We don’t normally have bread in the house, but when we do, I like to revel in it. Thin baggies with mushy, pre-sliced loaves that smell like plastic and feel a bit too light & fluffy to be “real” bread are not my thing (ie almost every big brand you see in grocery stores), not to mention that I have only seen ONE main brand on the shelves that doesn’t have high fructose corn syrup added to it! ONE! In a loaf of bread! Sigh.

Luckily, we have friends who know food. And, I’ve found my perfect locally made bread at the Farmer’s Market that I’ve mentioned before - True Nature’s Child. Lately I’ll buy their Teff Loaf, which has an amazing deep color to it due to some blue corn flour, and is hearty but light at the same time. My fave. This week, we have some tasty Caraway Rye bread from a friend that is crusty and bursting with that spicy caraway seed flavor. Let’s make a tartine for brunch.

Simple Tartine:

4 slices good crafted real bread (whole grain rye, baguette, sourdough, teff, etc)

1 semi-sweet apple, cut into very thin slices about 2 mm thick

several slices havarti cheese (or grated cheese of your preference -white cheddar, jack, muenster, etc)

freshly cracked black pepper

European-style butter

Turn the oven to broil. Butter your bread slices and place under broiler for a few minutes until edges begin to toast brown. Remove from oven and top each slice with several slices of apple in a neat row, overlapping slightly, and top with layer of cheese and a few grinds of pepper. Broil again for about 2-3 minutes more until cheese is bubbly and browning on the top. Serve immediately!

*You can make a tartine (just an open-faced sandwich, really) with all sorts of things - throw some bacon on, or top with an over-easy egg. Add some spinach under the apple before you broil the second time, or throw some herbs on top for a fresh addition. Simply top with good butter and honey and some sea salt for a decadent dessert or weekend treat. Whatever you do, don’t make a tartine with poor-quality bread! It will be horrible and totally defeats the purpose of making such a recipe that highlights the simple beauty of handmade bread. I urge my patients to never deny themselves anything 100%… whether you are trying to lose weight or just eat healthier. Bread falls into this category for me. We don’t eat it often, but when we do…. it’s gotta be worth it.