dems the breks

who can pick what their favorite meal of the day is? i'd bet that for most people it's a toss up between lunch & dinner. oh, the lovely parade of sandwiches (cold & hot), sushi, soups, or steaming plates of grains and veggies and proteins that marches through our minds when we imagine mid-day or sun-down supping.

while i have a very hard time choosing my favorite (depends on the day, my mood, and what's in the fridge, i guess...), breakfast was never really in the running. brunch, yes, but that's really just breakfast for lunch with some soothing boozy beverages thrown in, right?

but lately, breakfast - real and true breakfast - has just been so pleasing to me. there's something quite grounding about a morning routine because, honestly, waking up is very often a major bummer. whether you are fighting to shrug off the dark cloak of a lingering dream or are bright eyed as the sun, the moment you swing your legs over the edge of the bed and go from horizontal to vertical - it just kind of sucks. if you have a cozy bedfellow who gets to sleep in every day, and the hardwood floor is newly cold under your toes, it can be even worse! but the promise of strong coffee, a bowl of cereal, a nice piece of fruit...these small bites ease my pain each morning before i hustle out of the house, work-bound.

unlike most of my habits, i eat almost the same thing for breakfast every day: first, a glass of homebrewed kombucha (best on an empty stomach), a small bowl of plain organic yogurt w/ kashi cereal or granola, and a piece of toast with jam, peanut butter, or both. a pear, banana, or a little bunch of grapes usually rounds this out alongside a cup of coffee or black tea. i don't always enjoy repetition, but for breakfast i find it absolutely necessary.

my dad was in town this weekend (yay!), and we had him over for a little brunch on sunday morning. instead of going the eggs/tofu scramble-potatoes-toast route, i decided to steer it back toward my usual AM fare - but with a few extra flourishes, because weekend mornings (especially a beautifully clear fall sunday morning, when one of your parents is coming to visit) deserve a little more luxury than the monday-to-friday treatment...

quartered muti-grain and cornbread muffins (thanks whole foods...didn't have time to make my own), cranberry bread toast (not pictured), sliced nectarines, apples and bananas, ginger granola, 4-fruit jam and cream cheese, and of course COFFEE!!!! comprised this lovely breks. filling, hearty and healthy it was an excellent way to start our day together. we sat in the backyard and grazed and chatted, and (despite a stubborn little hangover on my part), all was as it should be. that is the power of breakfast!

love,

emily