Toast and a Summer Break

It's finally cooled off in Berlin, which means that we can sleep under thin coverlets at night again, that big puffy clouds float past my little office under the eaves at a rather brisk clip, that I can enjoy hot tea in the mornings once more, and that I don't have to drink an icy glass of milk for dinner but can actually cook a pot of spaghetti, with sauce. Two burners, going at once! That's rather nice. Our tomato plants on the balcony are finally bursting with little red fruits. At first I could just pluck one or two off and rub them against my pant leg before popping them in my mouth, but now there are handfuls going in salad bowls. It's intoxicating - though I swear I'll never live in a house, I often find myself dreaming of vegetable gardens these days.

Another thing I'm obsessed with lately is the "Cooking From Every Angle" column on Food52. It is crammed with interesting little snippets and delicious ideas. I daresay it's my favorite thing about that site - every time I scroll through the column, I can hear my stomach growl. It makes me want to buy spices at a furious clip, replenish my cluttered utensil drawer with clever tools, stew fish in tomato sauce for a spaghetti dinner and freeze tiny berries in lemon-flavored ice cubes. But the thing it makes me want to do most is eat toast.

Not just any toast, mind you. But toast spread with mustard mayonnaise and topped with mashed avocado. It is my new lunch. It is what I think about when I go grocery shopping for boring things like plain yogurt and face cream. It is what I crave when I open the refrigerator door. It is all I'd like to eat right now.

There's barely a recipe. You mix together equal parts smooth Dijon mustard and mayonnaise and spread this on a piece of hot toast. (I like to toast toast until it's quite well-done and crunchy. What's the point of flabby toast?) Then you take half an avocado, scoop it into a bowl, sprinkle it with Maldon salt and a few drops of lemon juice and mash it with a fork until it's tamed but not entirely creamy. I rather like those bite-sized pieces of avocado to remind you of what you're actually eating.

This gorgeous green-yellow mash then is gently spread to the edges of your mustard-mayo spread toast. You can plop this on a plate and sit down at your table to eat it, or you can lean yourself against the kitchen counter with a hand cupped under the toast to catch crumbs as you eat. Whatever you do, don't plan on sharing the other half of the avocado with anyone. Halfway through one toast, you'll already be on to toasting the second piece. Then the avocado will be gone and you'll be licking savory mayonnaise off the corners of your lips and plotting just how many avocados you can eat in one week. As it turns out, quite a few.

If you tire of this delicious meal, though I don't see how you could, or if you're allergic to avocados or just rather interested in eating something slightly different every once in a while, this is another open-faced sandwich lunch I've taken to like a house on fire lately: spicy salmon mash on toast. Is that what I'm calling it? I guess it is. There: Spicy Salmon Mash on Toast. You take a can of wild salmon - preferably printed with some kind of logo attesting to its sustainability or inclusion in the Marine Stewardship program - and drain it, then flake the fish into a small bowl. Into this small bowl go equal amounts of mayonnaise and Sriracha sauce - I use somewhere between half a teaspoon and a teaspoon of each. Mash everything gently together with a fork, taking care not to entirely liquefy the salmon; you want some integrity left in each bite. Then, once again on very crispy toast, you pile the pink flakes as high as you'd like to go.

Important here is something cooling to offset the spicy salmon - I find three very thin cucumber slices to do just the trick. They are like mini air-conditioners for your palate and crunch ever so agreeably along with the rather velvety fish. Then there's the rough rasp of the toast and you've got a symphony of textures enlivening what you thought was going to be a delicate, little luncheon-for-one.

I thought this was strictly girl food, to be honest, only something to be eaten at home during the day on a break from work. But then I made it for lunch the other weekend, when there was nothing else in the house and it was too hot to think straight, and it turns out that men like this, too.

I got greedy at the market this week and even though we're leaving for Italy tomorrow, I came home loaded down with bags of local zucchini and sour cherries, mini-Roma tomatoes, sweet and juicy, and soft-skinned local apricots. And, most precious, four ears of sweet corn, an unusual sight in Berlin. Alright, unheard-of, really. I boiled two ears for lunch and ate the first one sprinkled with lemon juice and cayenne pepper, like an Indian friend of my father's once taught me how to do. The other I ate more prosaically with sweet butter and great flakes of salt.

