Later On

My ever-evolving standard breakfast. Full account:

At some point in the evening, I set up the morning’s breakfast:

For tea: 1-pint mug with a teabag in it

For cereal: 1-pint saucepan into which I put 1.5 Tbsp of each of the following (and I have a 1.5 Tbsp measuring spoon, so this is easy):

• Flax seed
• Chia seed
• Pumpkin seed
• Sliced almonds
• Hulled hemp seed
• Wheat germ

2 Tbsp of each of the following (and I also have a 2 Tbsp measuring spoon):

• Rolled oats
• Oat bran

The above totals 13 Tbsp, or almost 7/8 cup. To that I add (again, this is in the evening preceding breakfast):

• 1/2 tsp turmeric (strong anti-inflammatory)
• 1.5 tsp high-fat cocoa powder (Penzeys)
• a few grindings black pepper (helps utilize tumeric)
• 1 Tbsp blackstrap molasses (flavor + 20% of the MDR of both calcium and iron; good source of potassium as well)

After the cereal has been cooked the next morning, I will stir in:

2-3 Tbsp homemade pepper sauce
1 tsp true extra-virgin organic olive oil (grower-bottled)

I also fill my electric kettle with water.

When morning comes, I cut a small slab of Plugrá butter (an European-style butter, unsalted and 82% butter-fat content instead of the 80% common to American-style butters), and cut it in half: half goes into my 8″ nonstick egg skillet, half is saved for the next day. I get out an egg and put it where it’s handy.

I turn on the kettle, and leave the kitchen to shower, shave, and dress.

Back in the kitchen, I turn on the kettle again, which now boils almost immediately. I turn the burner on under the cereal, and when the kettle boils, I fill the tea mug with the boiling water and then add 1 cup of the hot water to the cereal, pouring slowly so I don’t splash it out.

I stir the cereal, and it thickens quickly. When the cereal’s cooked—about 3-4 minutes—I remove it from the heat, stir in the pepper sauce and extra-virgin organic olive oil. (I formerly used butter here, but after reading Extra Virginity, which I highly recommend, I switched to true EVOO.)

The egg pan goes onto the hot burner, and when the butter in the pan has melted, I break the egg into the pan, salt and pepper it, and cook it over easy: once the first side is set, flip the egg and cook the other side. Then slide the egg onto the cereal, top with Bac’Uns, and remove the teabag from the tea. (You can practice egg-flipping using dried beans or lentils over the sink.)

Breakfast is ready!

The cereal turns out to be really tasty. The combination of cocoa powder, pepper sauce, and blackstrap molasses gives it considerable depth of flavor, and the nutritional value of the whole breakfast is quite high.

Hulled hemp seed (which I get at Whole Foods and which is somewhat pricey) is probably optional, but I like it and think it’s a good addition for the omega-3 and other goodies.

One possible addition: 1.5 Tbsp chopped walnuts, pecans, or pistachios—black walnuts would add an interesting flavor.

You’ll note that the only salt used is a small pinch on the egg. That salt is optional.

I think this is a solid breakfast and it comes together in about the same amount of time it takes to make buttered toast.

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Updates listed below are already reflected in text above.

UPDATE 7 Jan 2012: Improving on perfection: substituted 1 tsp EVOO in finished cereal instead of butter.

UPDATE 10 Jan 2012: Changed quantities—instead of using my 2 Tbsp measuring spoon, I’m switching to the 1.5 measuring spoon because I have added enough components that 2 Tbsp each is a bit too much. (These spoons are from the highly useful supplementary set I bought: 2 tsp, 1.5 Tbsp, 2 Tbsp—the 2 Tbsp being the same as a standard coffee measure.)

UPDATE 12 Jan 2012: Decided to use sliced almonds (not blanched: the brown almond skin is visible at the perimeter of each slice) rather than chopped pecans/walnuts/whatever, and also got some pumpkin seed to add, which is a good source of zinc.

UPDATE 18 Jan 2012: Still tinkering. Added the flaked coconut.  28 Jan 2012: Took out the flaked coconut. Decided I didn’t like it so much.