have stale bread? make bread soup!

I love simple meals and this is one of the simplest. A few days before the holidays struck, I realized that I had a half loaf of some very delicious olive & rosemary sourdough in the fridge. Unfortunately, I had let it get stale and hard. Completely my bad. I hate letting things go to waste, but instead of making bread crumbs or croutons with it, I decided to try my hand at making bread soup. It turned out wonderfully and a friend who had unexpectedly stopped by happily ate 2 bowls of it. It's hearty and it definitely warms the bones and with all of this crazy snow and cold weather that we Vancouverites have had to put up with this winter, it definitely hits the spot.

An aside, I will be in Victoria, BC for a couple of days this week, so please send me your list of favorite restaurants and fun things to do in that city. Gimme your best tips!

bread soup
1 T olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 stalk celery, diced
1 t dried hot chili flakes
1 t dried oregano
4 c vegetable stock
1/2 small loaf of stale bread, cubed
1 small can of diced tomatoes
1 bunch spinach
2 T Parmesan cheese
salt & pepper to taste

Saute the onion, garlic and celery in the oil over medium-high heat. When softened, add in the chili flakes, oregano and some salt and pepper. Add in vegetable stock and tomatoes and simmer over medium heat for a couple of minutes. Add in bread and spinach, stir and cover pot. When bread is soft and spongy and the spinach is wilted, throw in some cheese. Taste adding more salt or pepper if necessary. Serve with more cheese, if that's the way you wanna go.