This holiday season had me rediscovering the miracle that is toast.  Little did I know that the wonder that is a morning breakfast food has suffered because of advances in technology.  I have a toaster that you pop in whatever it is you wish to toast, you walk away and do whatever it is you need to do, and the toast pops up done to perfection… but is it?  My modern toaster always toasts one side more than the other and the toast comes out closer to melba toast or rusk than bread something that I hadn’t noticed until we started using the antique toaster we gave to my son for Christmas.  We were so very excited that we had found an old toaster that not only looked good but still worked.  How often do you come across a working toaster from the 1940’s?  My eldest son had a fascination with old toasters for years, one that he had obviously forgotten when he looked at us in confusion when he opened his Christmas gift.  Nevertheless, the rest of us (and him too) have been enjoying his Christmas gift.  You plug it in and it is on.  The sides flip open and you place the bread on them and flip them back up, about 30 seconds later you flip the sides back down again, turn your bread over and close the toaster back up again and toast the other side, for about 30 seconds again then unplug the toaster.  You now have a little piece of culinary perfection.  Crispy and golden on the outside, steamy, hot and moist on the inside, just waiting for your favourite topping.  This moment of taste bud happiness only can happen with focus and care.  Unlike my more modern toaster, if left unattended it will probably cause a fire, giving incentive to take the time and the focus to do it right.