Dried Bread Cubes

So here we are... Another Monday... another day of cleaning the bedrooms and doing laundry... another day of cooking and washing dishes.. another day of loving and caring for my family... another day of repetition.. but boy do I love it. 

Photo: Housewife Doing Laundry

1943

I really am a happy and blessed housewife, mum and nana... and always enjoy it when my children.. and now grandchildren help in the kitchen. 

Photo:Three-year-old Ann Heath helps her mother wash dishes

Connecticut, 1942

Once my chores are done I get to do the fun stuff .. like prepping for the festive season...

I got a  couple of stale loaves of bread from the reduced basket of the market at the weekend. Betty at "the Bakery" is as like minded as me with her waste not want not attitude. We had some  toasted with the Cabbage Soup we had for lunch on Saturday. 

The rest has been cubed, dried in the oven and put in air tight jars. 

They will be used to make stuffing over the festive season. 

Its a very easy recipe... so much so it cant really be called a recipe.. and although they can be done in the dehydrator.. I prefer the oven method.. and yes...aluminum foil was around in the 1940s!

• Preheat the oven to a low temperature 150°–200°F
• Cut the bread of your choice into half-inch cubes
• Spread the cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet
• Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, tossing them occasionally to ensure even drying. 
• The cubes are ready when they are dry and crisp, but not browned

Also on the agenda today was the most important job of the week.. feeding the Christmas cake. I like to feed from the underside.. and just use a skewer to poke holes all over the cake... being careful not to go all the way through.. Then just pour over a couple of Tablespoons on you favourite tipple and let in soak in. Wrap tightly again in greaseproof paper.. pop in your storage tin  and store in a cool dark place to marinade! This is its third feed and it already smells amazing. Another couple of weeks and I’ll be icing it. Thinking about it the weeks will just fly by.. and I cant believe Christmas is so close!!