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“All happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast….”

Posted in Food, other sides to this life, Recipes, tagged on March 28, 2014| 15 Comments »

Question for Robin & Meredith: What do you guys have for breakfast? The cookbooks don’t mention anything and I’m curious. ~Maire Martello (on Facebook)

Good excuse to re-post this:

“To eat well in England you should have breakfast three times a day.” ~W. Somerset Maugham

“All happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast.” ~John Gunther

“Oysters are the usual opening to a winter breakfast. Indeed, they are almost indispensable.”
~Grimod de la Reyniere (1758-1838)

“Life, within doors, has few pleasanter prospects than a neatly arranged and well-provisioned breakfast table.” ~Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864)

“Only dull people are brilliant at breakfast.” ~Oscar Wilde

“Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” I’m sure my mother said that a few times!

Breakfast before I set off on my walk this morning was the same as every morning (and no sign of an oyster)!

IMG_6671

large organic oat flakes mixed with

freshly cracked walnuts–watch out for rogue pieces of shell that crack your teeth.

a dried untreated apricot–chopped

a teaspoon of linseeds

a prune,

half a pot of low fat organic yogurt

cinnamon–sprinkled on top

and moistened with oat/almond milk–unsweetened.

Two slices of 100% rye bread with a little butter and pear & apple fruit spread (no added sugar)

The same every morning? Yes!

Dull?

Not for me–I look forward to it–once a day at least!

Maybe we are at our most conservative, most in need of ritual just after waking up, but I find the assembling and eating of this bowl of goodies a daily delight.

Meredith’s version of breakfast heaven:

Porridge (cooked oats–large and small flakes), milk, “no fat” organic yogurt, a prune, seasonal fruit, cinnamon sprinkled over.

 

 

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Prunes

Posted in Food, other sides to this life, Recipes, tagged , , , , , on July 1, 2012| 17 Comments »

Pile of uncooked prunes

I like my daily prune.

I took a jar of cooked prunes to Corfu.

Seems eccentric–my mother must have had a hand in establishing the habit.

“Keeps you regular, Robin!”

There’s a funny side to prunes–mention of them can make people smile.

(Anything to do with body functions tends to bring a smile to English faces.)

The word itself has a comic sound– PROONE and it’s wrinkled appearance is not beautiful.

BUT they are delicious when soaked first and then gently stewed and allowed to cool.

The prunes here are from Agen–a couple of hours to the north west of us and they are extra as the French say of something special.

Some people eat them dried.

I prefer them after they’ve been through the Method–soft and melting in the mouth–as an essential part of breakfast.

The Method (for a pound of prunes):

  • Empty the prunes into a saucepan.
  • Cover them with boiling water.
  • Let them stand for a half hour.
  • Gently bring them up to the boil.
  • Cover them and let them simmer for another half hour–covered.
  • Leave them to cool then store them in the fridge.

Here’s one in Meredith’s breakfast bowl–heaven she says!

“There’s no more faith in thee than in a stewed prune….”–                                                                                                          ~Jack Falstaff to Mistress Quickly in Shakespeare’s Henry the Fourth Part One.

I couldn’t possibly comment on that–but I have enough faith in prunes to take a jar of them to Corfu.

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“All happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast.”

Posted in Food, other sides to this life, Recipes, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 5, 2012| 18 Comments »

“To eat well in England you should have breakfast three times a day.”
W. Somerset Maugham

“All happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast.”
John Gunther

“Oysters are the usual opening to a winter breakfast. Indeed, they are almost indispensable.”
Grimod de la Reyniere (1758-1838)

“Life, within doors, has few pleasanter prospects than a neatly arranged and well-provisioned breakfast table.”
Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864)

“Only dull people are brilliant at breakfast.”
Oscar Wilde

“Breakfast is the most important meal of the day”

I’m sure my mother said that a few times!

Breakfast before I set off on my walk this morning was the same as every morning and no sign of an oyster!

large organic oat flakes mixed with

freshly cracked walnuts,

a dried untreated apricot–chopped up

a teaspoon of linseeds

a prune,

half a pot of no fat organic yogurt with

cinnamon sprinkled on top

and moistened with oat milk.

Two slices of 100% rye bread with a little butter and pear & apple fruit spread (no added sugar)

The same every morning? Yes!

Dull?

Not for me–I look forward to it–once a day at least!

Maybe we are at our most conservative, most in need of ritual just after waking up, but I find the assembling and eating of this bowl of goodies a daily delight.

Meredith’s breakfast tray rested on a pillow in front of her (see below a summer version).

The fire in the kitchen was established, the dishwasher emptied and lunch planned so why not add to this the pattern of virtuousness with another good deed–a healthful walk!

The first flakes of snow were falling gently and laying, so taking my chance I set out–fortified by this habitual breakfast.
The blacktop was slowly turning white as I walked down the road and the snowy mist descended.
Yesterday’s north wind that had roughed up my cheeks had ceased and it was warmer by several degrees.
There’s was no-one about–just the distant pop of a hunter’s gun somewhere over the fields.
Climbing the slope towards the house forty minutes later I could tell that no car had passed since I’d left and looking back I saw my footprints had clearly made their mark in the deepening white.

All was quiet as I entered the house–a ” leisurely” post breakfast calm had descended.

Meredith’s version of breakfast heaven! Porridge (cooked oats–large and small flakes), milk, “no fat” organic yogurt, a prune, seasonal fruit, cinnamon sprinkled over.

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