Food-Filled Fridays: Thou Shall Not Waste

I have an aversion to wasting food. I think I’ve mentioned that.  I don’t know whether it was the way I was raised, my eternal fear of being hungry, or my stinginess towards spending money, but I hate throwing away anything edible.  Some of you might smile and know exactly how I feel, while some of you continue to just think I’m “weird” — I don’t blame. I know I’m weird.

However, until recently, there were a few things even I would consider throwing away, specifically old desserts. After all, if the cake is not being eaten, what are you to do?  If the gluten-free cake gets too dry and crumbly to do anything with, why not just discard it, right?

Recently, Adam and I were given about half of a Sweet Sin gluten-free cookies and cream cake.  About that same time, I had made a chocolate cake for Adam (which was delicious and moist), so Adam didn’t really touch the store-bought cake.  It had been sort of dry to start with, but after a few days in the fridge, it was dry and not appetizing to him at all.  I’m not a big sweets eater, but throwing out half a cake seems like a huge financial waste to me, so something had to be done.

A little research brought me a recipe for coconut bread pudding that could be made from anything from extra French bread to leftover hot dog rolls.  My curiosity won out, and I made a coconut chocolate cake bread pudding that not only avoided the waste but tastes amazing!

Coconut Chocolate Cake Bread Pudding

Serves 6

1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup honey
2 eggs
1/2 egg yolk
1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon coconut extract (I didn’t have this. I use a coconut smoothie mix.)
3/4 cup flaked coconut, divided
1/4 cup fresh coconut
1/2 chocolate cake

Preheat the oven to 325°. Grease 9×13 baking pan with butter.

Mix together all ingredients (except fresh coconut and cake) until smooth.  Stir in 1/2 c. of fresh coconut. Cut up the leftover cake into 1-inch cubes. Fold into coconut/sugar sauce.  Pour into baking dish and let sit for 30 minutes.

Bake for 25 minutes. Sprinkle top with remaining 1/4 c. fresh coconut.  Bake for an additional 25 minutes or until the top is sort of springy.

Serve warm with a nice dollop of vanilla ice cream on top!  SO good!

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So, what kind of leftovers do you have and how can you revolutionize them, so they aren’t wasted?

Well, lunch is calling my name, so I’m signing off. 🙂  Tune in next week for more Food-Filled Fridays!!!