My Bread and Butter

I don’t know why I love bread the way I do, but I can’t help it - warm fresh bread is like a little chunk of baked heaven!! I think fresh bread is very comforting, reassuring and I feel as if I am cuddled from the inside as I am eating it  It makes me happy. Eating nice warm bread spread with butter is one hell of an ultimate comfort food for me.

The great thing is that I am not alone in my love for bread, there are lots of people out there who share my same view. My young friend, Arnitha said, “I can eat bread everyday and survive”.

And I love the butter that glorifies by bread eating sessions. My favourite butter is President and Lurpak. I will not forget the Five Star butter I had in the US, the lingering smell and taste of Double Devon Cream butter of UK and the French butter my late friend Anna brought – I think it is called Celle Sur Belle. I hate to spread cold butter on my bread. It has to be room temperature. I remember my younger days when Amma used to keep butter floating in a bowl of water!! That was the time when there was no refrigerator and the butter was considered expensive.
I told a friend that my favourite food is bread and butter and she laughed like crazy. I told a guy friend that my favourite food is bread and butter when he asked me what I liked to eat most and he too laughed non-stop before he asked me “are you joking?”. I think these friends of my mine think that only the economically challenged eat bread and butter. And some think bread is meant to be eaten only at breakfast. Maybe, I should say things in a more sophisticated way when people ask me such questions next time –“I love buttered bread” heheheee…..

A dear, very unforgettable friend Steve said “I think you are a bread and butter snob”. Yes. I am and I love being that kind of snob. I love to choose my bread and butter – the quality is important to me.

I love fresh bread, warm and nice or toasted and crusty. I love to see the butter melt into it. There is certainly something very fascinating about melted butter on my bread, you know what I mean? It’s like if the bread is so thirsty, it is drinking melted gold!! The smell of the rich butter, the nice saltiness of the butter, the moistness of the melted butter and then the crunch of the crusty bread………..aiyoh……..so good……… I am going to have one now.

GARLIC BREAD WITH 3-CHEESE

2 tablespoons mayonnaise
50 g salted butter, room temperature
2 garlic cloves, mashed
150 g feta cheese, crumbled
100 g Monterey Jack cheese, grated
50 g very finely chopped spring onions
150 g Parmesan cheese, grated
Thick bread slices
Salt and pepper

METHOD

1 Preheat oven to 200°C.
2 Combine the first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl.
3 Spread the above mixture on each slice of bread. Top with the grated
Parmesan cheese and press it down lightly.
4 Sprinkle with salt and pepper if desired and bake till cheese melts.
5 serve hot preferably.