Toast - It's What's for Breakfast!

Once again I am turning to my vintage recipes for a collection of what to serve on toast....say Bye-Bye to the traditional toast and peanut butter. We know Zwieback as the crispy crackers that you can buy in the store, but before you could buy them in the store, Zwieback was nothing more than twice baked bread or what we know today as toast, utilizing one of our modern conveniences ~ the Toaster! Some of these recipes look great, while I am not sure I could convince my kids to eat some of the others!

Enjoy and let me know what you tried!

RECIPES
Apple Toast.—Fresh, nicely flavored apples stewed in a small quantity of water, rubbed through, a colander, sweetened, then cooked in a granite-ware dish in a slow oven until quite dry, make a nice dressing for toast. Baked sweet or sour apples rubbed through a colander to remove cores and skins, are also excellent. Soften slices of zwieback in hot cream, and serve with a spoonful or two on each slice. If desired, the apple may be flavored with a little pineapple or lemon, or mixed with grape, cranberry, or apricot, thus making a number of different toasts.

Apricot Toast.—Stew some nice dried apricots. When done, rub through a fine colander to remove all skins and to render them homogeneous. Add sugar to sweeten, and serve as a dressing on slices of zwieback which have been previously softened in hot cream. One half or two thirds fresh or dried apples may be used with the apricots, if preferred.

Asparagus Toast.—Prepare asparagus. When tender, drain off the liquor and season it with a little cream, and salt if desired. Moisten nicely browned zwieback in the liquor and lay in a hot dish; unbind the asparagus, heap it upon the toast, and serve.

Banana Toast.—Peel and press some nice bananas through a colander. This may be very easily done with a potato masher, or if preferred a vegetable press may be used for the purpose. Moisten slices of zwieback with hot cream and serve with a large spoonful of the banana pulp on each slice. Fresh peaches may be prepared and used on the toast in the same way.

Berry Toast.—Canned strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries may be made into an excellent dressing for toast. Turn a can of well-kept berries into a colander over an earthen dish, to separate the juice from the berries. Place the juice in a porcelain kettle and heat to boiling. Thicken to the consistency of cream with flour rubbed smooth in a little water; a tablespoonful of flour to the pint of juice will be about the right proportion. Add the berries and boil up just sufficiently to cook the flour and heat the berries; serve hot. If cream for moistening the zwieback is not obtainable, a little juice may be reserved without thickening, and heated in another dish to moisten the toast; of if preferred, the fruit may be heated and poured over the dry zwieback without being thickened, or it may be rubbed through a colander as for Apricot Toast.

Berry Toast No. 2.—Take fresh red or black raspberries, blueberries, or strawberries, and mash well with a spoon. Add sugar to sweeten, and serve as a dressing on slices of zwieback previously moistened with hot cream.



Celery Toast.—Cut the crisp white portion of celery into inch pieces, simmer twenty minutes or half an hour, or until tender, in a very little water; add salt and a cup of rich milk. Heat to boiling, and thicken with a little flour rubbed smooth in a small quantity of milk—a teaspoonful of flour to the pint of liquid. Serve hot, poured over slices of zwieback previously moistened with cream or hot water.

Cream Toast—For this use good Graham or whole-wheat zwieback. Have a pint of thin sweet cream scalding hot, salt it a little if desired, and moisten the zwieback in it as previously directed packing it immediately into a hot dish; cover tightly so that the toast may steam, and serve. The slices should be thoroughly moistened, but not soft and mushy nor swimming in cream; indeed, it is better if a little of the crispness still remains.

Cream Toast with Poached Egg.—Prepare the cream toast as previously directed, and serve hot with a well-poached egg on each slice.

Cherry Toast.—Take a quart of ripe cherries; stem, wash and stew (if preferred the stones may be removed) until tender but not broken; add sugar to sweeten, and pour over slices of well-browned dry toast or zwieback. Serve cold.

Gravy Toast.—Heat a quart and a cupful of rich milk to boiling, add salt, and stir into it three scant tablespoonfuls of flour which has been rubbed to a smooth paste in a little cold milk. This quantity will be sufficient for about a dozen slices of toast. Moisten slices of zwieback with hot water and pack in a heated dish. When serving, pour a quantity of the cream cause over each slice.

Dry Toast with Hot Cream.—Nicely prepared zwieback served in hot saucers with hot cream poured over each slice at the table, makes a most delicious breakfast dish.

Grape Toast.—Stem well-ripened grapes, wash well, and scald without water in a double boiler until broken; rub through a colander to remove sends and skins, and when cool, sweeten to taste. If the toast is desired for breakfast, the grapes should be prepared the day previous. Soften the toast in hot cream, as previously directed, and pack in a tureen. Heat the prepared grapes and serve, pouring a small quantity over each slice of toast. Canned grapes may be used instead of fresh ones, if desired.

Lentil Toast.—Lentils stewed as directed for Lentil Gravy on page 226 served as a dressing on slices of zwieback moistened with hot cream or water, makes a very palatable toast. Browned flour may be used to thicken the dressing if preferred.

Prune Toast.—Cook prunes as directed on page 191, allowing them to simmer very slowly for a long time. When done, rub through a colander, and if quite thin, they should be stewed again for a time, until they are about the consistency of marmalade. Moisten slices of zwieback with hot cream, and serve with a spoonful or two of the prune dressing on each. One third dried apple may be used with the prune, if preferred.

Peach Toast.—Stew nice fresh peaches in a small quantity of water; when tender, rub through a colander, and if quite juicy, place on the back of the range where they will cook very slowly until nearly all the water has evaporated, and the peach is of the consistency of marmalade. Add sugar to sweeten, and serve the same as prunes, on slices of zwieback previously moistened with hot cream. Canned peaches may be drained from their juice and prepared in the same manner. Dried or evaporated peaches may also be used. Toast with dried-peach dressing will be more delicate in flavor if one third dried apples be used with the peaches.

Snowflake Toast.—Heat to boiling a quart of milk to which a half cup of cream, and a little salt have been added. Thicken with a tablespoonful of flour rubbed smooth in a little cold milk. Have ready the whites of two eggs beaten to a stiff froth; and when the sauce is well cooked, turn a cupful of it on the beaten egg, stirring well meanwhile so that it will form a light, frothy mixture, to which add the remainder of the sauce. If the sauce is not sufficiently hot to coagulate the albumen, it may be heated again almost to the boiling point, but should not be allowed to boil. The sauce should be of a light, frothy consistency throughout. Serve as dressing on nicely moistened slices of zwieback.

Tomato Toast.—Moisten slices of zwieback in hot cream, and serve with a dressing prepared by heating a pint of strained stewed tomato to boiling, and thickening with a tablespoonful of corn starch or flour rubbed smooth in a little cold water. Season with salt and a half cupful of hot cream. The cream may be omitted, if preferred.

Vegetable Oyster Toast.—Cook a quart of cleaned, sliced vegetable oysters in a quart of water until very tender; add a pint and a half of rich milk, salt to taste, and thicken the whole with two tablespoonfuls of flour rubbed to a smooth paste with a little milk. Let it boil for a few minutes, and serve as a dressing on slices of well-browned toast previously moistened with hot water or cream.