meish dot org: life, unfolding

The other night, out for dinner with friends, we found ourselves discussing the perfect food. Not favourite food - that’s a different question - but perfect food, which works in a number of contexts and is flexible and suits all palletes. Cheese, we thought, maybe. Or pasta. Or even bacon.

But you know what we came up with?

Toast.

Toast and Marmite, originally uploaded by jovike.

Think about it:

• It can be a morning food or an evening snack.
• It can form part of an entire meal (beans on toast) or an accompaniment (soldiers).
• You can have it open-faced or in sandwich form.
• You can fill it with sweet things or savoury stuff
• You can fill it with hot things, cold things or a combination of the two.
• You can make it from a range of products (brown bread, white bread, ciabatta, etc)
• It can be prepared in about three minutes.
• It can be prepared by just about anyone.
• Oh, and it’s yummy, to boot.

I defy you to find another foodstuff as adaptable, quick and satisfying.

Honestly, the person who came up with the idea of baking bread once and then baking it a bit more? Fricking genius.

So here’s my perfect toast:

– Malted wholegrain bread, full size, medium sliced
– Toasted for 2 minutes or until slightly stiff and golden, just rigid on the periphery yet still soft and flexible in the central plains
– Removed from toaster immediately, then let to sit on the plate or counter for 30 seconds or so, to get rid of immediate heat (NB may leave a little toast sweat)
– Spread right up to the edges with spreadable butter, medium amount. The butter should not soak in to the bread immediately - if it does, the toast is too hot and the topping will stick.
– A light layer of Vegemite, smeared across the butter, to ensure the two tastes are mingled but not blended. You’re aiming for a mottled or marbled effect, not a light brown paste, here.
– Consumed immediately (eating crusts first) with a cup of tea.

Your turn.

While you’re thinking, here’s Paul Young singing about Toast in 1978.

This may well be the theme song of this blog.

Step-by-step illustrated instructions on how to make a spiced banana cake

Ingredients:
250g (8oz) self-raising flour
125g (4 oz) butter/margarine
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
125g (4 oz) caster sugar
grated rind of one lemon OR hearty squeeze of lemon juice
2 eggs, beaten
3 bananas, mashed to within an inch of their lives with a fork - the squishier the better (helps if they’re softish to begin with)
hearty handful of walnuts
hearty handful of sultanas
6 heaped tbsp honey (set is better)

How to do it:
You will need a cake tin, or a loaf tin. Alternatively, double the quantities of everything and use a roasting pan.
Pre-heat oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4.
Mix sieved flour, nutmeg and cinnamon into a big mixing bowl, and rub in the margarine with your fingers. Yes, your fingers, those things on the ends of your hands. Make sure they’re clean and then rub the dry stuff with the marg until you end up with a sort of breadcrumb mixture.

Use a big wooden spoon (you do have one, don’t you? If no, a normal spoon will do, but be careful not to stir the mixture too much), fold in the sugar, eggs, lemon, sultanas, walnuts, mashed bananas and honey. The mixture will seem too dry at first, and very sticky. Once you add the bananas, it will get all gloopy, not to worry!

Pour the whole gloppy lot into the cooking receptacle of your choice and then bake for, oooh, about 70-80 minutes, depending on how efficient your oven is. My fan oven is like a furnace at any temperature, so it only takes an hour. Your mileage may vary. You’ll know it’s done when
a) the top is golden brown, the colour of, um, white toast and
b) when you jab it with a sharp knife (I’m going to assume you don’t own a skewer, because really, who does?) the blade comes out clean, or just a little bit moist.

Leave it to cool for a bit (the nuts and sultanas are like molten lava when they come out of the oven) and then chop into slivers and eat lightly buttered with a nice cup of tea.

You can justify the fact that you’re eating cake by reminding yourself that it’s actually got bananas in it and therefore it can count towards your daily fruit and veg quota. Honest.

Ingredients:
4oz caster sugar
5 oz self-raising flour
4oz butter (melted)
1 egg, beaten

1 lb cooking apples, cored peeled and sliced
2 oz sultanas
1 oz chopped walnuts
2oz demerara sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

How to make it:
Preheat the oven to gas mark 4 (180C). Grease and line a cake tin. Mix the batter ingredients and put half in the bottom of the tin. Mix the filling ingredients and spread over the batter. Cover with remaining batter. Bake for an hour or so. Turn out and serve hot with cream. Tooooooo nice.

Ingredients:
Greek yoghurt
Runny honey
dry muesli
splosh of apple juice
chopped nuts (preferably walnuts)

How to make it:
Mix the yoghurt with the honey until it’s sweet enough for you. Mix the muesli with the apple juice and the nuts. Alternate layers of yoghurt mixture and nut mixture into glasses.

Ingredients:
6oz red lentils
330ml water
4oz grated cheese
1 onion
fresh parsley
cayenne pepper
lemon juice
1 egg
splosh single cream
salt & pepper
knob of butter

How to do it:
Preheat oven to gas mark 5 (190C). Cook lentils in water until soft - 20 mins or so. DON’T LET THEM BURN BECAUSE THEY WILL STICK TO THE PAN AND BE IMPOSSIBLE TO GET OFF!
Add onion, lemon, cheese and parsley. Whip up egg and cream and pour into lentil mixture. Add seasoning.
Grease a loaf tin with plenty of butter and press the mixture in. Bake for 45-60 minutes until the top is brown. Let stand for 10 minutes before turning out. Serve hot or cold with tomato sauce. [based on Sarah Brown's Vegetarian Kitchen]

Ingredients:
1 apple - cox’s orange pippin or similar
Handful of mature cheddar cheese
2 slices bread (preferably brown, preferably wholemeal or malted)

How to do it:
Couldn’t be simpler. Toast the bread. Grate the apple onto the bread and then sprinkle with the cheese. Toast under the grill for a minute or so, until bubbling.

Ingredients:
Lots of cod or any white fish
big knob of butter
flour
milk
some hardboiled eggs
1 onion, chopped
parsley
potatoes
grated cheese

How to do it:
Grill or boil the fish and boil the potatoes. Preheat the oven to gas mark 4 (180Cish)
Make a white sauce with the butter, flour and milk. Add the onion. Chop the hardboiled eggs into the sauce and add the flaked or chunked fish. Mix together in an ovenproof dish.
Mash the potatoes with lots of butter and a splash of milk, seasoning well. Cover the fish sauce mixture and then sprinkle with cheese and ground black pepper.
Stick it in the oven and bake until bubbling and golden on top.

Ingredients:

Ingredients: