Wow. Who knew that toast was such an emotive issue. There seem to be two camps with very firm views on the thorny issue of "how hot do you eat toast?" It warms my heart though to know that I am not alone and Jaggy, I am delighted to be one of the founder members of TSFLTCBBBBYCGMBOTWSS. Although I must confess when I first read your comment, I sort of read that acronym as "The Flabby Bottoms". My paranoia, I suspect (and the after effects of loading a LOT of butter onto properly cooled toast). By the way, how do you cool yours? I take mine out of the toaster and then sort of stand the slices on end, leaning against each other in an arch-like formation (means you can't have less than 2 slices at a time, but then why would you want to?) Okay, enought toast.
I am delighted to announce that spring really seems to have actually arrived here in blustery Edinburgh. The daffodils are properly out (and being blown about by the traditional March winds) and the grass needs cut. Even better, the evenings are getting lighter - as I type, it is 6.40pm and there is still a bit of daylight left! Woo hoo! We even managed to get out for a walk on a couple of evenings last week, returning across the fields in the gathering dusk, being elegantly divebombed by the local bat colony.
Today was even better. Today I got up at 6am and shuffled through to the boys' room. First Born was, as always, the invisible filling in a tightly rolled sausuage of duvet. Second Born was sprawled in his bed alongside his collection of stuffed rats and a guinea pig (also stuffed, thankfully). I poked him gently and told him the weather looked nice outside - the sun was just rising and even our mundane suburban street looked lovely and rosy in the light. He agreed it looked nice so we both got up and got dressed and went out for a run.
You heard me, we went out for a run. Not a big deal for SB who is comprised of equal parts india rubber and whippet but quite a development for his old mum who has not really been running since last summer and that whole not-dealing-with-life-very-well episode. And it was hard. I am out of practice and hideously out of shape. I had to walk a fair bit and SB amused himself by running backwards, doing the Ministry of Silly Runs and chattering away 19 to the dozen. I concentrated on breathing and remaining upright. We covered about 2.5km or 1.5 miles in old money and it just about killed me. But I am going out again this week weather permitting. I remember how much I enjoyed running when I could go out for 5 miles or so and I want to be that person again.
Oh and I have signed up to volunteer at the Edinburgh Marathon again this year, hopefully at the finish funnel. So if you know anyone who is running, tell them to look out for me and say hi. I'll be the one with the bags of jelly babies (I know how to make myself popular!)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
That's brilliant Loth :-) I want to enjoy running too!
ReplyDeleteDid I miss a toast post? Damn. Toast is among my top 3 favourite foods. I have a small collection of toast racks into which I place my darkly toasted bread and then wait until it's quite cold and crispy before adding butter. I don't like it to melt into the bread. (PS: Have you thought of just briskly walking? It's so much more pleasant than running at our age)
ReplyDeleteToast is my comfort food. I like to toast it properly, then put butter on it, and then sprinkle it with cinnamon/sugar! Oh to me that is like total comfort food. Add a cup of tea, and I could die happy!!! I do like it warm though. I found the toast racks in London cooled them too much, but Hubby insisted we buy one anyway. (we never use it)
ReplyDeleteI need to get out more too, but mother nature is not cooperating and it is soooo cold here!
Send spring my way, K?
Spot on Loth, I make a wee tent out of mine too (an old fashioned ridge tent, not a new fangled dome tent) until it has cooled sufficiently to hold a good smothering of your spread of choice (Flora light) without it melting into nothing.
ReplyDeleteYou have to stand the toast on end like that because it cools quicker and it doesn't go soggy because of the condensation build up underneath. It's a scientific fact!
Oh, I love that envelope!
ReplyDeleteI shall never run 5 miles. But good for you.
Say hello to Spring for me and tell her to get her daffy butt over here.
ReplyDeleteI had forgotten about UK Mother's Day -- it's in May in Canada. You deserve everything you got and then some.
Love the image of son as sausage roll.
The butter must, must melt into the toast and drip. Positively.
Hhhmm - I still use my grill for toast, I find it easier to get an even toasting. Then just leave on the grill to get cold, if you put it on a plate it goes soggy (bleurgh). If I could, I would lay the butter on in slices (!), but with the advent of healthy eating, I spread low fat cheese spread and marmite - YUMMY :)
ReplyDeleteThat's why I come to this blog to contemplate the great questions of times. For all of you toast fans out there go here for your listening pleasure:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrF_K1w2haE
Yeah, toast. I can't wait until I see my oldest son so we can have the toast conversation. This is a wonderful side conversation to our ongoing 'what is your sandwich thing?' conversation. That conversation consists of explaining why you put a sandwich together the way you do. (For me mayo goes on bread meat must be on top of mayo etc) It's amazing how militant some people can get when defending their 'sandwich thing'.
I too am anxious to get outside when it comes to exercise. I live in a part of the world where we have pretty violent shifts in weather patterns. It was warm enough to have tornadoes on Monday but we are supposed to get snow on friday. Maybe next week I can get off the treadmill and get outside.
"the invisible filling in a tightly rolled sausuage of duvet." Evocative description of the weeeeeek! (to the Harry Hill jingle).
ReplyDeleteDoes your stuffed guinea pig come from IKEA by any chance? We have one of those - he materialised on our back lawn one day...
Toast racks should be prohibited by law. The main joy of a toasted tomato sandwich (besides the heavenly taste combo of tomato, mayo, salt and pepper) is the contrast between the hot toast and the cool tomato. That's it. I'm starting the ETHODBAA (Eat Toast Hot, or Don't Bother At ALL). Who's with me?
ReplyDeleteI challenge you to fisticuffs at dawn over this Alison. Toast needs to be crunchy, not soggy. When you butter it warm, it gets soggy -- especially when you put wet tomatoes on it. If you don't mind, I believe I will purloin this topic for my own blog and continue it there!!
ReplyDeleteMy toast has to be buttered - liberally - the second it pops out of the toaster. And eaten hot. None of this cooling nonsense! And preferrably taken with a cup of tea. I'd die happy then too.
ReplyDeleteBat colony though ... Where's that??? :-)