Breakfast of Blessings

We had waffles for breakfast--a million other families in the world probably did the same this morning.  But ours were magical.  I'm just eccentric enough to create a breakfast like that.


Our waffles included 3/4 cup of flour made from grain I grew in my garden.  I didn't grow it on purpose.  Straw added to garden beds to keep in moisture and keep down weeds had seeds in it.  It grew.  I let it.  As the seed heads matured,  they were collected into a paper bag.



The grain was threshed, winnowed and ground (quite a process for so little wheat by one with so little experience).  It was to be baked into a special bread to bless the family.  I had hinted in my mind at creating something while all the family was home over Christmas.


But this morning the little jar of flour was still waiting in the pantry.  A special, slow-morning breakfast with honey yogurt and pure maple syrup over home-grown-grain waffles was the perfect blending.

They were superb:  crisp, slightly sweet, full-flavored with a hint of crunch from the home-milled flour.  If any other of the Things I get to do today is as good as this beginning, it will be one fine day--and I'm planning right now that all events will equal or surpass this.

Breakfast of Blessings

May your New Year have such rich blessings!

A Morning Mountain

It was truly a mountain.  I hadn't planned it that way.  One thing (8 eggs) led to another (3/4+ cup of milk) and another (a second loaf of bread).  And then suddenly there it was, on the table,  magnificent, mountainous, gorgeous and hot French toast.*

Bear from the Maple Syrup Regiment guarding the Mountain

We added a few simple, basic items:  real butter (your remember what Julia Child says about butter--my sentiments exactly), pure maple syrup poured from a handsome bear glass bottle and a slight snowing of powdered sugar.  Soon it was very quiet at the breakfast table, save the occasional clink of forks and knives working industriously on the distributed mountain parts.

Butter.  Remember:  lots of butter

After a relatively short time, what seemed like a mistake in quantity, turned out to be a very good idea:  plenty for everyone plus seconds if they liked as well as a generous serving for the freezer for an unexpected treat of few mornings down the road on a day that could use the kick-start of grateful taste buds and a warmly filled tummy.





One of the best Things I got to do today was help that mountain of French toast become just a very-slightly-rising hill on the plate.

*Recipe for a French Toast Mountain:
5 generous servings with no left overs (there were only four of us)
8 eggs
3/4 cup milk
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 Tablespoons Grand Marnier
6 drops orange oil flavoring
2 loaves of Challah Bread sliced
Let each side of the bread soak up the egg liquid for 10 or 15 seconds.  Fry on a griddle until browned.

Small batch
1 egg
2 Tablespoons milk
Dash of salt
1 teaspoon Grand Marniet
1 tiny drop of orange oil flavoring
Bread slices