It made me miss the Union Square farmer's market and those shimmering hot New York afternoons. Florid Manhattan sunsets and my friends. My Berlin corn was less plump and juicy than my beloved New Jersey corn. Faintly bitter and a little bit tough. Sort of like Berlin itself, I guess.

Then I stewed a pot of apricots, inspired by Rachel, and it made me think of my aunt's apricot tree in Italy and how much I can't wait to be there, which is good because it is high time, I think, high time that I take a break and unwind. I've had a few too many nervous nights lately, a little too much fear and loathing surrounding the writing of this book of mine.

So, to that end, friends, I'm going to be taking a little break from here. I hope you don't mind, but I need to unplug, as overused as that term may be, and get out of my head for a little bit. Focus on the beach and weeding rapacious baby acacia seedlings out of my mother's property, pray to the mighty fig tree that its fruit might ripen a month early, drink a bitter Italian cocktail at sunset in town while munching on a salty piece of rosemary pizza, and take walks before dinner with friends, my feet crunching over dry soil and wild mint.

I'll be back soon: if I'm brave, in September, and if I cave, before then. Either way, I'll return with delicious things to share. Until then, have yourselves a bunch of wonderful Augusts. Hold on to these days. Soak them up. Eat as much corn as you can, and fresh berries, and great big slices of watermelon. Go to the beach and stay too long. Take walks in flip flops at dusk. Photograph the way summer light falls on your living room wall. And remember what Longfellow once wrote: 

Then followed that beautiful season,
Called by the pious Acadian peasants the Summer of All-Saints!
Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light; and the landscape
Lay as if new-created in all the freshness of childhood.
Peace seemed to reign upon earth, and the restless heart of the ocean
Was for a moment consoled.  All sounds were in harmony blended.
Voices of children at play, the crowing of cocks in the farm-yards,
Whir of wings in the drowsy air, and the cooing of pigeons,
All were subdued and low as the murmurs of love, and the great sun
Looked with the eye of love through the golden vapors around him;
While arrayed in its robes of russet and scarlet and yellow,
Bright with the sheen of the dew, each glittering tree of the forest
Flashed like the plane-tree the Persian adorned with mantles and jewels.

See you soon, folks.

Comments

[Rennie]

I'll miss reading your blog! Have a wonderful vacation, and good luck with your writing!

[Kao]

I love your way of appreciating small but beautiful things around you. I'll be waiting for your coming back. And I'm looking forward to your book, too.

[Michele Hays]

I'll have to try this one, it looks delicious - but our family's version of the avocado sandwich is even simpler: avocado mashed with a good glug of fruity olive oil and salt, spread on toast. Try it - olive oil and avocados are a match made in heaven!

[bronwyn]

I love avocado toast! My version was just avocado and red onion on toast. I will definitely have to add the mustard/mayo mixture to it. And the salmon toast - a new staple I'm sure. I love these simple, tasty meals. Have a lovely August. I look forward to your return. I enjoy your blog so.

[Stephanie @ Dollop of Cream]

Hope your vacation is full of laughter and lazy mornings! And if you are longing for avocado while you're away, but don't have mayonnaise, here is my favourite avocado toast option:

Toast a good slice of olive bread. Butter it. Spoon and mash avocado on top. Add a bit of salt and pepper. Eat up!

That's my favourite lunch. Now I'm looking forward to trying your version.

[UrMomCooks]

Aw shucks! My daughters and I will miss your writing and your food! We just discovered you (in fact we included you on a list of blogs we recently discovered and want to recommend!) But life gets in the way sometimes. Best wishes to you and your family! We will check back soon!

[Danielle]

I've been subscribed for a few months but it was for the recipes. It just struck me how beautifully you write! When does your book come out, I can't wait to buy it.

[petermorgan]

The apricots are beautiful.
Peter Morgan @chasingcinnamon

[Denise]

This was a fun post. I already eat mashed avocado on toast, but not with mustard mayonnaise. Yum! I was intrigued by your "house" comment -- "It's intoxicating - though I swear I'll never live in a house, I often find myself dreaming of vegetable gardens these days." I wondered why you'd never live in a house. My husband and I rented a house once and what we miss most is the garden, but not much else. It seems most people I know want a house. We don't really want a house, but we do want a garden. Enjoy Italy.

