Poppy-Seed Bread-and-Butter Pudding with Meyer Lemon

In Greek mythology, poppies symbolize sleep and rebirth. Hypnos, the god of sleep, used a poppy potion to quiet Demeter, the goddess of the harvest, when her daughter Persephone was abducted to the underworld. While Demeter mourned, the world became barren. After her deep slumber induced by the drugged drink, she awoke refreshed and the earth became green again. I like to think of this story in conjunction with the following recipe, as the dish is, in essence, a “rebirth” for dry, old bread