Breakfast obsession
Start my day on an empty stomach? Unthinkable!
I’m obsessed with breakfast. It’s definitely not a meal I like to skip. In fact, I’m not likely to skip any meals. Believe me, I tried intermittent fasting, but having to go without breakfast is absolute torture, if you ask me. Is it because food is constantly on my mind?
Well, yes. I do admit to daydreaming about dinner while having my coffee in the morning, and I often fall asleep with a cookbook or food magazine on my nose. By the way, the latest magazine I’m leafing through is an old copy of Bon Appétit I found at a thrift shop last weekend. A Thanksgiving issue from 1988, and it’s absolutely beautiful with its weathered, yellow-tinged pages and old ads (can you believe there were cigarette ads back then, by the way?).
But I digress. I am so food obsessed that I sometimes wake up in the middle of the night thinking about a new recipe.
My obsession with breakfast, however, also has a lot to do with my sanity. I can’t quite understand how some brave people can get by on an empty stomach if they’re having a particularly busy day. For me, that would mean a lack of productivity and a foul mood. How could I possibly work if the only thing on my mind is food!
Starting every day with a proper breakfast is essential to my well-being and truly a joy. On weekdays, I usually opt for healthy choices like smoothies with blueberries, soy milk, banana, flaxseed, and amla powder. (Have you heard of amla powder, by the way? It’s a mighty fine antioxidant!) Sometimes I’ll have oatmeal with raisins and Ceylon cinnamon, or I’ll make overnight oats. Soy yogurt with fruit and a little honey or jam, rye crackers with almond paste and sliced banana, a fresh fruit salad, or something from my freezer (like healthy homemade muffins) are also great options.
When my daughter comes to visit, I love making waffles or pancakes (to spoil her and, obviously, myself). Perhaps I’ll bake a loaf of bread to eat with butter and jam. On weekends, I might make a tofu scramble with tomatoes, greens, and toast.
But to me, the ultimate delight is to have a French breakfast. A buttery croissant, pain au chocolat (chocolatine, to me!), pain aux raisins, slice of brioche (see recipe below), or piece of slightly stale toasted baguette slathered with good salted butter and strawberry or blueberry jam.
The thing about these breakfasts is that they’re dangerous. Or should I say, shopping for these breakfasts is dangerous? You see, I can’t simply walk into a boulangerie, order two croissants or a single baguette, and walk out happy.
Temptation always gets the best of me, and I inevitably end up leaving with enough bread and pastries to feed a small army. Today, for example, I went there to get two croissants (immediately devoured, hence not in the picture) and threw in three crusty baguettes, two chouquettes (they were huge!!), and two chaussons aux pommes (ps: I have a recipe for those here). I had to restrain myself.
What I eat for breakfast can change, but what’s nonnegotiable is drinking my coffee from a bowl.
I collect them and won’t leave a vide-grenier without a few.
Sometimes I make my coffee in a French press, but more often than not, I’ll use it to foam my soy milk instead. Have you tried this?
Though on Saturdays I’m up early to make it on time to the market, Sundays are slower, more relaxed. I’ll lounge in my fluffy robe, drink coffee, listen to France Bleu Périgord (my favorite station), and slowly prepare a more luxurious breakfast or brunch. And if I’m really in the mood to spoil myself (and my husband), I’ll pop open a small bottle of Champagne. He never seems to mind. In case you want to spoil yourself too this weekend, here is my recipe for a golden, perfectly buttery brioche.
Golden brioche
Brioche is a rich, buttery bread sometimes served for weekend breakfasts or during Easter. Some children love it with Nutella as an afternoon snack (le goûter), but I prefer a good dollop of apricot jam.
Although this recipe does involve patience and some effort (as most breads do) the results will certainly be worth it. Once you taste the velvety bread and smell its sweet aroma, you will understand what I mean. This is pure brioche perfection, and I am not just making false claims here.
Brioche is best eaten on the day you make it, though leftover bread makes excellent French toast (pain perdu).
