Grandma Inspired. Hard Times Approved!
January 2022! Headlines are a combination of health crisis, politics and our current financial state. The times are tough everywhere and it has me thinking of what past generations did to survive times such as this. I was already a sourdough bread baker prior to the pandemic, but having a serious decline in our income during this time, I have been looking for ways to keep a closer watch on our budget. Seriously, in this house, bread is life!
My grandma was a young child during the Great Depression, and while not needing to seek out survivalist ways herself, she was raised in a way that reflects the frugalness of the times. This carried on through her raising her own family. Two things that were instilled in me from a very young age:
1. You never throw anything away that might be useful at a later date. (Think things like bread bags, containers, clothing to be cut into scraps, old nylons…most everything had a use.)
2. There are a million and one ways to stretch a meal. You will never hunger if you are creative. In fact, it isn’t all that hard to feed the masses if you put your mind to it!
One thing that I fondly remember about visiting grandma was her use of bread in scrambled eggs. She had told me that it was a way to make the eggs stretch further when feeding a family. I just thought it was delicious, but had forgotten about it until now. As a sourdough bread baker, I am always looking for ways to creatively use up a loaf. Below is my modern re-creation of this recipe, maintaining a sense of frugalness for a breakfast that is out of this world.
Grandma Inspired Sourdough Egg Bake
Ingredients
- 8 large eggs
- 2-3 slices day old sourdough bread, large diced
- 1 lb thick sliced bacon, cooked, reserve grease
- 3 oz (large handful) fresh spinach
- bacon grease, ghee or clarified butter
- 1/2 cup of cheese (cheddar, Swiss, parmesan, etc.)
Cook bacon according to your preferred method. I baked my bacon at 400 F for about 15 minutes. Cool and dice.
Preheat oven to 425 F.
Preheat a 8-9 inch cast iron frying pan to very hot. Cast iron pans can withstand a higher heat and can transition quickly between your stovetop and oven. If you’ve cooked the bacon in this pan, reserve the bacon grease. I would recommend cleaning the pan to remove any of the cracklings left behind. Reheat a Tablespoon of the bacon grease or other high temperature oil.
Fry the bread in the oil until it starts to brown. Add more oil as needed to fry the bread. You want it crisp, not greasy. Add diced bacon and spinach and mix well.
Crack eggs into a bowl and beat. Add about 1/2 cup of cheese.
Pour egg and cheese mixture over bread and spinach. No need to mix it!
Put pan in oven, uncovered. Bake for 12-15 minutes.
Do you have any favorite cooking related stories or recipes that are part of your upbringing and have shaped who you are? Let me know in the comments below.
looks wonderful Sherri..
Thank you, Dave!