A remembrance of things buttery

Today for breakfast I enjoyed a large cuppa tea and milk accompanied by two honest-to-God crumpets. The crumpets were vectors for a simply irresponsible quantity of butter and a much more carefully controlled dose of Marmite.

Marmite, for the uninitiated, is a bread-spread made from the yeasty detritus left over after brewing has been done. If I'm honest, it doesn't taste even so palatable as that description might lead you to expect. It's sort of like salty tar. If you grew up on it though, it's heaven.

Marmite's been easy to come by for years in the U.S., but I had no idea how close I lived to proper crumpets. Trader Joe's crumpets are the real thing. The first bite took me right back to my childhood in London and almost erased the trauma I suffered from biting into my first "English" muffin.

Thank you Trader Joe's.