COLUMN: Toast time any time

    Last weekend I bought a loaf of sourdough bread. I wanted to eat it that day while it was still fresh, but I didn’t have any specific plans for it. I didn’t have anything exciting on hand for a sandwich. I thought about making toast, but I have to admit the thought bored me a little. At least, until I did some research on the potential of a piece of toast. It turns out I will never be bored again.

    The first thing I tried was an avocado mash toast. I just toasted a piece of that white sourdough bread and while it was still hot I spread it with mayonnaise and Dijon mustard (two parts mayo to one part mustard).

    Then I mashed up half an avocado and stirred a little lemon juice and salt into it and spread it over the mayo and mustard. It was to die for. And it made me want to try every kind of toast there ever was.

    After my sourdough loaf was gone, I bought a baguette. I made a garlic-rosemary white bean spread and topped that with some roasted red peppers. It was filling enough to be lunch and delicious enough to be lunch again the next day.

Garlic Rosemary White Bean Toast

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons rosemary

dash of salt (to taste)

1 (16 oz.) can white beans

– Heat the olive oil, garlic and rosemary in a skillet on medium heat until it starts to sizzle.

– Drain most of the liquid out of the white beans and add them to the olive oil.

– While the beans are warming in the skillet mash them with a potato masher.

– Remove from heat. (It will thicken as it cools).

– Serve on toasted baguettes with roasted red peppers. (You can roast red peppers by slicing them and broiling them in the oven until they start to darken).

    Now that I was on a crazed toast rampage I wanted toast for breakfast, too. So I bought bagels and made this delicious maple cream cheese spread.

Maple Pecan Cream Cheese Toast

3 tablespoons pecans, toasted

2 ounces cream cheese (at room tempera

ture)

2 teaspoons maple syrup, plus more for drizzling

pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

– In a small bowl combine cream cheese, maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla. Spread on toasted bagels or bread.

– Top with toasted pecans and drizzle with maple syrup.

    One of the best things about toast is that there is no end to the possibilities it has. There are whole websites dedicated to listing different ideas for toast. I asked at least a dozen people what their favorite way to eat toast was and I never got the same answer twice. Here are some of their ideas:

– Pizza Toast: Spread a piece of bread with tomato sauce, sprinkle with oregano and top with mozzarella cheese. Toast in the oven until the cheese is melted.

– Reese’s Toast: Toast two pieces of bread. Spread one with peanut butter and sprinkle with chocolate chips. Then quickly top with the other piece of hot toast and let the chocolate chips melt.

– Egg Breakfast Toast: Top a piece of hot buttered toast or a bagel with scrambled or fried eggs and cheese.

– Croutons: Cut a few pieces of bread into little bite sized pieces using a pizza cutter. Place them on a pan and brush them with a little melted butter or olive oil.

    Sprinkle them with a little salt, some oregano and Parmesan cheese. Bake them at 450 degrees until they are crisp (you may want to stir them once or twice while the are baking). Serve them in your favorite soup or on a salad.

– Grilled Cheese Toast: Spread a piece of bread with butter. Place a layer of sliced cheddar cheese on it and make until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Remove from the oven and top with sliced dill pickles.

– Peanut Butter Banana Toast: Toast a piece of bread. Spread it with peanut butter. Top with sliced bananas and a sprinkle of powdered sugar.

    What more could a person ask for than just a simple piece of toast?

Jennelle Clark is a psychology major who loves eating, cooking and talking about food. Send her an email at jenn.nelle@gmail.com.