Stephencooks

 

Regular readers have probably noticed that I've slacked off in the pace of my posting here at Stephencooks, and for this I apologize. A number of factors related to our move (a new kitchen, a new workspace, the distractions of setting up a new home) have conspired to alter my work flow and impact my output.

Part of the problem is that I got out of the rhythm of thinking about what to cook next all the time, working out recipes when I was supposed to be working, and in general being obsessed with ingredients, recipes and cooking in general. In trying to get back to that pleasantly high level of foodie life, I've been falling back on some old favorites to get the creative juices flowing again. Today it's bread pudding.

Last summer Alanna at A Veggie Venture asked me one day if I had any ideas for a tomato bread pudding, which resulted in Tomato Bread Pudding, Roasted Tomato Bread Pudding and Tomato Bread Pudding IV, followed by Pear Bread Pudding with Blueberry Caramel, Pumpkin-Ginger Bread Pudding and Chocolate Bread Pudding.

A bread-pudding hiatus was in order, I guess, but the other day, faced with a half a large red Caribbean papaya to use up, I decided to go back to the bread pudding gods one more time. This preparation is a particularly satisfying member of the BP family: it's not too sweet, so the flavor of the papaya comes through strongly, with hints of the ginger and lime to give it additional spark without taking over. The dramatic color of the papaya comes through, too, to make a simple but high impact presentation on the plate, and, as noted before, the technique of making the bread pudding from sticks of bread with the crust left on one end results in a dessert that is soft and creamy on one side of the spoon and nicely crunchy on the other side.

In short, this is another bread pudding winner -- and it's nice to be back in the bread pudding business. Watch for more, since as some have observed I like to keep working on variations when I get on a roll...