Natashka / Toasty soldiers

[pne]

The other day, a lady saw her daughter (who was perhaps eight?) to the bus and asked the bus driver to help make sure she got off at a certain bus stop. Then she said good-bye to her daughter, calling her "Natashka".

That's not a form I had heard before; is it one of those only-for-small-children forms, presumably for Nataliya/Natal'ya? (I knew "Natasha" without the -k-.)

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Can someone tell me anything about "toasty soldiers"? I had never heard of them until I was an adult, at which point I saw them mentioned in a children's book we got from the library. From the context, it seemed like something that most British children would be familiar with.

It seems to involve strips of toast dipped in an egg, but that's as far as I've been able to gather.

Is this really something eaten commonly?

What else is involved? Is the toast toasted or "raw"? I presume the egg is soft-boiled, but with the white firm already? Does the toast usually have butter or anything else on it? How many strips do you make? Do you dip it in once and then eat the whole thing? Or bite off the eggy bit and then dip it in again until the strip is gone? Is there a typical "game" associated with eating this dish—say, dipping several strips in at once and lining them up on your plate or something? Why's it called "toasty soldiers"?

Sadly, Wikipedia seems not to have heard of it.

Comments

[ridicully]

I'm pretty sure I learned if from the Pratchett Quote File, but I can't seem to find the reference.

I don't think any special tradition besides calling the stripes of toast 'soldiers' was involved. It's gettig a one line mention at wikipedia here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soldiers_(food)#Soft-boiled_eggs

Boiled egg and soldiers

[kake]

It's just "soldiers", not "toasty soldiers". Wikipedia does have a mention, with this reference. Googling for "boiled egg and soldiers" is fruitful.

The egg is soft-boiled, usually with a firm white, but definitely with a runny yolk. The toast can be buttered or not, as you please; it may also have Marmite, anchovy paste, or even anchovy fillets on top. Five strips is a reasonable number to make from an average slice of toast, but this depends on how well-toasted the bread is and how well-boiled the egg is (if the toast is underdone and the egg is overdone then thicker strips are necessary or they'll be too floppy to get the yolk out with). You can dip it in once and then eat the whole thing, or you can double-dip; this partly depends on how many pieces of toast you have and how many eggs. I don't know of any typical games. My best guess as to why the toast pieces are called "soldiers" is the connection between tall soldiers lining up in ranks and long pieces of toast lining up on your plate.

Baked eggs with soldiers is a nice variation (break an egg into a ramekin, pour over a bit of cream, dot on a bit of butter, season with pepper, bake in the oven until just set).