[Abby in Boulder]

I'll eat an avocado any which way! This sounds like a perfect lunch.
Enjoy your time away. We all need to unplug every once in a while.
Ted and I are headed to Switzerland next week- Zurich/Luzern if you have any recommendations!! Enjoy summer.

[Denise @ Chez Danisse]

Just ate the toasts -- yum!

[Bridget]

Love the pictures and sandwiches!!

Thank you,
Bridget

[gretchen]

i think that is just what august was meant to be, time away. also, those stewing apricots are out of control delicious-looking. must eat those soon. thanks and see you in september.

[Caitlin @ Amuse-Bouche]

I make a similar sandwich with canned salmon and it's always delicious. Now I'm quite intrigued by this avocado one. Have a wonderful time on your vacation and I look forward to reading all about it when you return.

[dining table]

Every morning I always make sandwiches for my kids. I think I almost make all my sandwich recipes. This sandwich recipe is good. I think my kids will going to love it.

[Jessika]

Have a nice time in Italy :)

[The Rowdy Chowgirl]

I love leftover guacamole on toast. I've even been known to spread it on cold pizza!

Enjoy your well-earned break.

[nikkih]

We mentioned you on our blog this weekend, and thought we'd give you a chance to read it :)

www.thecrunchymarriage.com

[Maegan]

(first time post-er here!)

I was in a hurried, starved rush today as I came home late, and your post immediately popped into my mind. It undoubtedly helped that I had an avocado on my counter that had to be used ASAP.

Note: The next time you have this as an easy, quick lunch--try a sliced tomato on top! I did so, and it was absolutely AMAZING--even if I did mis-read your recipe in my haste and added much more lemon juice than needed! Regardless, it was wonderful.

[Raquelita]

As I type this post, I'm devouring two thick slices of avocado toast. Your Dijon-mayo suggestion has elevated my previously good recipe to the sublime. I use Maldon sea salt, lime instead of your lemon, add a trickle of extra virgin olive oil and a dab of sambal oelek (chilli-garlic sauce). I'm excited to try your tinned salmon recipe! My go-to up until now has been a variation on Goop's tuna recipe: tinned tuna, mayo, sesame oil, soy sauce, scallions.

Enjoy your well-deserved break.

[rebecca]

O, Luisa. Of course you need a break. And very well earned one, as you so faithfully enrich our lives here. I will miss you...and look forward to seeing you back in September.

[Deanna]

I loved the spicy salmon. So easy but delicious. I added slices of avocado, so I guess I combined the avocado toast and spicy salmon.

[Astrid]

Now I crave avacado toast!

It was nice reading your interview in Norwegian D2 the other day. (Here is a little blog post about the article too: http://hei-astrid.blogspot.com/2010/08/food-bloggers-in-d2.html)

[Betsy]

Oh Luisa, I could read your words for hours!! Absolutely lovely. Every recipe I have tried has been wonderful. I fixed the eggplant spaghetti and it was delish. My husband was going off to Alaska and made it again the other night. I added some ground beef and he LOVED it.
Avocado toasts with the dijon mayo sound great. We often have avocado toasts with a little bit of salmon caviar on top. The combination of textures and flavors are sublime.
Unwind, relax, release and become one with Italy. I usually become melencholy in September, but now I have your return to look forward to.

[Charlotte]

Thank you, thank you for the mustard mayo addition to the avocado on toast. The mustard has been missing from my toast and it makes all the difference. This was such a lovely post. Have a wonderful break and I hope you get the respite you need.

[nancy]

Hi Luisa, Can you get Hellmans mayo in Germany nowadays? I lived there for 6 years in the 90s and missed it terribly. I see no German on the label... do tell! Have a great vacation.

[The Leftoverist]

Have a wonderful, unplugged time. I always benefit so much from that. So excited for your book (and jealous of even one minute spent in Italy).

