Hello Halloween

Happy Monday Everyone! If you're already doing a countdown, you know that Halloween is just around the corner. So for you who marks this as their favorite holiday, I'm devoting the next two weeks for some serious blah to Tada! Halloween ideas.

Today's blah -- old bill envelopes.

We'll use these basic supplies to turn it into a Tada!

By piling the strips of paper on top of each other,
Tada!, we've created a mummy envelope!

Use it to hold party invitations.

Or a Halloween greeting card.

You can also use it as an envelope for sweets, tricks & treats.

Please stop by tomorrow for another Tada! idea.

Hearth to Hearty

Ohhh bread! It's one of life's little pleasures, especially when we catch the baker taking out fresh loaves from the oven...such a lovely scent! We leave the store clutching the soft and fragrant baked treat, dreaming of toast and flavorful sandwiches.

But sometime in the week, our dear loaf is ignored and because it can't seem to get our attention, it becomes lonely and dry. Then we discover it in its sad state. We become upset, "What am I going to do with stale bread?", we say. Blah indeed.

As we've seen in my blog this week, stale bread can be a Tada! if turned into croutons, breadcrumbs, an easy breakfast and a filling snack. Here's another Tada! to add to the list:

Ribolitta! It's thick, flavorful and hearty Italian soup.

It's a party in a pot where pancetta, onions, garlic, carrots, celery, cannellini beans, tomatoes, basil, kale, stock and bread are invited. You'll find the recipe here.

It's a good way to use up stale bread and makes a
healthy dinner for a chilly night.

Have a nice weekend ya' all!

A Pudding for Autumn

I hope you're all having a wonderful Thursday!

Today, we're still turning stale bread from blah to Tada!.

And we're doing that by making bread pudding!

Here's the recipe I used (adapted from the Little Bread & Butter Puddings recipe in the Marie Claire Cooking Book):

1 apple, peeled, cored and sliced (you can use pears)
6 small slices of bread, chopped (I used a Baguette)
1/4 cup raisins
2 eggs
1/2 cup cream
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon sugar
dash of cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease two 1 1/4 cup capacity ramekins with butter. Place apples, bread and raisins in the ramekins. Whisk together the eggs, cream, milk, vanilla, sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Pour mixture over bread and let stand for 5 minutes. Place the ramekins in a baking dish and fill the dish half-way with warm water. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until puddings are firm. Serve as is or with a scoop of vanilla or caramel ice cream. Serves 2.

I like this because I get to use up my stale bread plus apples which are abundant this time of year. I can have this for breakfast or for a snack with a warm cup of tea. Hmmm-yum!

Itty-Bitty Breakfast

Stale bread is the star of my blog this week and while "stale" isn't the most appetizing description for one of our favorite kitchen staples, I promise you, we'll put the sexy back to bread!

Here's what we'll do: Remove the crusts from your favorite white or whole wheat bread. If they are too thick, flatten them slightly with several swoops from a rolling pin. Put the bread into a greased muffin tin. The bread will look like a tulip or bird's nest. Add a piece of ham or bacon inside each slice and some whisked eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Bake in the oven (350 degrees Fahrenheit) for about 15 minutes or until the eggs are cooked.

Tada! Little breakfast cups that look like they came from a fancy brasserie. They're mighty yummy, too! You can easily substitute the filling depending on your diet. Happy eating!

Crumbled into Pieces

Turning stale bread from blah to Tada! is this week's theme. We really don't want to waste anything -- even if the bread becomes so hard, it's enough to be used as a weapon!

Slice the bread into cubes and put this in the food processor or blender. Give it a whiz until you're left with this:

Tada! We made breadcrumbs!

Use it as breading for chicken, fillers for meatballs and toppings for casseroles or macaroni & cheese. Put the left-overs in a resealable bag, label appropriately and store in the freezer.

See you again tomorrow!

Our Daily Bread

Hello there and happy Monday!

Do you ever find yourselves with stale bread in your kitchen? Please don't throw it out! There are many ways to turn stale bread from blah to Tada!. For example, we can turn them into croutons:

Here's an easy recipe I used from Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa at Home Cookbook):

You will need:
1/2 loaf of bread, sliced 1/2-inch thick
1 large garlic clove
2 tablespoons good olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Remove the crusts from the bread slices and cut into 1/2-inch cubes. Crush the garlic with the side of a large chef's knife and discard the peel. In a medium saute pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the garlic. Cook for about 1 minute, until the garlic starts to brown, and then discard the garlic. Add the bread cubes, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook over medium heat, tossing occasionally, until brown on all sides.

They make a perfect finish to a thick, warm soup.
Hope to see you again tomorrow!

Ribbon Recycle

It's Friday and the major blah this week was the closing of several magazines over at Conde Nast, Gourmet Magazine included. Really heart-breaking news! I mean, Gourmet is an institution! I'm going to miss it a lot together with their TV show "Gourmet's Diary of a Foodie" on public TV.

I hope those who've lost their publishing jobs band together and create something spectacular. Just like Lonny Magazine created by former Domino Magazine team members. Discovering it was a real Tada!

It's quite bittersweet that I'm transforming old magazines from blah to Tada! this week. I can't imagine the day when we've gone all electronic and flipping through a magazine ceases to exist. I can't bear the thought!

Now on to happier things...here's another craft project that I'm sharing with you and as I made them, I silently said, "Thank you for magazines!"

From bookmarks to bowls to framed art...there are so many uses for old magazines. Here's another idea: turn the pages into gift wrap & ribbon!

Black, white & ruffles spell elegance.

Bow tie and buttons for your favorite guy.

Find a colorful page.
Fold, snip, pile and glue together.

Tada! A fancy ribbon to dress up any package.

And finally, a pink page that looks like a pretty flower!

Hope these ideas inspired you for your next gift wrapping task.
Have a fun weekend!