56. Bread and Cheese

Good bread, obviously. And the finest cheeses known to humanity. But if you're actually hungry a slice of mother's shame and a triangle of Dairylea is food for the gods.

Herself and the dog are clinically addicted to cheese, so evenings on which we have bread and cheese and salad (and wine) for supper are usually eventful. I have to watch my supper very carefully or risk it disappearing. Last night it was baguette, Manchego, Beurre d'Isigny Camembert and Boursin (oh so cosmopolitano!). Plus pinot noir and a tomato salad. Yumptious. The dog patted my foot with her paw every twenty seconds for half an hour just to remind me that no cheese need go to waste. In fact, it might have been Herself doing that...

Bread and Cheese is the perfect food for travelling, as it is available in all languages at all times of the day and night. When you come in wet and cold from a long winter walk a slab of cheddar on a bit of bread and a mug of steaming sweet tea will stop your teeth chattering in no time. When you've just moved in to a new house, or arrived at a rented place it's good too, because you don't need a plate and your Swiss Army knife will do the job if you want to be fancy and not just use your teeth.

You can dress it up and dress it down but other than a glass of wine you don't need much else to sustain life and restore energy and good spirits. There are fancier suppers, but they are not necessarily better suppers.