth to fully mature.
This is the time I begin looking ahead. If my ankle heals sufficiently, I’ll spread compost on the new plot to help prepare it for spring. I’ll pull the boards that make the walkways and set them aside. Eventually I’ll drain both rain barrels and turn them upside down to avoid freezing and cracking.
Yes, small city and small yard, it’s a good place for growing. We do a lot on our small plot. Winter’s coming, but I still feel that life is good.

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>Three drivers, two vehicles, and how many appointments?

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>La Petite had a Monday appointment at the dentist to get a tooth filled.

Most of the time, in order to leave her a vehicle, Chuck would get up early and drop me off at school. La Petite would plan to pick me up at school after her appointment. Ah, such a good feeling: the need for a third set of wheels avoided once again.
Then it got complicated. Over the weekend my ankle and foot swelled up – large enough and painful enough to make wearing a shoe difficult. Knowing La Petite had a late afternoon appointment (2:50), I attempted to work in a doctor visit for myself. The talk went something like this.
Me: “I’d like an afternoon appointment, please, with early afternoon best.”
Nurse on call: “How about 11:00 or 11:30?”
“Uh, no, that’s too early. 12:00 would be the earliest I could make it. Early afternoon, please.”
“Oh, here’s one at 1:15. I’ll put you in there.”
“Great! I’ll take it. 1:15 with Dr. Ankleman.”
“Wait. I’m double checking that time and your name isn’t coming up… hold just a minute, please… oh, the computer has you down for Wednesday. That isn’t what you wanted, was it? You wanted Monday.”
“Yes, please, Monday early afternoon.”
“We have 11 or 11:30.”
Sigh.
“No, that won’t work. 12 noon is the earliest I could make it.”
Then we start working on times after La Petite’s dental work.
me: “How about later, after 4?”
nurse: “We have a 4:15.”
me: “Ouch! (oops, shouldn’t dance with delight when ankle hurts) I’ll take it!”
nurse: “Okay, we’ll see you at 4:15 tomorrow.”
Then I looked at La Petite’s timing again and realized it would be just too, too close for comfort. If the dentist ran late (which is rare, but it could happen), she wouldn’t get to me at school until barely four. the new family medicine clinic is a lengthy drive through town, no convenient or quick shortcuts, and takes at least 15 minutes. It’s a large clinic with a big parking lot and a time consuming registration process, and then count in the minutes to limp or crutch my way to the gallery (they’re not even called wings or floors) where the office is… sigh. It wasn’t going to work.
So I took the afternoon off. Resting the foot could only be good. I called in the half-day sick time, and then settled in to write lesson plans for the substitute.
Then Chuck solved our troubles, provided a second vehicle; he got sick. Fever, weakness, tummy troubles – no way possible to work through it. He had to stay home.
It is indeed an ill wind that blows no good.
Supper? A stop on the way home at the local family restaurant for their famous chicken soup. It just seemed right. I drove, I paid, La Petite did the walking part, and we brought it home just in time for her numbness to wear off.
Chicken soup for the aching family. It worked.

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>Apple Confit

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>I used the wrong kind of apples, but it still tastes wonderful. From Taste of Home’s Eating Well in Season, here’s a simple and delicious way to use up extra apples.

Peel 3 pounds of shapely apples (see note at end), and slice 1/4 inch thick. You should have about 9 cups. Place the apples in a 4 quart or larger slow cooker. Add 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and toss to coat well. Cover and cook until the apples are very tender and almost translucent, but not pureed. 2 to 2 1/2 hours on high of 4 to 4 1/2 hours on low. Stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Transfer to a bowl and let cool slightly. Cover and refrigerate until chilled. Can be stored in refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Makes 8 servings, about 1/2 cup each. My family liked it warm with whipped cream on top, sprinkled with a bit of cinnamon sugar for garnish.
Oh, the apples? Here you go.
Saucy apples cook down to a saucelike consistency. Varieties to look for include cortland, Empire, McIntosh, Crispin, and Paula Red.
Shapely apples hold their shape after baking. Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, Jonagold, Jonathan, and Northern Spy fall into the shapely apple category.
If you were wondering what we chose for our “eating the opponent” series, it’s like this. The Green Bay Packers played the Washington Redskins, so the tailgate party lunch looked like this.
  • Potato “skins” made with red potatoes
  • Cherry pie
  • And for a main dish, in honor of all the hard work that happens on Capital Hill: Pork.
Miami is next. Maybe a Cuban sandwich….

