Bread Cravings

I have made a concerted effort to eliminate bread from my diet. Not that hard to do, if I can refrain from buying it in the first place. I have no one here to make toast for in the morning, or sandwiches for lunch which makes it easier.

But every once in a while, I can’t resist buying a loaf to satisfy my sandwich cravings, finding it hard to say no to those store baked loaves of bread for 99cents at Walmart. The aroma of freshly baked, warm from the oven bread is too much temptation.

My bread cravings usually lean to peanut butter and jelly, the classic PB&J. My favorite is made with Welch’s grape jelly. After that is another tried and true, peanut butter and banana, mine is made with added mayo.

And to finally satisfy my bread cravings, I need to make a grilled cheese sandwich. I discovered why this sandwich has never lived up to my expectations...I never made it the right way, until this week. There’s a knack to it, a timing that makes all the difference.

Before, I would have tossed the sandwich in the frying pan, and waited impatiently for it to brown. I might squash it down with the flipper, as if that would speed up the cooking time. I would flip too early, and often flip too many times before I managed to get it ready to eat. And always I was disappointed.

This week I put the sandwich in the pan, and turned to something else for a moment. When I returned to the stove, I checked my sandwich and found it beautifully browned, and flipped it. I didn’t leave the second side to brown the same, considered it lightly grilled, (that impatience again).

That sandwich was great, best I’ve ever made, I’d bet. It’s like pancakes, I’m thinking.

Pancakes don’t taste as good if they’re flipped too many times. But at least they give you a clue as to when to flip. You have to wait until the batter bubbles on the surface before you turn the pancake, though I have no idea where I learned that.

A grilled cheese sandwich doesn’t give you a warning sign; you have to peek under to see if it’s done, and if you wait too long, I hope you like it well toasted.