Love It or Hate It

Since my camera is on hiatus (dead batteries) and I haven't had a whole hell of a lot of time to cook (summer job), today's digression will "focus" on one of my favorite foods ever, which, if you didn't guess from the title, is:

Which is surprising, since I am a born-and-bred American who didn't encounter the stuff until my 20s. Most people react a little differently -- my mom (shall I say mum here?) literally ran to the sink and started gulping large quantities of water, and still makes priceless faces whenever I mention it.

And in fact, there's an urban legend/joke wandering around online about an American businessman who's in England and develops an appreciation for Marmite. After learning that it's nearly impossible to find in the US (which is still kind of true, although it's gotten easier), he has a case shipped home to his wife. He flies back from his trip, gets settled in, and asks his wife if she'd like to join him for a Marmite sandwich. "Honey," she says, "I had to throw it out. It was all black and gooey and smelled terrible. Maybe next time you can get some that hasn't gone bad."

I, however, am addicted. I can't hear about Marmite without being overwhelmed by a craving for Marmite broth (with lots of freshly ground black pepper) or Marmite mashed potatoes, or Marmite on toast (rye bread is best, but onion bagels are good too...) Mmmm. One of the best sandwiches that I ever had -- a pantry-cleanout in my usual fashion -- was a bagel (Asiago I think) with Marmite, avocado, sliced Roma tomato, and radish sprouts. While I can't recommend it to anyone else (even if you like Marmite...because radish sprouts are really bitter, and most people don't like them either) I really want another one. Like, now. So I will leave.