Do You Also Live For Breakfasts?
depending on the season (and location)–
my mornings have always found their own unique pattern. A routine that will be made and set in stone until the next move, a cold spell hits, or when the sun starts to stretch out earlier and earlier in the day.
These mornings have been sacred – a much-needed lifeline in all situations, whether I was working full-time which necessitated a morning coffee and walk around the cliffs in St Agnes; on much lower days when that morning swim was an anchor to hold onto; or the weekly porridge date with my best friend Becca which was always preceded by chopping wood, percolating coffee and setting up the shed.
Now, morning rituals that used to suffice in London have been painted over by boredom, exhaustion and a total lack of motivation to do any form of exercise. Once, when the sun shone on my face, my freckles were emergent and there was a hint of hope for heatwave days hanging heavy in the air, you might have found me doing a HIIT workout in the park, bouncing around my neighbourhood in the morning, finding a spot of grass by the rose garden, journaling everything out and then returning for scrambled eggs and buttery sourdough.
Instead these days you might find me asleep under my duvet wearing nothing but a pair of tube socks, hair in disarray, no plans to shower before work (let alone leave the flat), and the curtains opened just enough to see the impending thunder clouds stride towards Hackney. Shed a tier four if you feel the same.
So what I’ve discovered in 2020 is that those morning rituals that I have always held onto so tightly in the past – the ones which bleed with nostalgia and transport me back to warmer climes – aren’t always so useful, or even possible, when your life is being lived in between the margins. Within the blurry space of work and home; business and pleasure. The motivation I’d always had for those rituals was to set up a day of possibility – get up, have a coffee, move, swim, relish the hours when the world is asleep. It doesn’t mean as much when the world is sleepwalking 24 hours a day, fettered by governmental restrictions, confused by blurred boundaries and darkened by short days and stormy nights.
But that doesn’t mean we can’t try. Routine and rituals aside, mornings can still be made infinitely better by a few additions. A great playlist (Sylvan Esso’s Coffee, Mark Ronson’s Late Night Feelings, a groovy bit of Jill Scott); a really hot shower (candles and music included); and the prospect of a good breakfast (bowls of soft scramble studded with chives and black pepper; stretchy sourdough drenched in butter; crispy potato rostis topped with smoked salmon, lemony labneh and tart capers).
So despite 2020 trying to ruin my morning rituals, I’m still finding a way to eat epic breakfasts (even if it’s just a chocolate croissant from Tesco – v underrated and v delicious IMHO).
Here’s to making it through the year and to breakfasts that change your perspective,
Cat x
i live for breakfasts.
It used to be as regimented as eggs and toast. Now, I find myself eating things for breakfast you might not usually think to make. But there’s a few elements I always include: eggs, greens, grains, seasoning.
Aside from the usual slow scramble (two eggs lightly whisked in a bowl then added to a non-stick pan on medium heat with lots of melted butter, gently coaxed from edge to edge and then slowly stirred until the consistency looks like something you’d want to dip a whole slice of buttery sourdough into – and then do that), I tend to eat big bowls which include all of the above elements.
Things I like to have in my fridge so I can whip up something special:
Brothy beans, daal or a jar of Navarrico chickpeas
Sprouts (as in alfalfa/lentil/mung bean sprouts)
Cabbage (red or Savoy)
Leftover rice
Grains like quinoa and bulgar wheat
Eggs (Cacklebeans, always)
Greens (like kale, cavalo nero, spring greens)
Mushrooms
Potatoes
Seasonal breakfast hash
Chop up a handful of baby potatoes into quarters, and slice one leek and a couple of portobello mushrooms. Mince a couple of garlic cloves then add it to a wide, shallow pan shimmering with 2-3 tbsp of oil on medium heat with a sprinkling of chilli flakes, two big twists of pepper, one pinch of salt and a scattering of fresh thyme leaves. Add the potatoes first and pop a lid on. Meanwhile heat some chilli oil in another pan, adding some fresh sage leaves and then frying a couple of eggs on top. Check on the pots then add the mushrooms and leeks, adding a splash of water if it’s looking a bit dry. Once the egg whites are firm, the yolks are runny and your kitchen smells like a dream, serve everything up on a big old plate, pour yourself a large glass of OJ (maybe spiked with champagne for that high-low vibe?) and eat while watching the ultimate Christmas movie: The Family Stone.
