Woolworths_Taste__January_2019

(Nancy Kaufman) #1
PHOTOGRAPH

TOBY MURPHY

PRODUCTION

HANNAH LEWRY

PORTRAIT

MICHAEL LE GRANGE

PUFFY CHEESE
TOASTIES
This is just the way my ma made
them.Doubleupifyou’reeight
for breakfast.

Serves 4
EASY
GREAT VALUE
Preparation: 15 minutes
Cooking: 10 minutes

grated cheese240 g
(I used a mix of Emmentaler
and mature Cheddar)
Hellmann’s mayonnaise3T
free-range egg 1
baking powder1t
bread4slices(Ilikelow-GIseed
wholewheat brown bread)
butter,for spreading on
your toast

1 Turntheoven’sgrilltohigh.
Mix the cheese, mayonnaise, egg
andbakingpowderwellusing
afork. 2 Toastthebreadina
toaster, then butter. 3 Place a big
tablespoonofthecheesymixture
onto each piece of toast and
spread evenly. Place under the
grill and bake until golden brown
and puffy. Eat immediately.
CARB-CONSCIOUS,
MEAT-FREE

O


ur weekend breakfasts are leisurely,
decadent affairs. Food market
splurges that last way past lunchtime,
or freshly baked bacon-and-cheese
croissants from Jason Bakery, or warm
almond croissants and creamy flat whites
andhotchocolatefromGiovanni’safter
acoldswimatClifton.Asafamilyof
three, these breakfast indulgences are
ourweeklyreminderofhowluckyweare.
We are grateful for the life we have and
the lives we share.
Weekday breakfasts, on the other hand,
arerushed,oftenshoutyexperiences.
Tryaswemight,wenevermanagetosit
downatatabletogetherandcalmly
prepareourselvesforthedayahead.
There are occasional warm, fuzzy family
momentswhenwedrinkteainbed
in the morning for a few minutes before
the hysteria kicks in. But mostly the hysteria
just kicks in.
Whenitcomestobreakfast,I’mcontent
withcoffee.OragreenjuiceifI’mfeeling
particularly virtuous. If I can’t eat sugary
carbsasIdoonweekends,I’drathergo
without. Jacques eats a wonderful home-
made granola that he makes on Sunday
nights.Inanidealworld,Sebwouldjoinhis
father in eating double-thick yoghurt,
crunchygranolaandaswishofhoney.
But no. We don’t live in an ideal world.
Andoursonhastakenadisliketothe
textureofgranola.Texture?Noonewarned
meaboutthis.Seblikessoftthingsfor
breakfast. He eats scrambled eggs with
Parmesan shavings; sweet, softened milky
Weet-Bix;soggy,sugaryRiceKrispies.
Thelasttwofillmewithguilt...
So,ongooddays–thosedayswhen
we have all managed to wake up a bit
earlier than usual and the school lunchbox
is packed with healthy treats and Jacques
and I can do more than gulp down our
coffeesandgruntatoneanother–Imake
puffy cheese toasties. Just the way my
mother did. With shortcuts and affection.
Puffy cheese is similar to Welsh rarebit
I suppose, or a croque monsieur, but


withoutthefussandtheham.Grated
cheese,eggsandadollopofmayonnaise(I
grew up in the seventies after all) slathered
on slices of bread and popped under the
grillforafewminutesuntilit’sallpuffedup
and warm and soft inside. Kind of like you
feel when you eat it.
Otherthanthemayonnaise,puffy
cheese ticks all the boxes that should be
ticked to ensure that a small boy has had
asensiblebreakfast.But,moreimportantly,
it’satreat.Anutritious(andyes,calorific)
treat, but the fact that I’ve gone to the
troubleofmakingpuffycheese feeds
theheartsofthoseIlove.
Together we sit in the courtyard,
enjoying the early morning sun, drinking
fromafreshpotofhotteaandeating
warmtoastedcheesebeforewetakeon
theday.Makingprovisionforanadditional
20minutesinthemorningforbreakfast
isallthatisrequiredtocentreourselves
by focussing on one another. Eating puffy
cheese toasties together in the morning
is the culinary equivalent of the group
hugthatSeblovessomuch.
Myin-lawscametostayrecently.
They are familiar with our early morning
weekday shouting shenanigans, but on
that particular Tuesday I decided to get
up a bit earlier and make puffy cheese
toasties so that we could all eat together
before everyone went their separate ways.
“Aunty Phumla!” Seb shouted when our
helperandfriendarrivedforwork.While
making her some coffee and putting the
breadinthetoaster,andmixingthe
grated cheese and egg, I noticed
Phumla laughing at me. “What?” I asked
defensively.“Vroeg opstaan. Kos maak.
Goeie makoti.”(Wakeupearly.Makefood.
Good daughter-in-law.) She teased me
affectionately, referencing her own Xhosa
cultural traditions and the effort a new
bridegoestoinordertoimpressher
in-laws. I laughed. Puffy cheese toasties
and laughter. And family and a friend.
That was a very good Tuesday morning.W
confessionsofahungrywoman.com; @samwoulidge

“Eating
puffy
cheese
toasties
together
in the
morning
is the
culinary equivalent
of the group hug that
Seb loves so much”

Weekendsaremadeforlaid-backfamilybreakfasts,butwithalittleextraeffort(andmayo)
SAM WOULIDGEhasfoundawaytoorchestrateasit-downbreakfastonschooldays, too

Toast mastered


TASTES THAT BIND

52 TASTE JAN/FEB 2019

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