BREAD :-)

Hurrah for food reincarnation! Just as each culture has it's own version of life after death, each culture also has it's own way of using old carbs. The American kitchen makes stuffing and french toast; the Chinese kitchen fried rice and juk; and the Tuscan kitchen pappa di pomodoro and panzanella.

I find these dishes' English translations hilarious, because pappa di pomodoro will be soup and panzanella salad only when stuffing--their culinary second cousin--falls into either category. All three foods have similar textures, which means the "Tuscan bread soup" lacks broth and the "Tuscan summer bread salad" is scant on vegetables. I prefer the latter to the former, but will sadly be unable to genuinely replicate either once I get home. Unsalted bread is difficult to find outside of Tuscany, and--more problematic--carb populations, no matter how large, often go extinct within 24 hours of entering my kitchen. Anyway, both dishes are delicious, Tuscan ways to recycle old bread.

The other delicious, Tuscan way to recycle old bread is to feed it to the chickens out back.
And then eat their eggs.
And then eat them.

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Pappa di Pomodoro - Saute chopped onions in olive oil. Add chopped basil. Add 1 part pureed tomatoes and 1 part water. Cook over medium heat for 18 minutes. Add pieces of stale bread slowly until bread absorbs all liquid. Mix until pieces of bread are smaller, but do not make into a paste. Add salt and pepper. Serve drizzled with olive oil.

Panzanella - Soak stale bread in water until fully saturated. Squeeze water out and rip bread into small pieces. Add chopped onions, tomatoes, and cucumbers. Mix. Add salt, pepper, and olive oil liberally. (Carb:Veggie ratio should be similar to that of fried rice).