Grid-free toasted sandwiches

I purchased this little gadget last year - we mainly use it on our barbecue.  It is another manual kitchen gadget :-)

But, being winter, it's not really barbecue-ing weather.  Also, I refuse to use an electric snackwich / toasted sandwich machine.  And why should I - this works better than either of them, and I don't have the grease filled machine to clean out afterwards.

Firstly, cut your bread, cheese and tomato as you would for any toasted sandwich.  But, butter the outside of the bread.

Pop the sandwich in a little silicone pocket - I use a silicone pocket as the toasting gadget is made out of aluminum.  Preferably, I would advise against  using aluminium in food preparation - there is circumstantial evidence that using aluminium aggravates the possibility of developing Alzheimer's in later life.  The heat generated by the cooking utensil apparently leeches aluminium into your food.  My late mother-in-law had Alzheimer's, and that is an ending that I wouldn't wish on anyone.  The same goes for all those cool drinks in aluminium cans - sure, the inner surface is lined, but the outer surface, where you place your lips, isn't!  It just isn't worth the risk.

(I understand that aluminium is essential for the transfer of heat in cooking utensils, and I do, wherever possible, purchase items which have a stainless steel outer / cooking surface.  Where that is not possible, I use, as mentioned, a silicone barrier of some sort.)

Place the pocket on the one side of the toaster, close the other side over, and secure it with the little catch.

Pop the sandwich filled toaster onto your heat source, and turning frequently...

... in about 3 - 4 minutes you have a delicious ooooozy cheese, piping hot tomato, toasted treat!

Cleaning couldn't be easier - simply wash the pocket in soapy water or pop it into your dishwasher.

This could also be used to cook steak, chicken fillets even eggplant Parmesan LOL

But the best thing is the grid power consumption = NIL!

Fellow South Africans who don't know this, or haven't seen it, can find this little gadget at their local Co-Op, Dassiesfontein and even some hardware stores stock it.  Also try a camping store.

For my American followers: following a comment I made on another blog, Jacob Bromwell has been in contact with me, and I suggested to them that perhaps they should add this to their range... if you want it, hassle them :-) (I even sent them a photo or two so that they could "see" what I was talking about). Guess it all depends on whether they want to have a new product item in their range and add something new and completely usable to the selection of off-grid products they offer.  There's nothing like innovation to keep a company at the forefront of their rivals... :-)