Banana Bread Puddin’

Stale bread use #2! Phil used half of the baguette for the zuppa and I realized that unless I just wanted to make breadcrumbs, I should act fast.  Last night I broke the bread into pieces (really, I should have used a mallet, that bread was STALE), whisked together a soy milk mixture, poured it on top of the bread and let it sit in the fridge. This morning, I smashed some bananas that were in our freezer (thawed overnight) into the bread mixture, threw in some sliced almonds and popped it in the oven before heading out for a run. Entering the apartment, I was greeted by the delightful smell of cinnamon, bananas and vanilla. Took a shower, Phil spooned it out into containers and there was our breakfast! It was great! Like a french toast without the eggs.

Banana Bread Puddin’

Ingredients:

1/2 of a stale baguette (or about a 1.5 cups cubed stale bread)
1.5 cups soy milk
1 tsp arrowroot or cornstarch
1.5 tsps vanilla
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
lots of cinnamon
tsp ginger powder
couple of twists on a pepper mill
pinch of salt
2 very ripe bananas
1/4-1/2 cup sliced almonds or other nuts

To Do:

1. Break bread up using hands or a chainsaw and place in a loafpan.
2. In a large measuring cup, mix together 1/4 cup of the milk with the arrowroot or cornstarch until there are no lumps.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients up to the bananas to the milk/starch mixture and mix.
4. Pour over stale bread. If your bread is really stale, you may need more milk (and hence more maple syrup or other sugar – just taste the mixture until it tastes good to you). You want to make sure the bread is somewhat submerged.
5. Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and stick it in the fridge.
6. The next day, uncover and preheat oven to 350F*.
7. Wash your hands well. Use them to smoosh two ripe bananas and the almonds into the mixture. Wash hands again and place the loaf pan in the oven. Bake for about 30-40 minutes, until bubbly and golden brown on top.

*I put the pan in the oven and turned it up to 350 and left the apartment for about 40 minutes (don’t worry, Phil was in the apartment!). When I got back, it was just about done. Pretty awesome as a breakfast food and probably amazing as a dessert – especially if you added chocolate and/or whipped cream.

Updated expenses: $2.21 left – I spent 50 cents in Chinatown on some arugula-type green. Tofu lady was not around! Boo.