My favourite simple breakfast item is what our family used to call Toad in the Hole. Butter a slice of bread on both sides. Carefully cut a square about 1 + 1/2 inches in centre of bread slice, i.e. making a square hole in the centre of the slice. Keep the cut-out square. You'll need that to mop up the plate when you have finished the egg.

Heat a frying pan on medium heat - not too high - and add about a tablespoon of cooking oil - I use olive oil - or butter. Wait a couple of minutes for the pan to heat up a bit. Get an egg and put it handy because the next bit is about timing, to some extent.

Place the slice and the small square of bread into the pan, and quickly break the egg into the hole in the bread. Let it cook for a few minutes and check if it is done enough on that side by gently lifting a corner of the bread up to see if it is browning slightly. If so, use an egg flip to turn it over, as well as the small square. Wait another minute or so, check the underside, and lift it out when the egg is soft or hard enough to your liking.

If the egg sticks a bit just make sure that next time you put the bread slice in a part of the pan with a good amount of oil or butter, or if you have to, put a little bit more oil/butter in the centre of the hole before breaking the egg in.

I put cranberry sauce on it but any sauce is good.

This goes really well with bacon, or fried tomatoes. I don't like fried eggs as much when they are fried on their own without the bread.

Helen