All in the Family (recipe development)

  A few months ago we were in class discussing where recipes come from, what affects does climate, world events, religion, and population have on food and how we prepare it. As my colleges and I were giving our ideas and opinion something was said that saddened me. We humans, more often than not, learn our cooking skills at home growing up. Whether it is mom, dad, or the grandparents, this is the place we develop are preferences, tastes and lack off in our relationship to food. For myself and others in the class, we agreed that we could not reproduce many of our family recipes. Whether it was because the family member passed away or to ask for recipes, we would hear "oh, it's a pinch of this, a handful of that and slash of this" The idea of reproducing a family recipe seemed nearly impossible.

Well for me when I hear impossible or you can't accomplish or you won't succeed, my very persistent, stubborn side comes out and I begin to work on a way to prove those statements wrong. So I decided I would begin with my own mom and dad, I am blessed that they are both still very much alive and were willing to work with me on this mission.

A couple of weekends ago, I drove up to the township and began my mission with my parents:)

Now while growing up, my dad worked 2 jobs to support 4 children and a wife., but as we got older mom began working part-time, after all, we were all in school and the extra cash really helped.

So on Thursday night, it was my dad's job to make us supper, he would go through the fridge taking out all the leftovers of the week. He would then combine them in such a way that a new meal was produced, and too our amazement, it turned out to be yummy. He even did it with our desserts, because yes the meal was not complete without cafe/tea and dessert.

So I asked my dad to teach me his Bread pudding recipe, this recipe is basically eggs, sugar, milk, and yes bread. But my dad's Bread Pudding recipe is the best, and no one knows how to make it.

So with my pen/note pad in hand, I became to watch and patiently observed. I quickly realized the process would not be easy because it was” the pinch of this, a slash of that” So I asked him to pour the ingredients in a separate bowl, which I would then measure, enter the weight or volume in my note pad. After he would transfer in the pudding bowl, and proceed with his steps. By the end of this mission, both he and I were tired enough to want to sit and enjoy a drink together. But this first mission was a success, the pudding was yummy, and my family has its first family recipe documented.

Dads famous Bread Pudding

Yield: 6 portions

Preparation time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 90 mins

Oven temperature; 325 f for 60 mins/ and then 350 f for 15 mins

Ingredients

250 ml milk

3 eggs              

150 ml maple sugar

150 ml of sugar

15 ml of vanilla

15 ml of maple flavor essence

5-7 slices of Pom raisin bread

120 ml of water

Method

1.whisk milk and eggs together, with sugars.
2.then whisk in vanilla, maple essence and 60 ml of the water.
3.break the bread into mouth size pieces, soaking them in the liquid mixture.
4.before placing pudding in oven pour remaining 60 ml of water on top of pudding.
5.approximately 60 mins. into the cooking process, increase oven temperature to 350 f

and leave in for an extra 15 mins to form a golden crust.

 And there you have it my friends, an other blog entry and a family recipe:)

Enjoy,

Chix

,

Breaking Bread

   A couple of weeks ago we were in class discussing various topics, my teacher asked us the question
"What does the expression breaking bread mean to you?" My colleges each representing various areas around the world, China, Columbia, Korea, Israel, the middle east and even Venezuela, all had various stories and explanations. But as I listened, I discovered a common denominator. Words like family, friends, sharing, gatherings, and celebration were commonly used. This very common food that was maybe prepared, cooked, and served differently, was always identified as nourishing, shared and good for the soul.

So I decided to look up the expression Breaking Bread :

A. To engage in a comfortable, friendly interaction. Originally, the term was literal, meaning that a loaf of bread would be broken to share and eat; a casual meal among associates.

 As I continued my research, I found magazines, nonprofit organizations and even social media groups with this name. Almost all except for a few had these same words in common. Family, Friends, sharing, gathering and celebrating, so this simple basic food made of flour and water would be used to unite, gather and nourish us humans. :)

Come to think of it, bread in itself is very generous and communal. Take the sourdough bread, this little creature begins with only flour and water. It is left at a comfortable temperature where wonderful healthy bacteria can grow. It is then fed every day of approximately 7 days to allow fermentation and expansion. To look at it, honestly, it doesn't look very tasty, but used in a sourdough recipe with cranberries and nuts! and Bam a winning yummy recipe. And the bonus to this is that you can keep the flour/water mixture by placing it in your fridge, this allows the bacteria to fall asleep. And when you're in the mood for bread again you take it out and start the process all over again.

For me personally this expression breaking bread, is two-fold, I was raised in a French Quebec Christian family. Sundays we would go to church and have the breaking of bread, which is a Christian practice. After Church, I would invite friends, new acquaintances and even sometimes strangers with nowhere to go. We would gather in my home to share, and enjoy food and fellowship.

 For those who know me, I am always looking to find the deeper meaning of life. In this bread making competency, I not only learned how to improve my bread making skill but to appreciate bread in all its beautiful complexities.

Chix :)



ref:

A:https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Break%20bread