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>Bing "Our School Needs" – Phase One

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>I’ve already used up my classroom budget for the year. We’re only six weeks into the school year, and anything else I buy will have to come out of my own personal funding source — my pocketbook.

Yes, school budgets are tight and getting tighter, and teachers pay for more and more out of their own pockets. I’m providing kids with pencils, folders, crayons, and more. I make my own posters. I’m looking for grant money to buy books for my struggling readers.
My school is not alone. Luckily, there are companies who believe in philanthropy: believe in giving back to the communities, giving to the schools that educate their future workforce. Bing asked bloggers to publicize phase one of its “Our School Needs” program. To get started, go to the Our School Needs home page and familiarize yourself with the program. Schools looking for technology — computers, Smartboards, projectors — can enter their requests to help teach their students 21st Century skills. Schools might be looking for gyms, climbing walls, walking & running tracks to encourage activity and fight obesity. Many projects are already posted; your school’s project can join them.
My school always needs strategically spent moneys to support good quality instruction and creative teaching. Doesn’t your local school need this, too? An essay (500-800 words), a few photos, perhaps a video, and the entry is ready. More details on the entry process are on this page. If you’re a multi-media style learner, here’s a video explaining the same.
Entry deadline is October 22. Round one voting (in categories of K-6, 7-9, and 10-12) closes on October 24. The first round winners receive $50,000 and then move on to the finals. I’m enjoying reading the current entries as I brainstorm ideas to help my own school enter — and win.
I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Bing and received a DonorsChoose.org giving code and gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.

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>Finding a Good Book

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>My poor library media specialist. She thought she retired last year. She came in to volunteer, and there I was asking her an impossible question: to help me find a book when I couldn’t remember either the title or the author. My thought process was something like this.

(Holding a copy of A Million Shades of Gray by Cynthia Kadohata) “I remember a book, I think it was by Cynthia Kadohata, but I don’t see it on the shelf with her books. I don’t remember the title. I remember picking it up because her Newbery winner (Kira-Kira) was such a powerful story. The book I’m looking for has a unique piece; in between chapters, the author “talked” to the main character. It was about a Korean-American family, not a Japanese-American family like Kira-Kira. The main character was raising silkworms for a 4-H style project…. I can’t remember any more!”
Of course she couldn’t help me.
I told my helpful and well-meaning friend that I’d do a little searching online and get back to her. I was just at a loss.
I went home and entered “young adult novel” and “silkworms” and found it. It was almost too simple.
Project Mulberry by Linda Sue Park, Newbery Award winner for A Single Shard.

Don’t judge me; it was late on a Friday afternoon.
By the way, Project Mulberry is an amazing book. So is A Single Shard. I highly recommend them both. As for Kadohata? When you read Kira Kira, have an entire box of tissues by your side. And if you have any reading stamina left, find Cracker; the best dog in Vietnam. But stock up on tissues again before you start to read.

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>Bringing in the herbs

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The oregano sits on a bookshelf near a window now. The thyme and rosemary sit on a tray atop the piano. The basil – now that’s a little tougher. It’s in a big, heavy pot. It’s been thriving next to the steps, around the corner from the rhubarb. But now that it’s cold and we’re risking frost at night, what to do?

Chuck set up a cinder block in the corner of our living room. On top is a shelf reclaimed from an old and broken-down linen closet.

Chuck went looking for a cloth to cover it and found this in the rag basket. Um, I don’t know how long it’ll last, “cool” though it may be.
Then we realized the pot doesn’t have a base. It’s been strictly an outdoor pot for years. To put it over our wood floors, we need a water-safe base that will fit. Since we were out searching for refills for the bunny litter boxes, we checked out Fleet Farm’s remaining garden supplies. No luck. We found the litter, Chuck hefted it on his shoulder, and then – his phone rang.
He ended up having a great chat with Amigo in the equine aisle of Fleet Farm, but we didn’t find the base for the basil.
Maybe that’s good; it gives me time to replace that t-shirt.

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