Before we get to this week’s newsletter I’m jumping in with a voice note to say hi and to do a quick run through on how you can dive deeper into my world of cooking if you’re looking for more with me :) As always, thanks for being here!

Listen now · 5:56

Now back to regularly scheduled programming:

Am I really devoting an entire newsletter to toast? You better believe it. Because toast is more than just than just a simple piece of bread. It’s a beautiful beginning. A blank canvas just waiting for you to add your creative mark. And the possibilities are endless!

Am I romanticizing it? Absolutely. What can I say, that’s who I am - and why wouldn’t you? Plus, I really believe doing the simple things really well is a beautiful way of showing that cooking doesn’t have to be complicated to be special and delicious.

Let’s dive in!

What’s the key to a good piece of toast? Really good bread of course. Whether you get that at your farmers’ market, your local bakery, or make it yourself (where are my sourdough peeps at?) start with what you love; whether that’s sourdough, a beautiful multigrain loaf, rye, I could go on but you get it. The bread matters so get the best, and freshest you can!

On toasting:

Confession: I don’t own a toaster. I love toast but got rid of my toaster years ago because it just collected dust in the cupboard and I can’t stand clutter so it got Marie Kondo-ed. I don’t like feeling restricted and the fact that I had a limit on the bread thickness didn’t work for me. I also never liked that I didn’t have full control of the toasting, I just had to leave it up to the dials and hope for the best. I either use my oven or a fry pan for my toast. This way, I’m free of the restrictions and can also choose if I want to add flavouring while I’m toasting - like rubbing the bread with garlic, or brushing it with olive oil, or browning the butter in the pan so the bread can soak up all that nutty goodness. Now don’t toss your toaster. If it works for you, awesome! This is just me sharing some of the ways I like to do it so this is just me giving you some other options.

Building your toast:

Just like your bread, good ingredients are equally important to making your toast magical. Because when you have good ingredients you don’t have to do much to make them taste good. It’s also an opportunity to let your imagination go wild. I like to wander the farmers’ market and see what looks good to me. Sometimes less is more when you have access to all the beautiful produce, especially right now. The other thing I like to think about is mixing flavours and textures; sweet and spicy, smooth and crunchy, etc. This is always what makes it go from basic to brilliant!

Here’s some ideas to get your creative juices flowing:

Tomato toast - this is the time of year where I eat tomato toast on the daily because the local tomatoes are just so frickin’ good. Sometimes I’ll rub the bread with garlic when I’m toasting it, sometimes I’ll drizzle it with really good olive oil but you really don’t need to do much. Thick slices and flaky sea salt will do it. There’s so many varieties you can also mix them up to get an amazing mix of colours and different flavours.

Harissa fried egg on toast - I love this anytime of day! Add a little bit of harissa paste to your oil just before adding your egg to fry. Let it get nice and crispy but leaving the yolk still runny, add some parsley and fresh pepper and drizzle with a little bit of the cooking oil. So good!

Grilled peaches and ricotta - I love ricotta with any kind of fruit and grilling them adds this little bit of smokiness which I love with the sweetness of the peaches. Add some honey mixed with a little bit of chili to get that sweet and spicy action going. And if you’ve never tried making your own ricotta, let this be your PSA to give it a try. I promise it’s the easiest thing to do and takes no time really. You’ll never go back to store bought. I have a video you can watch on how to do it HERE.

Smoked salmon with herbed creme fraiche - mix some creme fraiche with lots of fresh herbs (dill, basil, parsley are my favs) and some lemon zest. I like to use rye or a multigrain bread for this and then spread the creme fraiche on the toast, layer the smoked salmon, top with capers or pickled red onions, fresh pepper and more dill.

Radish and sprouts - slather your toast with some really good butter (splurge on the best you can find), add some sliced radishes, sprinkle with Maldon salt, add some pea sprouts and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Burrata with prosciutto and melon - there’s something about the sweet and salty combination with the creamy cheese. Spread the burrata on your toast (I might do the browned butter I mentioned above when I’m toasting this one), drape the prosciutto and thin slices of melon on top then drizzle with really good olive oil and a sprinkle of Maldon salt.

Beans on toast - this one is perfect for when the cooler weather hits. I like to cook a pot of beans flavouring them with garlic, bay leaf and peppercorns. Add the toast to a wide bowl, topping with the beans (you can mash them a little to get some different textures), lots of fresh pepper, then add a few ladlefuls of hot homemade chicken stock. You can add some sautéed greens like kale or spinach with lots of garlic, a good grating of parmesan cheese and even some cubed, crispy pancetta.

Now go make your own toast masterpiece! I’d love to know what you make so share it in the comments below :)

PS - If you’re a food history nerd like me, here’s a quick history of toast. It explains where the term, ‘bun in the oven’ came from and the toasting fork sounds like a pretty great meditation practice!

Also, while we’re on celebrating the magic of bread, Sarah from Edible Living has a great post about hosting a Bagel Party.

‘You are the bread to my butter.’ - Julia Child

Want more with me? 

Become a paid subscriber to access our community threads, months round ups, more recipes and live hangouts, and more!

The Communal Table is welcoming in new faces in September. If you don’t know, this is my monthly cooking community where we I teach classes, have guest teachers join us, there’s a cookbook club, foodie round tables where we nerd out about all things cooking and food, plus monthly giveaways of my favourite things, and so much more. You can grab your spot for the last 4 months of the year at a pre-launch price now for only $88! If you’re looking for a space of rad people who love cooking as much as you do, come join us!

Learn more

Ready to learn the pleasure and the principles of cooking well? Let’s Cook with Intention This if for you if you want to learn to cook better and find your creativity, flow and FUN in the kitchen.

Cook with Intention

If you’re ready for the magical world of Sourdough, come on in HERE

Sourdough 101