Tiger Mountain Peasant Bread: Asparagus Mushroom Bread Pudding served with a First Aid Kit

J-fur doesn't do squishy textures in her food. Tofu has to be cooked long and hard, yogurt and pudding avoided completely, and eggs mixed in with something else so that they don't resemble themselves anymore. That means anytime she leaves town I experiment. I grab raw hunks of tofu and stuff them down my throat, smear my face with yogurt, drop scrambled eggs into the couch cushions, or...make bread pudding (gasp!). Thank labor unions (in this sense replacing God) for trips to Oregon and recipes of the week.

Asparagus-Mushroom Bread Pudding (adapted from Veg Times May/June 2009)
Printable Recipe

1 leek, finely chopped
1 1 pound loaf of crusty bread cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 pounds asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 cups white mushrooms, sliced
4 cups skim milk
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons fresh basil
12 ounces of goat cheese


1) Heat oil in skillet. Add leek and garlic and saute until soft. Add asparagus and mushrooms and cook four minutes more, or until asparagus is tender. Set aside.

2) Whisk together milk, eggs,and basil in a bowl. Set aside.

3) Coat baking dish (13x9). Spread half of the bread cubes in single layer. Spoon asparagus mixture over top. Cover with the remaining bread crumbs. Arrange goat cheese in rounds on top. Pour egg over entire baking dish. Press down to make sure bread is completely submerged.

4) Cover and chill for 2 hours, or overnight (I skipped this step my pudding was slightly soggy although this is just what I intended since there was no Jfur).

5) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 45 minutes until or until center is set. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Bread pudding is oftentimes associated with peasantry and poverty because it contains few ingredients (although the goat cheese and asparagus render this version the anti-poverty bread pudding)and uses stale bread which was historically sold at a cheaper rate.

I'm not a big fan of the Fleet Foxes the whole sound like you are singing in a church gets to me. That doesn't mean that I can't appreciate them lyrically or...enjoy their songs when covered by others. First Aid Kit covering Tiger Mountain Peasant Song.