Orange Marmalade

I used to dream about opening a breakfast and lunch cafe.  Years of sitting in New York City cafes sipping espressos and eating croissants and browsing through magazines made me think it would be amazing to start my own.  I longed to create a place where people came for community and warmth and strong coffee and wholesome, chic breakfasts.  A place where children and elderly people in the neighborhood could mingle or simply co-exist.  Where the menu was small, but mighty.

In my head, I named my cafe Orange Marmalade, and I have journals of what the logo might look like and what would be on the menu (things like scrambled eggs atop rye bread spread with Boursin, steel cut oats topped with nuts and fruit and maybe even a little bit of coconut, croque monseiur, and thick wheat toast spread with smashed avocado and drizzled with olive oil).  I thought it would be open from 6am-2pm so I could soak in some afternoon sun after closing shop for the day.  All of this sounded dreamy…until I realized what it would take to actually open a cafe.  And after a bit of research, I decided I was a better patron than owner.

This could easily meander into a post about what happens to the dreams we dream, but I’ll save that one for another time.  Instead, this post is simply about…breakfast.  I think the good thing about that dream was that I not only loved the idea of a cafe, but that I loved breakfast.  (I take solace in the face that I didn’t dream of starting a tea shop or a gin tasting room.)  I believe in breakfast.  I love it.  I could — and sometimes do — eat it for every meal.  Here are five of the breakfasts I’m loving right now (note the similarities with the Orange Marmalade menu):

Eggs + Boursin: Scramble eggs and serve over thin slices of hearty toast (rye or multigrain) spread with a thick layer of Boursin cheese.

Toast + Avocado: Thick slices of hearty toast spread generously with smashed avocado and topped with drizzle of olive oil and healthy sprinkling of salt and pepper

Breakfast Burrito: Eggs scrambled with tomatoes, avocado and salsa and wrapped in small corn tortillas (I add cheese for the kids)

Steel Cut Oats: Soaked the night before

Bircher Muesli: If you’re feeling Australian

And if you’d like some more exotic ideas than these, check out this slideshow of Healthy Breakfasts from Around the World (yes, it does include fish)!  And if you’re a reluctant breakfast eater, maybe this article will convince you.

How about you?  Do you have a favorite breakfast recipe to share?  Or a vision of a cafe that’s still just a vision?  Happy Breakfast-ing!