I eat, I read, I watch — dining solo #24
I eat, I read, I watch — dining solo #24
Today’s post is the 24th of “I eat, I read, I watch,” my column highlighting one of my solo dinners and my reading or watching accompaniments. Please treat yourself well at mealtime too. Don’t just eat alone - dine solo! You’re worth it. And it’s not hard to do.
Missed the earlier instalments? See the list at the bottom of the post:
I eat: Savoury Bread Pudding
Despite being a mature student with some savings, money was tight for me 20 years ago when I studied law at UVIC. I wasn’t dining out a lot but when I did, Rebar, Victoria BC’s best known vegetarian restaurant, competed with Barb’s Fish & Chips for my top choice. No surprise then that when I drove back from Victoria to resettle in Toronto, I had a copy of Rebar: Modern Food CookBook, tucked into a box aside the McGill Style Guide of Legal Citation and my Admin Law text. Less surprise that the Rebar cookbook is the only book I acquired in law school that I still own!
I pulled it out the other night for its Savoury Bread Pudding recipe. This one requires a trip to the grocery store - at least maybe you have gruyere and whipping cream on hand most of the time, but there are not in regular rotation on my list! So the next night I set about making it.
I first washed and chopped three leeks and got them softening on medium with some salt in a bit of butter. While doing that, I read ahead on the recipe and realized the bread should already have been soaking in the custard an hour ago. I’m annoyed with recipes that throw me these kinds of curve balls. It should be stated right at the top but instead, it was buried in the 2nd instruction point. I had underlined it, obviously having been caught short on time before. But I ignored the underlining today. Anyway, I decided mine wouldn’t get a full hour because I was hungry. I quickly whipped up 3 eggs with 3/4 cup of milk and 3/4 cup of cream, scaling back the quantities a bit from the full recipe which is 5 eggs and a cup each of liquid. Given the scaled back custard, I cubed only 3/4 of a loaf of sourdough bread. I mixed it all together with freshly ground black pepper and set it aside to let the bread get as soggy as possible.
I removed the softened leeks from the pan and put them into my casserole dish. I added some more butter to the pan on the element, and then threw in fresh chopped shiitake mushrooms and a diced leftover portobello I roasted a day or two ago. I put the lid on to release the juices and then after a bit, removed the lid and added a glug of Port for deglazing, not having the Madeira the recipe calls for. I reduced the liquid completely and then added the cooked mushrooms to the leeks.
I chiffonaded some sage leaves (SUCH a good word, right?) and pulled the thyme leaves off the stalks and added both to the cooked veg. I preheated the oven to 350F because I knew I was getting close to showtime. All that was left was grating the cheese. The incredibly small piece of gruyere (for $17) took nearly no time to reduce most of it to a pile of pale yellow shreddings atop the veg and herbs.
By then, I was getting fed up with waiting for the bread to get any more soaked so I mixed it all with the veg and cheese, grated the rest of the cheese in an even layer on top, popped the lid on and put it into the oven for 45 minutes. At about 35 minutes, I removed the lid to get the desired cheese crust on top.
Then for a token salad - I took a handful of radishes and thinly sliced them and then some Brussels sprouts which I chiffonaded too. (I’m getting my money’s worth on that word in this post.) I dressed it with vinaigrette made from olive oil, rice wine vinegar, and a dollop of mustard to emulsify. Perfect!
At 45 minutes, my bread pud was pretty firm in the middle but could do with another few minutes. I however was hungry so plated a portion from the edge and put the rest back in for another 10 minutes. I garnished my portion with chopped chives and loaded a portion of the salad on the plate with it. And poured myself a 0% beer, something I’ve taken to buying this year, as I’ve all but eliminated at-home drinking.
Delish!! And I’ve got several more servings of this. Divine.
if you’re ever in Victoria, check out Rebar - https://www.rebarfoods.com
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Origin: Cheese from Switzerland, everything else Canadian
Cost: $30 at a guess- 5 meals
Favourite recipe? In the Comments below please!
I read: A Second Act: What Late Bloomers Can Tell You About Reinventing Your Life
I ordered Henry Oliver’s 2024 book from the library as research. I thought it might chronicle stories similar to mine or that it might trigger an approach in my own writing. When I picked it up, I was excited to see “smart, funny, insightful” emblazoned on the cover, credited to someone who’d written a book called Difficult Women. I was keen to dive in to see what Henry had to say that might make me chuckle. Disappointingly, nothing was very funny in the parts of this book I read. Truth is, I’ve got so many books piled beside my bed, many of which are from the library with pressing return dates. So when I realized in the first chapter Oliver hadn’t really taken an approach that was in any way similar to or helpful to me, I flipped to the last chapter, got the gist, and returned it. If I had to guess from its pristine condition, I’d say no-one had read this book ever. Poor Henry. I’m sure it’s a great book. Just not for me, right now.
Had a book disappoint you lately? Add it to the Comments below.
I watch: Douglas is Cancelled
In contrast, Douglas is Cancelled is one of the best series I’ve watched in a long time. I’m on BritBox now, having given up Netflix due to its American ownership. Britbox and I don’t know each other well yet so the algorithm is testing me - will she like this? what about that? I expect before long I’ll be feasting on a steady diet of funny, insightful, and even moving pieces like Douglas. Damn this is good TV.
Premise: Douglas is a middled-aged famous presenter (the UK word for news anchor) with a young hot female co-host. He says something dumb at a party that gets tweeted and then all hell breaks loose. I’m shocked that this is directed by a man because all the male characters are idiots, boors, or cads or idiotic boorish cads and all the women are intelligent, strategic, and funny. The one exception among men is Douglas’ driver. If you’ve seen Gervais’ After Life, this actor played Postman Pat - let’s just say he deadpans well during the closing credits of each of Douglas’ four episodes.
Check it out. Have Kleenex ready for the last episode.
Have you found anything worth sharing? In the Comments below please!
Missed the earlier instalments of this column? Click:
#1 (pork chop & green beans)
#2 (trout & veg)
#3 (shrimp pepper bisque)
#4 (rice & peas with coleslaw)
#5 (ramen)
#6 (burger & fries)
#7 (duck sausage & salad),
#8 (shrimp & veg with pasta)
#9 (Wigilia)
#10 (mushroom shepherds pie)
#11 (roasted veg and sausage)
#12 (leftovers)
#13 (garlic shrimp with rapini on egg noodles)
#14 (beef stew)
#15 (salmon mac and cheese)
#16 (salmon cakes and ragout)
#17 (pork tenderloin, red cabbage, potatoes)
#18 (pulled turkey and salad)
#19 (almond butter chicken korma)
#20 (lobster tacos with asparagus)
#21 (rainbow trout, garlic mashed potatoes, and roasted asparagus)
#22 (Pork tenderloin and black-truffle infused egg noodles with fresh asparagus)
#23 (Grilled Halloumi with roasted asparagus and mushroom salad)
Rebar’s Savoury Bread Pudding with Brussels sprouts and radish slaw
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