I love breakfasts!
I often have this certain excitement and recharged energy to make breakfasts. It’s fresh, warm, steamy and wholesome to nourish your body first thing in the morning – break the fast! All the desirable elements seem to synchronize together with it… the cool morning breeze, the sparkly dew, the premium sun rays, the serenity of the surroundings, and the aroma of freshly brewed, organic coffee. It feels divine when you know what you eat, and you strive to nurture your body with good, homemade-from-scratch whole foods.
I do love the traditional filipino breakfast composed of fried garlic rice, marinated meat, and sunny side up eggs. It’s a known fact that my hubby and I believe in the old, traditional animal fats consumed by our ancestors or the native people. These so called fats are scorned and modified by modern diets which explains newly developed allergies, intolerance and sensitivities.
I also use maple syrup extensively during breakfast to add a more sophisticated level of sweetness to just about anything. When you drizzle it over your coffee, it gives it that subtle but sharp woody flavor. All the while, I thought maple syrup is harvested by tapping the tree and letting the liquid flow for several days, so it’s OK to buy it from the grocery store. One day, I read an article that commercial harvesters use formaldehyde (used in embalming to preserve corpse) to extract the sap from the tree, and filters were stored using naphthalene (cockroach deterrent). I’m also not surprised that the FDA permits a certain level of residual formaldehyde because it only pose “little risk”. I guess we have to purchase all organic products nowadays, and not all organic products are equal too, you have to be a WISER consumer to distinguish the difference. The other alternative maybe is to live in a virgin forest and grow your own foods.
When there’s maple syrup, there’s pancake of course. Pancake is like a blank canvass that you can paint different flavors and textures on. For this entry, I topped it with yellow figs and cactus fruit – Mediterranean inspired!
Basic Pancake
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 eggs
ghee / butter for greasing pan
maple syrup to drizzle on top
optional flavors / toppings:
sliced fruits
grated cheese
desiccated coconut
cinnamon or nutmeg
poppy seeds / flax / grains
- In 2 bowls, separately mix the dry and wet ingredients.
- Pour in the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, mix well.
- Scoop the batter and pour onto pre-heated and greased pan.
- When bubbles start to appear on the surface of the batter, it is ready to be flipped.
Another favorite breakfast of mine is the Avocado and Banana cream salad made by mother dear since I was a child. It’s fresh, cool and extremely easy to make, I can eat it every morning. Avocado also gives you the complete set of Omega 3, 6 and 9, it is a powerhouse! These two fruits are also at the bottom of the pesticide load list with only 1-2% detectable level. It’s not a good thing as we should not be exposed to toxins, but it is best to try to go organic as much as you can, especially if you are financially capable.
Avocado and Banana Cream Salad
3 pcs. avocados, sliced criss cut style and spooned off
2 bananas, halved vertically and cut into smaller pieces horizontally
1 to 1 1/2 cup whole, organic milk
maple syrup or sugar
- Mix all the ingredients in a bowl until the white milk turns thick and pale green from the avocado’s pigments.
- Best served chilled.
Buenos dias!
