Things I love cont’d…
When I was a kid, my mother was fond of quoting, “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” She was distinctly against fatty or sugary foods, but cheerfully willing to make our breakfasts to order. My preference was always a sandwich, beef or chicken if we had the fixings, cheese if we didn’t. My brother leaned towards soft-boiled eggs and a banana. Cereal (non-sweetened) and toast were always on offer.
So fast forward a hundred years. OMG but I love going out for breakfast. Smell that cinnamon bun sweetness flavored with the aroma of sizzling bacon enticing me into the very best breakfast restaurants. Thick slices of bacon sidling up to an omelette of farm fresh organic eggs wrapped around cheese, mushrooms and whatever else I fancy that day. Maybe add on a bowl of hot, steel-cut oatmeal sprinkled with brown sugar, raisins, or in-season berries.
I am in heaven.
Then there is the pleasure of a good conversation over a hot cup of coffee. At breakfast, no one has had time to be weighed down by the stresses of the day. Everything is still possible, and the great food warming our tummies makes success seem a sure thing. Laughter, connections, pleasure in the company of the people you care about. What could be better?
I’ve had more than my fair share of slap-it-together-and-eat-it-in-the-car-on-the-way-to-work morning meals. You know, the topping du jour (peanut butter, or jam, or butter) rolled up in bread, or maybe a leftover burrito still cold from the fridge. That’s not breakfast; that’s primitive hunting and gathering – chomp and swallow the basic fuel to get through the morning. Not a culinary, sensory or experiential delight. Life too often requires sacrifice for simple survival.
Breakfast is so much more.
Breakfast is the aroma of good food, the laughter of people, the simple experience of raising necessity to a ritual of life. Salty, sweet, melt in your mouth all wrapped in a cloud of every possible taste.
I so love breakfast.