Dad’s Cinnamon Toast
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 of course (I liked all vegetables too – yes, I was a strange child).
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.
Cinnamon Toast Unrecipe – Toast favorite bread to desired crispness, spread with Earth Balance soy-free (my dairy-free margarine choice), sprinkle generously with sugar (regular white or even coconut sugar!), gently shake/tap off any excess sugar, shake on cinnamon to taste.
Optional – Eat it like a dork – pull off and eat crusts, fold toast in half and eat sandwich style leaving a portion of the center fold for last where a nice pocket of sugar and cinnamon remains.
Yes, I had a precise technique for how I ate all of my food as a kid (okay, I still have some rules). Can we say anal left-brainer? I got that from dad too.
Happy Father’s Day to all of the wonderful dads out there!
Is there a food or dish that reminds you of your dad?
14 thoughts on “Dad’s Cinnamon Toast”
Oh my gosh, Cinnamon Toast! I haven’t thought about it in ages, and it was one of my very favorite breakfasts growing up! My dad is an amazing cook so there are so many recipes.. but #1 might have to be Eggs Benedict because that’s what we’d make him for all the holidays 🙂
What a lovely tribute to your dad on Father’s day! The cinnamon toast is such a nice treat!
Wow, thank you for the flashback. My dad was obsessed with cinnamon toast, too, though ours was the most unhealthy kind. White bread, with 4 pats of butter each, sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar, then placed on a cookie sheet under the broiler. He’d leave it in there long enough for the edges to toast and the butter to melt, so you ended up with a piece of bread that was a butter-soaked sugar-bomb, and the entire middle had to be eaten in one bite, or else you’d have butter running down your arms and chin. Not healthy, but very much my father. I love him.
cinny toast…ahh, a memory of my gluten-laden past 🙂
I haven’t had cinnamon toast in ages either but I have fond memories of it. 🙂
And I actually eat a lot of toast/slices of bread that I spread with something your way haha.
The grill and rice reminds me of my dad. He’s not very skilled with food preparation but he cooks rice a lot better than I do and he grills like a pro!
My grandma (dads mom) would make this for us as kids!! And of course my father, and I have turned it into a tortilla as my carb of choice….highly recommended!
You were awarded a Sunshine Blog Award at my blog! Thanks for the inspiration!
Matt
myveggiekitchen.blogspot.com
I eat a version of this EB cinnamon toast all the time except I sub plain sugar for agave syrup or maple syrup. Both versions are divine. And yours looks great too!
Yummy! I love cinnamon toast. My treasured memory-treat is the butter-and-sugar sandwiches that my MawMaw (grandmother) made me as an after-school snack! Slightly less healthy, but the memory is very sweet.
I still plan on adding you to the 101 days of summer challenge – hopefully I’ll get to it soon!
My grandma made the best cinnamon bread – she put it under the broiler and the edges got nice and crispy, but the center was so soft.
And cut canteloupe reminds me of my grandma too! 😀
Loved reading this post!
I used to (and still do) eat this too! My dad would heat up butter and honey in a container in the microwave and we’d pour it over toast or waffles and let it get crispy. It was so good! Now I just do earth balance instead and of course cinnamon is a must.
I eat bread the exact same way, crust is always first, and I’ll even purposely push more cinnamon and butter to the middle as I eat it so that I get the most in that last bite. Maybe we’re not so weird after all!
I ate so much cinnamon toast as a child! I also ate around the crusts so that the last bite would be the middle.
Cinnamon toast is a special treat that my children recieve from their Nana. However, the toast gets cut into four fingers and a thumb and gets called cinnamon fingers 🙂
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