Buttered Toast with Brussels Pate

A favourite snack dish made with lightly toasted wheat-free bread (Genius brand), salted butter straight from the fridge, so not very runny, plus 75g or so of Brussels pate. Spread thick across the surface of the buttered toast.

Cut the slices into triangles.

Dressed in black pepper. Delicious! Two minutes to make.

Chorizo, Onion and Baked Bean Breakfast

I chopped up a quarter of a chorizo ring, and fried the sausage in an omelette pan, along with a rasher of smoked bacon. No oil was required because of the oil which came from the chorizo.

Once hot, I added a julienned red onion, and turned down the heat after a couple of minutes. Cooked slowly for ten to fifteen minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion became semi-transparent.

The beans were fridge leftovers, and were heated in a separate small pan. Once ready, they were decanted onto a slice of wheat-free toast (not buttered in this case). Quick to prepare, and easy.

Chorizo and Scrambled Eggs

A fabulous breakfast dish, made with finely sliced chorizo, which I then diced, halved piccolo tomatoes (six), and two large eggs and milk.

First I fried the chorizo and the tomato halves together in a skillet at a medium heat, until the oil came from the sausage, and it began to become slightly crisp.

I beat the eggs in a bowl, and added some milk and some salt (not much!). The mixture was added to the skillet, and left to stand for about a minute. Then I stirred the mixture occasionally until the dish was ready (about five minutes. Judge when it is ready by eye).

Served on some buttered toast, with a sprinkle of coriander leaf.

Split Panini with Butter and Rhubarb and Ginger Chutney

Rhubarb and ginger is a favourite flavour combination for Scots. Most often in the form of jam, which is how I first encountered it as a child. But it works just as well as a savoury chutney.

This is a simple snack, made with a split panini (from Asda), grilled in a toaster, and then buttered. After the butter is spread, add the chutney. That's it! Delicious!

Omelette with Double Gloucester Cheese and Chives

A simple two egg omelette topped with roasted Double Gloucester cheese with chives, and served with buttered toasted wheat free bread. 

Beat two eggs thoroughly after adding half a teaspoonful of water to the mixing bowl. Allow to stand. Slice 75 grams of the cheese into squares, or grate it if you prefer (I chose to grate the cheese in this case). Put a little sunflower oil into an omelette pan, and brush evenly over the surface. Once the pan is hot, beat the eggs again, and pour into the pan. Turn down the heat so the omelette does not burn, and cook for two minutes. Cover the surface of the omelette with the cheese.

Remove the pan from the hob and place under a preheated grill. All grills are different, so this part of the process needs to be watched by eye. The pan should be just a couple of inches under the grill element, with the handle facing outwards. Turn  the pan left after a couple of minutes, and then right after a couple more, keeping the handle away from the element as far as possible. Grill until the surface of the omelette is golden brown. 

Serve with buttered wheat free brown bread, black pepper, and brown pickle (Branston pickle in the picture) or ketchup. 

Omelette with Double Gloucester Cheese and Chives

Cheddar Cheese on Toast

A classic supper time snack, in this case with toasted home made wheat-free bread. 

The recipe for the wheat-free bread is here. About 100 grams of mature cheddar cheese sliced into squares for the topping (you can choose to grate the cheese instead, which gives a more even melt). The bread was made into toast using a standard toaster, then buttered with slightly salted butter. The cheddar topping was laid on top of the toast, and the cheese was sprinkled with Lea & Perrins Worcester sauce, and dusted with black or white pepper. 

The toast was put into a roasting tin and loaded into a grill. Depending on the temperature and how close the toast is to the element, the cheese should be melted in less than ten minutes. It is best to watch the process, to avoid the risk of burning the cheese. Served with tomato ketchup. 

So delicious! Nobody ever won a cookery competition by offering cheese on toast. The Transcendental Kitchen is about glorious food, which sometimes is a dish often taken for granted, and cheese on toast is one of those. 

Cheddar Cheese on Toast

Pork and Beans

Served on Genius wheat free bread, The photograph was taken before Genius had production problems in 2015, I was not convinced they had a proper grip on what those problems were (they blamed the bakery, rather than the production process. Though they did talk to me during that period, when I was trying to find out why the quality of their bread had declined). Now, I would make my own wheat free bread.

Cumberland pork sausage (fried or grilled), baked beans in tomato sauce, with white pepper. Served without butter. Not a wheat free meal, since pork sausages usually contain wheat. I used to live close by a supermarket which supplied wheat free sausages. These outlets appear and disappear.

Tinned pork and beans used to be normal before WWII on both sides of the Atlantic. After the war started, baked beans were available as just that in the UK, and in the end became a favourite.

Pork and Beans

Scrambled Egg with Chorizo

Scrambled Egg with chorizo, served with buttered wheat-free toast.

Two eggs cracked into a pan with milk, stirred, and brought to the boil. The Chorizo Pamplona (thin slices) was cut into strips before the eggs were added to the milk, turned through ninety degrees, and cut again, resulting in small squares. The squares were added to the milk and eggs and stirred regularly. The dish is ready after about five to six minutes at a moderate heat.

Scrambled Egg with Chorizo

Scrambled Egg, with Danish Blue Cheese

Scrambled egg made in the traditional way, with the addition of some pared Danish blue cheese at the start. Served with wheat-free buttered toast and black pepper to taste. Several cheeses work well with scrambled egg, including Cheddar, Haloumi, and Stilton. Yoghurt can be used instead of milk. 

Scrambled Egg, with Danish Blue Cheese

Pork and Leek Soup (sans Lentils)

 Pork and Leek soup made without lentils. The chopped leek was stir-fried with cubed courgette, water and pork stock were added, and simmered for about an hour and a half. The vegetables were then mashed, and the cubed pork was added, with black pepper and some sage. Cooked for at least an hour, stirring occasionally.

Pork and Leek Soup (sans Lentils)