Tuesday

I've found an excellent use for all of this bread I'm baking. Because the truth is, even with all the mouths we have to feed around here, there's only so much toast you can force upon them eat. I took a wayward loaf and made croutons last night.

Should I tell you how to make croutons, or is that something everyone knows? I'm not sure.

Cut the bread up, whatever size looks edible to you. Spread it on a baking sheet. Drizzle lots of good olive oil on top. Be generous with kosher salt and ground pepper. If you've got your hands messy already, mince some garlic and sprinkle that around. Otherwise, go with garlic powder (but not garlic salt.) Toss it all around, and bake at 375 or so until you've got nicely browned, cracklin' good croutons.

Just try to wait for a salad to come along. Or carve up a roasted chicken and serve it over these, with the juices poured on top, a la Ina. Crazy good. They can be sealed up in a ziploc and saved for a while. (Good luck with that.)

The girls actually asked if they could have a bowl of croutons for dessert. I'm guessing that level of intensity won't hold for long, but it did make me feel justified for being so obsessed with the No-Knead Bread.

I know I'm due for a dinner post, but frankly, the subject overwhelms me. So I'm thinking I'm going to approach it using the platitude from Anne Lamott. I'm going to take it bird by bird.

My older brother was trying to get a report on birds written that he'd had three months to write, which was due the next day. We were out at our family cabin, and he was at the kitchen table close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books on birds, immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father sat down beside him, put his arm around my brother's shoulder, and said, "Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird."

Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird

Soon.

More tomorrow. Thanks for reading.

tt

ps::I always loved a line from Operating Instructions, something about how after she had her baby, Sam, she would lie down on the bed next to him, and her tummy would lie next to her, like an obedient puppy. Tell me about it.