A riff on Nica Tipico
You’ve probably got some brothy beans leftover in your fridge, right? And some rice from last night’s stir fry. Heat up the beans and add a pinch of chilli flakes/paprika or if you have it some ancho chilli paste, or even mole poblano paste (I get mine from Cool Chile and it lasts forever). Once it starts bubbling, bring the heat down and add the rice. Put a lid on it. Whisk up a couple of eggs, season well, add some chopped spring onions and then pour into a shallow non-stick pan filled with a knob of butter (medium heat) then gently coax the edges from one side to another. You’re not looking to furiously stir, more edge and fold. Chop a tomato and ½ red onion and a handful of coriander, add to a small bowl and mix with the juice of ½ a lime and a dash of olive oil. Season to your heart’s content. Serve it all up with sliced avocado. Eat with strong, hot coffee, listen to this playlist and pretend you’ve just come in from a surf in San Juan Del Sur. I wish.
Californian style grain bowl
For when I’m feeling healthy (on those rare times I wake up early enough to do some sort of floor-based workout), I cook up a cup of grains (quinoa, bulgar, a mix) in a mix of water and stock (enough to cover the grains plus one centimetre) in a small pan. Maybe I’ll add in some chopped kale or cavalo nero. In a separate pan, I boil 6-minute eggs in salted water, adding some tenderstem broccoli a couple of minutes before the eggs are done. I’ve probably got some red cabbage in the fridge so I’ll slice that up, cook it up in 1-2 tsp soy sauce, 1 tsp ACV and a drizzle of oil, and once the broccoli is just cooked I’ll take it out of the water and add it to the cabbage pan before sprinkling sesame seeds all over. I’ll plunge the eggs in cold water to stop them cooking then peel off the shells. I’ll serve everything up in a wide shallow pasta bowl with sliced avocado, a handful of sprouts, 1-2 mackerel fillets broken up and the eggs cut in half so the yolks dress the grains, greens and cabbage. Sriracha optional, but always encouraged. And if you have it, I like to sprinkle a generous amount of nutritional yeast and crispy fried onions.
food stories.
– I've been re-reading this New Yorker piece on hosting Thanksgiving in France, thinking about translating a Sarsfield family Christmas into Tier 4 London vibes.
– Shout out to BA's former social media editor for introducing me to The Korean Vegan, who narrates beautiful, soothing stories of life and love onto her cooking videos.
– Will certainly be making Alison Roman's viral carbonara and watching Heartburn tonight.
leftovers.
This is the last Since No One Asked newsletter of 2020. Thank you for reading the ramblings of a home cook whom no one asked to curate a bi-monthly newsletter full of food stories, heartbreak and recipes with very few measurements. I've got some exciting plans for SNOA in 2021, so keep your eyes peeled, and tell your friends if you like?
Sending love, luck and the energy of Connell's chain to you in 2021. See you on the other side. In the meantime...
– Really craving this bowl of creamy chicken and dumplings via Munchies
– Ottolenghi's sticky rice will be made (but probably won't look as good as his)
– Particularly obsessed with Carla Lalli Music's cooking videos.
– On BA editors, Alex Delaney has been serving up the content we all need, including this squash risotto.
– My OG food crush, Nigel Slater, serving up this smoked salmon hash, another EXCELLENT breakfast alternative.
– David Chang's son's reaction to not being able to eat something because it's too hot really sums up my feelings about 2020.
And let's all appreciate this snap of Joan Didion cooking in her Californian home. Will be attempting to channel Didion/Babitz vibes to finish off the year.
and if you like what I'm putting down?
Tell your friends! Tell your family! Tell your lovers!