Toasted White Bread

I woke up with a nagging sinus headache on a stormy, rainy day [very unlike the usual misty rain we have here all year round], a couple of weeks ago, and all I could think of as I opened my eyes was toasted white bread… dripping condensed milk!!

Okay. Before you throw up your hands in horror and get all judgmental, let me explain the root of this weird craving.

Now, in the sixties and the seventies, we grew up on traditional south Indian cuisine that definitely did not include bread. So bread (and there was only white bread) was a treat when one was sick. And sometimes, on rare [for BC], stormy days like this one, when I’m headachy and unwell, and have a day off from work, I curl up in my armchair and watch the pelting, rain and wind, and allow my mind to travel back over the years to the sounds of the heavy tempestuous rain during the humid months of July & August, in Bangalore. The monsoon season was always quickly followed by the retreating monsoons – so it was a good three to four months of stormy, rainy days. Of course, we were too cool for umbrellas, and came home totally drenched from school most days, which invariable led to the usual round of coughs and colds, which invariably led to a sinus infection for me. Every year!! 🙁

And today, as I slowly ramble down nostalgia lane, back to those humid monsoon days… there are a kaleidoscope of images, sounds and aromas awaiting. I see the rain bouncing off our neighbour’s balcony to create pretty patterns as it slides down the window panes of my bedroom; I smell the familiar aroma of Vicks that permeates the entire house when anyone is sick; I feel the comforting weight of three – yes, three – soft blankets [I’m always cold]; I hear the soothing voice of my mother as she massages my forehead gently, knowing exactly where it hurts most. And then, before she tucks me into bed, the joy of 2 slices of perfectly toasted white bread – that dripped condensed milk! [I remember clearly it was the only thing I could keep down.] 😉 And as headachy as I was… oh the joy!

So you see friends, sinus headaches, stormy days and white bread, toasted to perfection… dripping condensed milk have to go hand in hand. Right? 🙂