#fall breakfast bread

Milk almost never spoils in my house.  With a little one who loves “mook” (we’re working on our l’s) and my penchant for a late night bowl of cereal, it’s been years since I’ve had milk even approach an expiration date.  Yet somehow this happened recently.  Milk went bad!  It was a few days past the expiration date.  It wasn’t to the point of being lumpy, but it was thicker than normal and had that slight sour smell to it.  But I couldn’t bring myself to throw it away!  How can you?  Milk is expensive.  And, as you now know, I hate wasting food.  It feels wrong that I can dispose of something so casually when there are so many people in need.  So I couldn’t make myself toss it. 

What to do with spoiled milk?  Bake with it!  Expired milk is very similar to buttermilk.  As long as it isn’t too far gone, and you can mentally accept the notion that you’re going to eat expired milk, you will be fine.  

This is perhaps where I should tell you that I had more than just a little milk to work with.  I had a fully half gallon of milk.  And I used every.  Last.  Drop.  I made cornbread, biscuits, muffins, and my favorite: breakfast bread.  If you’re a sucker for fall produce, this bread it right up you alley.  

Fall Breakfast Bread (recipe modified from Hannah Queen’s Honey & Jam) - 1 cup all-purpose flour - 1 cup whole wheat flour - 1 cup old-fashioned oats - 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder - 1/2 teaspoon baking soda - 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon - 1/2 teaspoon each: nutmeg, ginger, cardamom - 1 apple, grated (you do not need to peel) - 1 small sweet potato, peeled and finely grated - 1/2 cup butter, melted - 1 cup brown sugar - 1 cup buttermilk (see above regarding the use of expired milk) - 2 large eggs, room temperature - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract - 1 cup chopped pecans