― Jarod Kintz, Love quotes for the ages. Specifically ages 18-81.
My husband and I are foodies. Just two evenings ago we had dinner at our favorite Northern Indian restaurant here in Houston, “Khyber.” (http://www.zagat.com/r/khyber-north-indian-grill-houston?full_content=true)
They serve the best saag paneer in the city, hands down. I could live on their naan ~ which, my husband informed me, is prepared with clarified butter! Oh well, I shouldn’t be surprised! It melts in your mouth…it’s comfort food extraordinaire!!
And when it comes to breakfast, I believe that meal should be comfort food. In my estimation that’s one of the cardinal requirements of early morning dining. There was a time when hubby and I might go out to IHOP, order room service, or even drive downtown to a jazz buffet for a lavish breakfast. We still occasionally go out, but our choices are healthier ~ it’s usually oatmeal or yogurt and fruit these days. The oatmeal qualifies as comfort food, but there’s something cold and unfriendly about yogurt ~ healthy or not. Not that satisfying. And I firmly believe that breakfast should be warm, not cold, in your tummy.
My girlfriend Darlene and I had a conversation recently about fried eggs, or as she calls them, “grease eggs.” If you’re a southerner, you know exactly what I mean. When my grandfather cooked breakfast for us, the bacon was fried first in an iron skillet. Then it was removed, and the eggs were fried. All of the grease was left in the skillet, so that the egg floated in it while cooking. He would take the spatula and coax the grease over the top of the egg. Basting it, in other words. If you wanted the yolk hard, it was simply cooked longer. The edges weren’t ever burned, and the egg was perfectly cooked. Of course it had the added benefit of the bacon flavor because of all that tasty grease. We would then sit down to a tasty treat of bacon and eggs ~ comfort food.
We never considered the health risks of eating greasy eggs, because they were incredibly delicious! And my grandparents lived very long lives, never suffering a heart attack or a stroke! We didn’t suffer any health disasters because of breakfast food except one, and it was temporary. It was the incident that involved my baby brother poking a piece of toast up his nose. That did involve a frightening trip to the emergency room and a pretty miserable day for the family. But that could’ve involved any object!
Our eating habits were very different then, and none of us were overweight or unhealthy in any way. But that bacon grease! Nutritionists today would have a stroke if you tried to justify eating such on a daily basis.
I firmly believe that ignorance is bliss. It’s better not to care that cholesterol might someday kill you; it’s better to sit with a loving family in a cozy warm kitchen and eat bacon and eggs. The intoxicating aromas of fresh percolated coffee and fried bacon are, in my estimation, the ideal alarm clock! And grease eggs will always remind me of my dear gentle grandfather, the best breakfast chef ever.
That last part reminds me of Dad….he could not eat his favorite foods at the end of his life and I remember when I took care of him I just pulled out the eggs and bacon and SALT and gave it to him anyway! He loved it and it didn’t kill him either!
I’m SO glad you did! He loved breakfast and deserved to have some pleasure during those difficult times. I remember the magnificent breakfasts at their house…never to be forgotten.Love you dearly.
making my mouth water becky i always start my day with either a bacon buttie or 2 poached eggs on wholemeal toast accompanied by a couple of fresh tomatoes grilled and a couple of rashers accompanied by a big mug of tea and then all seems well with my world and i do my best to enjoy the new day god has given me love and hugs to everyone …me…
Love your comment, Nigel! And thank you for reading this! I have a question, though- what are rashers?
xox