Thursday, April 25, 2013

Toast

New Landscape, 2013

I prepared a slice of toast that rivaled the memory I have of my mother's toast. This was something I believed out of my reach. And then today it happened.

Light brown, just to the point where the face of the bread is crisp enough to create a solid sound when tapped with a fingernail. Then a thin layer of salted butter to seep into the crispness and soften it, slightly.

A bite at this point is lovely, and a corner dipped into warm maple syrup sweetened oatmeal is heaven.

It feels funny, like this is a threshold I was not supposed to cross, and the universe will lean slightly off-kilter until I trip and fall.

25 comments:

  1. I can vouch for it. That toast was insanely delicious. I only had one bite but I can still taste it.

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  2. Taste - a direct route through years. Toast - so hard to make it just so. Mine starts with thick white un-sliced bread, just toasted to surface solidity as you describe, but I'm afraid I need a thick salty layer that seeps but also slathers. I need nothing else on it. And I think of my grandparents as I think about that toast.

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    1. It is a direct route, Kate. Your words have me thinking of my maternal grandfather's soft boiled egg on toast. Oh, how I loved it. His toast was very different than Mom's, delicious in it's own way.

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  3. what a proustian moment.
    Have you read Nigel slater's "Toast"? I highly recommend that book. It does this effect on you.
    Last night I made a simple tomato salad, the way my dad makes it in the summer, and woosh...i was sitting virtually with him on the terrace, across the Med.

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    1. I'll take a look at Toast, Amelia. Thanks. Your 'visit' with your dad has me smiling.

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  4. Do you think you'll be able to re-create it?
    Also, that last sentence was just lovely. I read it three times!

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    1. Yes, Samantha. I actually wrote this on 4/22 and made the toast again today. Three times. Excellent. I'm happy.

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    1. It's helpful to know what you like, Alexandria. Hope you eat some toast soon.

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  6. Last night my mother gave me a nice jar of Italian Fruit Spread... It read "Strawberries and Wild Strawberries"... oh well.
    I couldn't wait to spread it on my toast this morning! So delicious.

    Here's to toast! And strawberry jam!

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    1. Jam made from two types of strawberries. I like this idea. We all need a little wild in our lives, but not too much, right?

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  7. OH Heavenly post...i was there wit you...thanks for the reminder to "be" present...Magic happens sometimes...e*

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    1. Agreed. The magic is there. We just have to remember to look for it.

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  8. This is just the sweetest. I have my own memories of my mom and toast that involve late nights, two mugs of hot chocolate and a tower of soudough between us. No matter how I've tried, I haven't been able to recreate the taste of that cocoa and toast, though.

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    1. I felt the same way for so long, Rachael. And then there it was, Mom's toast, and I made it. Crazy...

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  9. I am following a low carb philosophy these days to get rid of the pregnanyc kilos. Toast is one of those things I miss.

    ...The smell of it in the morning together with coffee... It's like the smell of a fire place... or newly made breda out of the oven...in its own league...

    ...Toast with a thick layer of hard unsalted butter and home made plum jam reminds me of my maternal grandmother

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  10. I'm reading this on an empty stomach that is now growling. Think I'll skip the oatmeal this morning for toast instead.

    Look straight ahead and take a giant leap through the threshold... no tripping, just flying...

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    1. I like your instruction, Janis. I feel like flying!

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  11. Have you heard of The Mill in San Francisco? Delicious, delicious toast (a little pricey) : good country bread, thick slices, strawberry jam and butter. I think it might just be up your alley.

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    1. I am sure you are correct, Megan. I've walked past The Mill twice. It looks like a great space, but I still haven't stopped in for toast. I will, soon.

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  12. It sounds as if you have found the perfect recipe for toast--one that includes lovely memories.

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