Breakfast of champions

I'm was sitting here waiting for a forecast to run and toggled, as I often do, to the newspaper site to browse the headlines. I was struck by one particular headline and had to read more.
http://blogs.smh.com.au/entertainment/archives/good_living/004735.html#comments
This particular article discussed at length a subject very close to my heart - the big breakfast.

I am a huge fan of the big breakfast. In fact, I would have to rate breakfast as my favourite meal of the day. My parents brought the tradition of pancakes with maple syrup on the weekend back from Canada and to this day I still refuse to use pancake shakers (sacrilege!). When we were kids my Dad used to make us special pancakes with hundreds & thousands, chocolate sprinkles and swirls of colours. Being a bit of a practical joker (I know, bet you can't imagine me being descended from anyone like that), I remember on a number of occasions when we had visitors staying, he served up bright green pancakes with a completely straight face.

When I got a bit older I discovered certain beverages that make you appreciate a big greasy breakfast all the more the following morning. I graduated to the fried eggs and bacon brigade. Occasionally scrambled.

The next step in my breakfast evolution was the poached egg. I've always fancied myself as a bit of a cook (world famous gourmet chef on a good day), and mastery of the poached egg seems to be a bit of a benchmark (check how many comments this particular topic has attracted in the article above). Everyone seems to have their own special techniques and tips to make that perfect poached egg and everyone seems to look down their nose at everyone else's techniques. (I saw Delia Smith demonstrating the most ridiculous egg-poaching technique I've ever seen on the TV the other day). I'll share my very own secret recipe below if anyone's interested. It has been refined through much experimentation (microwave egg poachers most definitely do not work). Most recently I purchased one of those cool egg poacher things that sit on your frypan with water simmering underneath, that supposedly gently poaches individual eggs with no vinegar etc. I have only two words for that contraption - bah humbug!

Anyway, the next step in the evolution followed fairly closely on the heels of the poached egg as the natural next step. Mmmm...hollandaise sauce. Love it.

A number of years ago my whole big breakfast habits altered again quite drastically, along with the rest of my diet when I went veggo. The poached eggs are still on the menu (I'm a lacto-/pollo-), but these days they're generally accompanied by any or all of the following: baked beans, spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, vegetarian sausages, avocado, fetta, cottage cheese, pesto - and all with a generous serve of chilli (fresh, dried or hot chilli sauce all work - Byron Bay Sauce Company Coriander Chilli Sauce is to die for!).

On the side should be an enourmous cup of tea or coffee. Tea made in a teapot or coffee made in a plunger. No teabags or instant coffee allowed! If it's been a really big night the night before, some form of fizzy caffeinated beverage may be required to be imbibed prior to preparation of the weekend feast...just to get me through the cooking process.

I get the weekend papers delivered, and these should be read whilst eating the feast (which I inevitably can't finish) and returning for a second serving of tea or coffee.

In my book, there's nothing better than a long lazy morning spent like this. Ahhh...heaven.

J. :-)

The perfect poached egg

1. Bring a large saucepan of filtered water to a fast boil. don't use a frypan. Make sure the water is at least 10cm deep.
2. Add a good splash of white vinegar and turn the heat down slightly.
3. Let the water come back to the boil
4. Crack one egg into a mug. (discard if the yolk breaks as this ruins the whole thing. The fresher the eggs, the less likely their yoks will break)
5. Hold the handle of the mug and tilt to a 45 degree angle. Lower the mug into the saucepan bottom first, until the water starts trickling over the lower edge and into the cup. Let a few spoonsful worth of the water in and hold for 10-15 seconds (until the white is no longer clear)
6. Quickly tip the cup and empty the egg into the saucepan. Leave for about 2 minutes 30 seconds (Watch the pan as sometimes it can have a tendency to overflow. turn down the heat a bit if the water is bubbling up too high.)
7. Use a slotted spoon and gently lift the egg out of the water. Tilt each way to drain as much of the water off as possible. Use a wad of paper towel for a final blot before gently placing on top of toast. Season with freshly ground black pepper, a pinch of sea salt, fresh finely chopped parsley and dried chilli flakes (to taste).