It's the Simple Things...

Sometimes I just want to curl up and hole up, escape.  But a few days at the beach is out of the question.Too much going on.  Too little time.  Too many commitments.  Too long a list.  Too full a plate.  Just much too much.

So, when things get a little overwhelming, I just shut down for a morning hour or two and take it easy - at least mentally -- with a tiny little breakfast in bed.  It's probably a colossal waste of time for some, but it works for me.  I regroup, recharge, ready to face the world again. Breakfast in bed (really more of a little nosh)  is a great way to slow down just a bit, to chill out -- a little luxury of time that I squirrel away for myself.


For some, breakfast can be a complicated affair.  Bacon, eggs, kippers, toast, biscuits, marmalade, the local favorite goetta -- these are all the components of the BIG breakfast.  My partner in life loves breakfast.  It's his favorite meal to eat out.  Pancakes, pigs-in-blanket, goetta (there's that strange word again -- a concoction made of pork, beef, and pin head or steel cut oats that is sauteed until crispy on the outside, smooth and creamy on the inside) he loves it all. Sometimes I think all of these lovely things are simply accompaniments for his coffee.  He's a major coffee junkie. He could drink pots and pots all day long if left to his own devices.

I, on the other hand when allowed, prefer a bit lighter eye-opening fare.  Egg whites, tea, an English muffin or fruit, yogurt -- these are more up my alley.

So today, I offer you one of my favorite simple breakfast pleasures: Rye toast with butter (no tub spread will do on vacation), favorite fruit juice, and hot green tea.

There's something about butter oozing throughout the toasted bits of rye bread that so utterly satisfying to me.  The toasted caraway seeds, that tiniest bit of onion flavor peaking through the ever so slightly salty butter.  It has the four tastes.  The butter is salty, the bread is slightly sour, the juice is sweet, and the tea is hot (okay I know it's supposed to be spicy hot not temperature hot) but hot is hot and comforting, especially on those mornings when you don't have to get up right away.  You can sit in bed and munch away, savoring all the lovely simple flavors while you look over the morning paper or read all the new blog posts on your RSS feed.

So next time you want to kick back in a small way, try a very little breakfast in bed.  It's just one of those simple little things that we all tend to forget about and need to become reacquainted with from time to time. And these days any little thing helps.