He worked hard to support our family and raise my sister and I in a good community. But it is the little gestures I remember most about my father growing up … the way he cheered louder than anyone (for ALL of the kids) at every one of my soccer games, the library trips when we both needed an escape, the cinnamon toast. Oh come on, you knew it would all come back to food didn’t you?
The truth is, I obtained my food obsession from my father. He has always been in pursuit of ultimate health, following nutritious fad after fad based on the latest studies. I will never forget how badly the house smelled every weekend during his “liver is healthy” phase. Thankfully, that didn’t last too long. And the one rule he always held onto was to eat breakfast. I liked that rule, and adopted it whole-heartedly, but somedays my stomach just didn’t want to cooperate. These days I have good control over my gut, but back then was a different story. When I felt unsettled, and it was time for breakfast, dad would make me cinnamon toast … always on whole wheat bread and with just the right mix of cinnamon and sugar of course.
I typically bake our bread from scratch (my latest obsession being this spelt bread), but this week we got a free loaf of “hearty” bread from the grocery store, and it was begging to be made into cinnamon toast … a treat that I hadn’t enjoyed in years (decades perhaps?). It may not be the ultimate in healthy food, but every comforting bite reminded me of what a wonderful father I have.
- Bread of choice
- Earth Balance or other dairy-free buttery spread (or coconut oil)
- Sugar
- Cinnamon
- Toast favorite bread to desired crispness, spread with Earth Balance soy-free, sprinkle generously with sugar (regular white or even coconut sugar!), gently shake/tap off any excess sugar, shake on cinnamon to taste.
