My name is Shelly, and I am a grateful, recovering Culinary Snob. The squirrel isn’t too happy about my recovery, though. That’s because it means that he isn’t going to get that hunk of rye bread that got “burned” in the freezer!
“Culinary snob … what in thunder?” you ask.
Well, ordinarily I would chunk old bread. I’ve turned up my nose at leftovers. I would not buy anything but peak vegetables and fruits. Did I care if those fruits were in season? Nahhh. Did I care if the bread was still good? Nahhh. Squirrels have to eat, too.
I’m changing my tune, as this recession continues. You see, I’ve realized that my snobbery has to take a back seat to frugality. Stale bread? That’s not squirrel food … it’s people food! If it weren’t rye bread, I could get a hacksaw and make bread pudding out of it. However, I think that the rye might not be so tasty as dessert.
I decided to make croutons! Have you seen what a bag of croutons costs? The ones I like cost $1.59 for a double handful of bread chunks. That’s insane! I had enough bread to make the equivalent of five bags … from perfectly good bread that I was going to give to a rodent!
I took this bread and re-cycled it for my salads. I just can’t eat a salad without some crunchy croutons in it — LOTS of ‘em!
I cubed the bread and tossed it into a casserole dish with olive oil. Did I hear you ask me, “How much oil?” Don’t be silly! I don’t cook like that. Put enough oil in the bottom of the dish to be able to coat the bread lightly on both sides. Then, I grated a garlic & pepper mix I have over it and sprinkled a little Italian seasoning over it. That almost took me five minutes.
I was already cooking supper, with the oven at 400ºF, so I popped that casserole dish on the bottom shelf of the oven for 10 minutes (until they were toasty). Voila! My salads never tasted so good.
That poor squirrel is going to have to fend for himself. That probably means he will get back at me by taking a bite out of every vegetable I grow in my garden this summer. Squirrels are vindictive. Did you know that? I should never have fed him the first time.
Have y’all got a crouton recipe to share? I might try a different recipe next time.
Wait … don’t tell me … are you a “culinary snob,” too?
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Girl, I hope that critter isn’t as smart as he is mean! You could be in trouble!
I am an odd mix of culinary snob and frugal shopper- and it’s all my Grandpa’s fault. He was a coupon and sale shopper from waaay back and taught me how to shop on sale and eat like a Queen! (I have a big freezer!) I don’t make croutons, but I do have another leftover bread trick. I make my own seasoned bread crumbs. That girlyboi always leaves the “hill” or end crust of a loaf of bread. I take them out of the bag before they get moldy in there and let them dry a bit, then crumble them and add them to a canister with some seasonings, (salt, pepper and garlic). I never buy breadcrumbs!
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I don’t particularly think that my habits have changed too much. That is, I doubt that I was ever a culinary snob to begin with. I’ll pretty much eat…anything.
I am only half-kidding. I really will eat almost anything. But I do enjoy myself some good food. And the frugal in me will bring the leftovers to work for lunch!
Derek Wongs last blog post..Marathon Training And Then Some
I also make bread crumbs, and I sprinkle it with grated parm cheese
And I too make bread
(for lack of a better name) crumbs with stale or left over cereal, chips, pretzles, whatever.
Tonis last blog post..Thursday 13
Sorry, I suffer from “Culinary Challenge”…no crouton recipes for me, but I’ll ask the hubby for ya!!! I planted a whole bunch of seeds for a veggie garden…tomato, cucumber, kohlrabi, radhishes, broccoli, baisl and cilantro and I think I’m going to try some grapevines and strawberries, too. They’re all still growing in my living room, but I’m hoping it will be getting warm enough to plant them soon!!!
Hey, would you do me a favor? One of my “in real life” buddies just started a blog and I’d love to get some bloggers over there to just give him a comment or whatever for encouragement to continue. It’s rough starting when there’s nobody to read it, ya know??? It’s all in my Matchmaker, Matchmaker post!! Thanks!
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I have a crouton recipe that I like.
1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic minced
2 tsp chopped parsley
2 tsp chopped basil
8 thick slices of French bread
Preheat oven 350
Combine oil and herbs
Spread on 1 side of bread
Sprinkle with course salt and pepper
Place on baking sheet and bake until golden brown about 15 min.
Sheila
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Yummy!! I love homemade croutons!!!(-; Maybe you could throw a couple out for the squirrel and he won’t be mad that way(-: LOL(-:
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