I'm starting to eat bread lately. I used to hate the sweet aroma and taste of a fluffy white bread. Actually, until now I still don't like it. But if you give me an artisan bread, breads that are made traditionally on the same day without the use of chemicals and preservatives, and the outside is crusty and the inside is chewy, then I would it eat.
The closest one to our place is inside the Banilad Town Center where there's an Italian bread stall that sells a selection of breads and pastries. It may not be the best but my palette is already satisfied with their ciabatta and olive bread. Even J likes it. We have yet to try the breads in another bread shop but so far we haven't passed by.
I really miss L'Artizan Boulangerie when I was still in Manila. The bread has so much flavor in it. It may be expensive but it's well worth your money. When I visited Manila last year, there are more bread shops that has opened and it's hard to choose which one to try first. I would like to make breads again when good ingredients are available, but for now I'll leave that to the experts.
When you have a good tasting bread with a good texture, the least you can do is to keep it simple. The first time we bought it, the only thing I did is to toast the bread, slice it in half, smear it with butter, and sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper. J asked for seconds.
Yesterday morning, I have tomatoes that are still green and green tomatoes with salt and pepper actually tastes good. I toasted the bread with a bit of extra virgin olive oil and placed the sliced tomatoes on top and season it with salt and pepper and it was wonderful. I think the baby is also happy.
Sometimes, the best things in life are just to keep things simple.