of bread and breakfast.

there's nothing i can tell you about breakfast that an animated, all-singing, all-dancing, jaundiced loogy can't tell you better:





as mr. loogy says, you may not have the time for a well-balanced meal in the morning, but a little something is better than nothing. lately i've been craving breads and starches (i blame breadbar), so although these aren't the healthiest breakfasts, they are substantial, relatively economical in time and money to prepare, and oh-so-very tasty.



fat tuesday meant pancakes, so i had to have them. my favourite ones are more like the crepe variety than the flapjack/hotcake one; these were delia smith's basic pancakes with lemon and sugar. i substituted powdered sugar for the caster sugar as a topping, but otherwise a straightforward, simple recreation. the light sugar and fresh lemon liven up the tender 'cakes, which don't sit heavy in your tummy all day.



although this granola breakfast bread (eighth recipe/message) from marion cunningham's "the breakfast book" is a yeast bread, it surprisingly quick to prepare (although i did bake it the night before). the bread is like muesli in a loaf, made with whole wheat flour, corn meal, and granola. although the granola mostly blends into the dough, the nutty and fruity bits add texture and flavour, alongside the corn meal and whole wheat flour. (note: i did substitute graham flour for the whole wheat flour as that was all i hand on hand)



marion cunningham wrote that she had a slice of this toasted almost every day for breakfast, and i can see why. the crust is crunchy and crispy when made into toast; the innards are soft crumbed--almost like a muffin--cereal-scented, and eager to soak in lashings of butter and jam. i will definitely make these again, if only so i can fulfill a crazy desire to bake 52 loaves of bread this year, following mary jane's example...hopefully....



i don't keep the best stocked fridge (unless you count bath and beauty products), so sometimes creating a meal can be challenging. i had a few odds and ends of various cheeses, including some leftover queso de bola from the holidays, edam, gouda, cheddar and fontina; i took a page out of market manila and grated them all down, added a tiny bit of minced garlic, freshly ground pepper, diced pimientos, and a smidge of mayo to create a zesty cheese pimiento spread. a dollop of this was spread on rye crispbread and run under the broiler until browned and bubbly. sharp yet creamy, spicy yet mellow. crispy, tart apple wedges were the perfect foil for this.



another meal that was borne from economy (and actually, "nancy silverton's sandwich book") has turned out to be a favourite--paper thin slices of white mushrooms arranged carefully on top of thin slices of sourdough wheat bread, drizzled with olive oil, and grilled in a panini press. sprinkled with sea salt and freshly ground pepper, this very simple open-faced sandwich is light in texture, but heavy in fungal flavour (snort). but you know, in a good way.



easy peasy, and a nice way to start your day. also, a good way to keep the creepy timer (yes, that's the "real" name of mr. loogy) from coming back to chide you o'er your food habits (although he has some other, helpful suggestions of which you might want to take note).