But then I came home and look what I found!

Just saying “plate of pickles” makes me happy again.

Plate of pickles!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

thanks to Russ at Twisted View Photography for the picture.

It snowed Friday night. Big fat flakes like ticker tape, here and everywhere else, it seems. Yesterday was Saturday, so nothing was canceled except for normalcy. People skied down the middle of the street. Dogs jumped in and out of snow banks like ecstatic golden fish. We went out to find Austin’s car, buried up to its headlights in drifts and plowed under. Not going anywhere. We went back inside, made coffee and oatmeal.

About a week ago, someone, we don’t remember who, bought a loaf of good crusty white bread and then forgot about it. It’s been sitting on top of the refrigerator, looking lonely, getting stale. So, because it was a snow day, which are days for making heavy, creamy concoctions that put you in a food coma till spring, I got out the eggs and the milk and the bain marie and made a pudding.

Bread Pudding of the Snowpocalypse

• Stale bread
• dried fruit (I used raisins, dried cranberries and apricots)
• four eggs
• three cups whole milk
• 3/4 cup sugar
• one teaspoon vanilla
• cinnamon
• nutmeg
• pinch of salt

Preheat your oven to 350ish. Butter your baking dish. Tear or slice your bread into one-inch chunks. The JoC says remove the crusts, I say I like them and the crusts stay on. It’s up to you. You should have enough bread to make five lightly packed cups. Dump the bread evenly in your baking dish and scatter your dried fruity bits on top. Fruit is what makes this healthy!
In a bowl whisk together your eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. No need to go nuts here, just ensure the ingredients are mixed thoroughly. Pour this mixture over your bread bits and let sit for 30 minutes. Occasionally squish the bread with a spatula so it absorbs the liquid better. Place the baking dish in a water bath and bake for about an hour, until a knife through the heart of the pudding comes out clean (like your conscience).

Serve topped with cream or milk. And small servings! This thing is dense and delicious. A slice, buttered and either pan fried or browned in the toaster oven, makes a fabulous breakfast in the morning.

Why yes, it was epically awesome.

Check out the full flickr set of the Jonathan Coulton & Paul and Storm concert here.

And even though it’s his birthday, he still got up 20 minutes earlier than me, woke me up with coffee and toast with jam, and made sure I wasn’t late for class (which would have been awkward, as I’m the instructor).

I am a very very lucky girl.

Happy birthday, Peter.

Aren’t you burning with curiosity? And fire?
I know I am. At least, the fire part.

Check out the full flickr sets here and here.