What’s on My breakfast plate?

 

“Breakfast is everything, the beginning, the first thing, the mouthful that is the commitment to a new day.”

A.A. Gill.

 

Breakfast is the first meal of the day. When you eat breakfast, you break a fast. Your last meal was the previous night. Some prefer a light breakfast while others prefer going by the age-old adage “breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper”.

What would you find on my breakfast plate? 

I must have breakfast or my day is just not done.

 

·       Idli or dosa – Idli is quite a favourite of mine. Scrumptious idlis dunked in a hot steaming bowl of sambhar, or liberally smeared with podi and ghee is what appeals to my palate. A wet chutney goes equally well.Some days see me devouring crispy dosas with some lip –smacking chutney.

 

·       Overnight oats – That’s my sweet start to the day. Steel cut oats, soaked overnight and then blended with a banana together with a pinch of cinnamon powder and  jaggery. Throw in a handful of nuts and a fistful of chia seeds into the blended mix and voila… you’re done.

 

·       Poha – Blame it on my sweet tooth. This popular Maharashtrian breakfast dish, made of beaten rice and a host of other condiments and spices, like onion, curry leaves, mustard seeds,chillies, peanuts and occasionally potato (depends on personal preference)  I do tweak with a topping of jaggery, a sprinkling of grated coconut and a dash of lime juice.

 

·       Ragi (Finger millet) – Ragi porridge is close to my heart. Two to four tablespoons of Finger millet flour is sautéed in a dash of ghee, then combined with double the quantity of  water and cooked to a porridge consistency. I often top it with a tablespoon or two of roasted sesame seeds. Alternately, I combine the ragi flour with sattu in the ratio of 2:1.

 

·       Bread and eggs – I savour slices of toasted bread lathered with yummy hummus or blended avocado which I season with salt, pepper and sour lime juice accompanied by a fried or boiled egg.

 

Breakfast would be incomplete without that mandatory cup of steaming, aromatic coffee. What’s on your breakfast plate? Do tell.

 

 

This  post is part of the Blogchatterbloghop weekly challenge.

Image credit : Pixabay. 

 

 

 

 

 

Food As A Language of Love

 

Food goes beyond being a means of sustenance. It brings people together. It fosters bonds of love, care and kindness. “The way to man’s heart is through his stomach, said somebody and thus wrote my Father to my mother, “Your every dish is a poem," in a recipe book that he gifted to her.

How does food create a language of love?

§  Cooking Together – Preparing a meal with someone, whether it is parents cooking together or parents and children or siblings or friends or newlyweds - Amidst the cleaning chopping and stirring, a rapport is built and bonds are strengthened.

§  Sharing meals – Family meals spread positive vibes and bring the family closer. Leaving behind or even sharing the rants of the day, family come together to share and bond over food. It is also an opportunity to thank the one who prepared the meal which is often the mom.

§  Cultural connection – Food celebrates cultural diversity. The lunch hour in workplaces resembles a restaurant with different cuisines to relish. I fondly recall the school lunch hour where we ate from each other’s lunch boxes meals so lovingly prepared by our mothers. Devilled eggs, Jhaal Muri and endless cups of tea were among the food items over which we created and strengthened our bonds of friendship in the college. 

§  Occasions – Birthdays anniversaries, and milestones all call for celebration and what is a celebration without food? Food may be an integral part of a memorial service celebrating the departed's life. As a birthday remembrance, a lunch was organised to celebrate the life and times of my recently departed mother–in–law who incidentally, cooked some awesome food.

§  Comfort food – Comfort food may not always be healthy but it is connected to love and warmth that you may be in dire need at some point in your life. 

Food is therefore a fantastic language that speaks of love in so many different ways.  

 

Image Credit - Freepik images

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