[Sonia]

Have the most wonderful time in Bella Italia,
it's funny how Italy can always make you feel rested, Could it be the food, or the wine, or the weather or the people?!
Enjoy your break!

[patty]

I just made Molly's (Orangette) oatmeal bread, toasted it up and spread it with your mustard mayo and mashed avocado. So funny that you and Molly both wrote blogs on toast. The combination was fantastic!

[Ashley]

I saw this post and just HAD to make the avocado toast for lunch. It was great! Thanks for sharing! :)

[Tracingterroir.wordpress.com]

What a beautiful post! And I love the lemon-cayenne corn idea.
Enjoy your time in Italy!
-Camille

[Christopher Unseth (The Risen Loaf)]

Come back soon!

I ate a whole heap of toast right after this.

[littleclove]

Luisa,
I love the salmon mash! I thought was the only one who ate this way. I mix Shriracha in everything. How great to combine it with some mayo!
Mmmmmm....wish I had a can of salmon here right now.
Have a wonderful trip!

[Krisitn Jackson]

I am a self-admitted terrible cook. Your blog however, is filled with such beautiful photography and amazing little insights about a cooking world that I am completely foreign to, that I could not stop reading today and drooling over all of the fantastic things you make. I will be back for more.

[kruzon]

This is very similar to a salmon white sauce over taost but without the sauce. Excess spice heat in food (pet mah),in Thailand, is offset, or cooled down, with cucumber slices, or a warm drink like soup.

[Janel]

I just wanted to let you know that last night I made your Let My Eggplant Go Free! dish and it was amazing. Amazing! I blogged about it today http://eatwellwithjanelblog.com/the-wednesday-chefs-eggplant-dish/ and look forward to reading more blog posts from you when you return!

[Mike Geary]

Wow! That looks extremely tasty! Thanks for sharing the recipe! =)

[jancd]

I'm addicted to your avocado toast. I think about it every morning when I open the refrigerator and see that portion of avocado waiting to be mashed and eaten on toast. Thanks for the lovely, easy recipe.

[tais]

I will try the avocado toast as an entry, like 1/4 pieces of toast.
I and 4 friends get together every wednesday to cook, we know just a liitle bit but we have lots of fun, and our blog in Portuguese is something like wednesday culinary! I told the girlf about the wednesday chef... they like it.

[Juniper]

I love love love avocados. Usually I eat them as my grandmother taught me - making a reservoir of soy sauce in the middle and diving into it with a spoon (HIGHLY recommend this), but this is wonderful as well. And it's vegan if you skip the mayo!

[Sophie (Caribbean Recipe Kits)]

Chili sauce, mayo and fish is to die for I love it,however I use pepper sauce like Econna or something similar for the pepper sting!

[Brittney]

Just tried your avocado on toast recipe.... I'm obsessed :O) Thank you for the amazing inspiration!

xo,
brittney from www.hushnwonder.com

[shelby]

i love the avacado toast.
i just ate that all weekend thanks to you
yummmm

[Katryn@ RampantCuisine]

The most simple recipes are so often the most delicious! I'm going to make the avocado toast as soon as possible.

[Edith-Nicole]

I'm a long term fan and just checked back today to make sure you were still enjoying your leave of absence. You are. Well done. I hope this time has been nourishing for you and I look forward, patiently, to your return. In the meantime, take care, and thanks for sharing your love and talents with all of us.

[Bryn]

I am new to your blog, indeed to food blogs in general, and have to say that you certainly have captured my undivided attention with that avocado toast. I plan to venture into the more complicated, but for now, I shall simply embrace the lazy bliss of that FABULOUS snack.

[Scott at Real Epicurean]

The longest post I've ever read but couldn't turn myself away from - beautifully written!

[Prakash]

I have always wanted to visit Italy and thank you for sharing this. May be this winters I will make a trip there...I do hope you have had a wonderful time there

[ss]

Toast sounds lovely but it's a crime to use Hellman's mayo! Homemade mayo is delicious and easy to make, and I suggest you post the recipe for a real lip-licking experience...

[Clance]

My kinda lunch. I love your pics. Great style!
I'm just starting out with this blog/food photography thing, hoping to graduate from point+shoot to DSLR real soon...you're an inspiration : )