One of the wonderful people at the farmers market makes super bread! My favorites are her bacon-cheddar and her (as it happens, vegan) olive bread.

So I got some of the olive bread at the end of the season, and put it in the refrigerator so I could eat it a little at a time and make it last. But the time comes when bread becomes stale despite one’s best efforts and earnest wishes.

Do we throw that stale bread out?

Trick question, right?

I also had some leftover sauteed mushrooms and a tag end of cream, so I made this casserole.

Break the bread into chunks. If necessary, cut the stalest pieces with a honkin’ big serrated bread knife. Mix in the mushrooms.

Break an egg into a measuring cup and add cream or milk to equal 1/2 cup. Pour that over the bread. Let it sit overnight so the bread absorbs the liquid. Top it with cheese.

Bake it at 350F for 45 minutes to an hour. I cooked mine in my toaster oven, so I covered it with non-stick foil so the cheese wouldn’t burn.

A fitting end to a delicious bread.

A WRITING PROMPT FROM ME TO YOU: Write about a wonderful bread.

MA