The Most Important (and usually most rushed through) Meal of the Day

In my house, breakfast's makeup is contingent upon a few things: whether or not the kids have school, what time we have to be out the door, what time Molly gets up (Freddy has some sort of magic internal clock and is constantly within 5 minutes every morning), and how much sleep Mama and Daddy got the night before.  Usually we have cold cereal or scrambled eggs.  Sometimes hot cereal, pancakes or soft boiled eggs ("melty eggs") make it to the table, too.

On a few occasions lately, I've been well rested, not pressed for time, and a little inspired.

One day we had Trader Joe's multigrain pancakes with blueberry sauce.  I served it with blue cheese- and prosciutto-wrapped asparagus.

I sliced the prosciutto into long pieces, sprinkled crumbled blue cheese on them and rolled up the steamed (ok, microwaved with a little water for 90 seconds) asparagus inside them.  I had made these asparagus snacks as a late night treat the night before, and wanted them again in the morning. I figured I put asparagus and goat cheese in my omelet/frittata the morning with leftover salmon when I have it, so why not as a side to pancakes, right?  It also gets a whole serving of vegetables under my belt for the day before I even leave the house!

I made the pancakes according to the package (this batch came out really fluffy and thick, which is why there is only one on the plate in the picture - they're filling!).  I made the blueberry sauce by putting two cups of frozen blueberries (TJ's again!), 1/2 cup of water, 1/8 cup sugar and a mixture of 1 TBS cornstarch and 1TBS water in a sauce pan on medium heat.  As the pancakes cooked, I stirred it occasionally until it thickened.

On another day, we had oatmeal.  We had inspired, chunky, flavorful oatmeal.  I used Trader Joe's Oven Toasted Old Fashioned Oats. (We also like the Multi-Grain Hot Cereal as a rule, and I'm sure it would have made a great compliment to these add ons.)  I made half of the "6 servings" amount on the package.  I added about 1/4 tsp of cinnamon, 1/8 - 1/4 cup of dried cranberries (actually whatever was left in the package from snacks), and I peeled and cubed a whole pear.  I cooked the cinnamon and cranberries along with the oatmeal in order for the flavors to settle in and the cranberries to plump.  I let my kids add the pears at the end, stirring them in before serving.  They loved this and needed me to take pictures of their bowls, too.

 

I have to add that my husband was inspired this morning.  It was a scrambled eggs kinda day and it was his turn to make breakfast.  While cooking, his eyes lit upon the cherry tomatoes on the counter.  He cut them in half, sautéed them in olive oil and seasoned them with a little salt and pepper.  He served them next to the scrambled eggs and served it all with sliced focaccia from Patisserie Margo in Edina. (They are a favorite local bakery of ours - go at lunch time and get the roast beef and roasted red pepper sandwich on a fresh-baked croissant!)  I'm sorry I have no picture of his breakfast, but the tomatoes were sweet and moist and poppy and delightful!  Much, much better than my usual blop of salsa and plain yogurt on the side of my eggs.  (Again, a vegetable serving before you walk out the door!)  He was proud of his inspiration, and so am I.  Go, Bill!