So for this (four day!!) weekend I've been doing a lot of breakfast planning and even though it wasn't Saturday, it being the first day of the weekend, it had to be eggs. Unfortunately I was also so excited we wolfed it before I remembered to take a photo. So, I've found this one on Google to give you the idea (just in case you didn't know what fried eggs looked like). I have to admit that mine was not as pretty as this, but screw it, because it had bacon on it too, I win ;-)
By the time Saturday came I was looking to branch out so we had Bircher. This is a wet muesli created by Dr Bircher-Benner in Zurich in the 1890's. He was a Swiss physician and pioneered some aspects of our modern attitudes to healthy eating, recommending a balanced diet of nuts, raw fruit and vegetables to his patients. These attitudes were contrary to the common thinking of the time of eating lots of white bread and meat.
Anyway despite this, it's lovely and especially this Ottolenghi recipe that I found last year.
Bircher
Serves 4-6
200g rolled oats
200ml cold milk (full fat, low fat, soy or rice milk are all fine)
80ml apple juice
150g yoghurt (low fat or normal)
1 large granny smith apple, cored and roughly grated
70g agave nectar
60g raisins
½ tsp vanilla extract
Juice of 1 lime
60g walnuts, lightly toasted and roughly chopped (I used pecan nuts because that's what I had)
Your choice of fresh, poached or roasted seasonal fruit – plums, peaches, apples, pears, rhubarb – and/or fresh berries (optional). I used some sliced pears which I caramelised under the grill with some butter, brown sugar and mixed spice)
Put the oats in a large mixing bowl and add the milk and apple juice. Stir and leave aside for 10 minutes to soften. You can leave them to soak overnight in the fridge, which will soften them up a bit more, but it's not necessary.
When ready to serve, add the yoghurt, grated apple, agave nectar, raisins, vanilla and lime juice.
Stir and transfer to serving bowls. Top with nuts and fruit if you like.
Day three and this might have to be the last breakfast extravaganza for the weekend as I've promised 'him in doors' that we can actually leave the house tomorrow and go and do something. However, we finished on a high and this morning has blueberry pancakes with bacon and maple syrup. The breakfast of champions and concluding what I've just realised is an unwitting American themed couple of days.
I love this breakfast. We tend to have it on special occasions because of the amount of syrup and butter that are 'required' :-)... It's the ultimate of salty and sweet. With soft pancakes, bursting with fruit, the bacon as crispy as possible and several pots of coffee. Happy me.
American Style Blueberry Pancakes
Should probably serve three but we always manage to get through this between two.
200g self raising flour
1tsp baking powder
1egg
300ml milk
a knob of butter
large handful of blueberries
maple syrup
Mix together the flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Beat the egg with the milk, make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and whisk in the milk to make a thick smooth batter. Beat in the melted butter, and gently stir in the blueberries.
Brush a frying pan with vegetable oil. Drop a large tablespoonful of the batter per pancake into the pan to make pancakes about 7-10cm across. Cook over a medium heat until lightly browned on the bottom and bubbles have started to burst on the surface of the pancake and at least the edges of the pancake have started looking dry (about 3 minutes). Then turn and cook another 2-3 minutes until golden. Pop in the oven on a plate covered with foil while you use up the rest of the batter. Place the plate in a warm oven. Serve with maple syrup, butter, bacon and loads of fresh coffee.
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