Today was another beautiful snowy day. I love the snow. I also love the smell of something cinnamon baking, especially on a snowy day. And I have an affinity for small ramekin-sized servings of breakfast, dessert, or whatever. So today I thought it would be fun to try out an individual french toast souffle. It was so easy! Perfect to serve to friends or family on a wintry morning.
As I helped clear the Retreat lunch tables, one of the leaders, a good friend (and one of my most honest) looked up at me with a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye. “Delicious, Sister Irene,” he said, “But why is it that people in general seem to think that the only way to cook eggplant is with tomatoes?” Well, here was a question I’d never before been asked that made me stop and think. I didn’t feel it was a complaint or criticism so much as a challenge. He appeared to have enjoyed my eggplant Parmesan because his plate was clean. He’d even had a second helping!
His forthrightness set me on a course that expanded my eggplant repertoire. Up until then I had pretty much settled for recipes I’d felt comfortable making and knew most people liked. But he was a Southerner and his tastes were more towards creamy-styled dishes than Mediterranean. I asked him for suggestions and then launched into an exploration of tomato-less eggplant dishes. After trying multiple ones I settled on several favorites that I’ve stuck with over the years, this being one that both he and I like—you may, too.
When I got up this morning to go to Lauds, I thought I might need a jacket…wow, how things change. Last time I wrote we were in the middle of a humid heat wave. Last weekend was Transfiguration Sunday, a feast reflecting the name of our church. We always have a coffee hour after church to celebrate. I found a blueberry pie filling and wrapped that in the dough we had made the day before. They were really delicious, and moist! Of course the huge amount of frosting I drizzled on helped, but it was a very light moist cake and the filling was perfect. There were lots of compliments on this latest adventure.
It is strawberry time! And the sight of those tubs full of beautiful juicy red berries that the sisters are bringing in every morning is a joyful one to behold. It makes me so happy just to look at them and I see a smile come over the face of each person who sees them.
This week we will celebrate the 80th birthday of one of the sisters with old fashioned fresh strawberry shortcake made with traditional biscuits and whipped cream. In the days ahead different sisters will volunteer to make their favorite strawberry desserts and I am making a request right now for my mother’s special strawberry whipped cream rolls. Helping her make them is one of my most pleasant childhood memories.
The convent is very fortunate to have so many sisters who love to bake bread. As a result we enjoy it with many of our meals. Years ago we started making our own whole wheat bread (even grinding our own wheat) and ever since, it has become breakfast toast most mornings. Then we experimented with other varieties as more sisters became interested in learning to bake. One sister is now especially acclaimed for her Italian bread sticks, foccacia and pizza crusts. Another specializes in calzones and yet another in whole wheat pita pockets to go with her own homemade hummus.
Every Wednesday night during Lent we have a simple supper of soup, salad, fruit, and home baked bread while we discuss the week’s study topic. Last week we enjoyed a great oatmeal molasses bread — one of our most popular varieties. But tonight we are having our special dill bread. Beautiful golden braided loaves, equally as appealing when baked into little bow knot rolls.
If you have never tried your hand at baking bread you might be surprised to discover as so many others have that it is really very easy, very therapeutic and tremendously rewarding
It is now Lent. And I should be writing about very Lenten things like soups and bread, not desserts. That will follow later in the season. I’m hoping to do my favorite beef mushroom barley soup in a couple of weeks. So even though a lot of us give up desserts for Lent, I’d like to share my recipe for bread pudding, which can double as a great and satisfying breakfast. It is so wonderful served up warm with whipped cream, or cut into shapes to serve as individual desserts, or as a great snack in the middle of the afternoon. I wanted to make it the way I remember us making it in the early days of the sisterhood, which was to mix up the cubes of bread with butter and cinnamon sugar before adding the eggs and milk or cream. We also used whatever bread was leftover and saved — white and whole wheat, rye… you name it when making the bread pudding. I do love a homemade white bread for this, and especially something like brioche, which I will sometimes make up in large batches and have in the freezer for this sort of use. But that did not happen for this bread pudding, so I was really happy to find a loaf of the cinnamon swirl bread that we gave as gifts for Christmas! But you can use just about any firm white bread for this.
