Happy Australia Day to all of our friends from down under!

Particularly our dear friend Graham, who has helped counsel me on many a web development issue as our web site has grown.

We saw Graham last night, who reminded us of his sacred national holiday and suggested we make Vegemite sandwiches to honor the day (and, well, him). Though it’s hard to find in the US, an Australian co-worker handed me a jar of it from his own kitchen some months ago suggesting I use it for a sandwich. “Tomorrow’s the day!” Graham said. “All you do is take bread, butter, a small bit of Vegemite smeared on the other side, and cheddar cheese if you’re feeling it, and bam!”

Additionally, Graham claims, Vegemite is great for a hangover, because it has “the highest source of Vitamin B in a food product.” That would come in handy for E, who would crawl out of bed late this morning because he had too much wine last night. For both reasons, today seemed like the perfect day for a Vegemite sandwich.

I dug out the Vegemite from our cupboard, toasted an English muffin (I know, goes against the whole Aussie theme, but it was as close to white bread as I had on hand this morning), and smeared butter on one side, Vegemite on the other. I omitted the cheese because I wanted the pure Vegemite taste to come through as much as possible, so as to give it a the fairest evaluation of flavor as possible.

When E strolled out of the bedroom—wearing his Sunday uniform, the white terry cloth robe—I handed him half of the sandwich. “Is this what I think it is?” he asked.

“Yup.”

He bit into it.

“Oh god, it’s revolting!”

The rest of the sandwich sat on the plate.

E then made scrambled eggs to help him nurse his hangover.

I took a bite. I felt like I had eaten a salt lick. I then grabbed some of those scrambled eggs and rinsed it down with black coffee.

Maybe I should try it more as a condiment then as a base.

Aussie friends, how do you use Vegemite on a sandwich? Send me your suggestions in the comments below or on our Facebook page!

UPDATE: 12:45 PM.
Graham was appalled at my first effort to make a Vegemite sandwich. “You’ve got yourself an advanced level of Vegemite on there,” he said. I thought I had just a smidge, but Australians ’round the world thought I had way too much. Graham accused me of not following his instructions. “Lots of butter first, then you basically scrape a little Vegemite on with the knife going in one direction, then scrape most of it back off with the knife coming back in the other direction.”

I followed precisely. The results? Much better.

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