Tell Me What Do You Have For Breakfast...

November 10, 2008

And I will tell you where you are from...

As you may know I'm married with a lovely Paprika from Hungary. One of the first difference I experienced between us, was the breakfast. Different country, different habit.

I tend to like my breakfast sweet, with slices of fresh bread and unsalted butter. Juice in summer and tea, most of the time. Jam, fruits and yogurt bring variety from time to time. For now, it's rhubarb compote or honey.

I do enjoy to have breakfast outside in the summer, on a shady terrace and fully appreciate it when I can take time.

My little Paprika, on the other hand, likes to have a salted breakfast. A freshly cooked omelet or boiled eggs with ham, bacon or even sausage... I have to confess that the smell of cooked eggs in the morning doesn't give me an appetite.

But we do have something in common: tea !

Last time I asked Paprika what he would fancy to have for breakfast and surprisingly he told me 'pain au chocolat !' I know he does miss them... And I also miss any type of viennoiserie.

There was no chocolate at home and just a homemade puff pastry leftover, so I made some kind of mini-croissants. A consolation, far to be as good as real ones. Anyway we gulped them down !

Breakfast is said to be the most important meal of the day. A special meal, full of meaning, related to our childhood, to places where we lived...

And you ? What do you have for breakfast ? What is your favorite place to have it ? And with who do you eat it ?

______________________________________________

Dis-moi ce que tu manges au petit-déjeuner et je te dirai d'où tu viens...

Comme vous le savez déjà, je suis marriée au charmant Paprika de Hongrie. Une des premières différences que j'ai expérimenté entre nous a été le petit-déjeuner. Différent pays, différente habitude.

J'aime mon petit-déjeuner sucré, avec des tartines de pain frais et du beurre doux. Du jus de fruit en été et du thé la plupart du temps. De la confiture, des fruits et du yaourt viennent apporter un peu de variété de temps en temps. J'apprécie particulièrement, prendre le petit-déjeuner en été, à l'ombre, sur une terrasse et prendre mon temps.

Mon petit Paprika, de son côté, aime son petit-déjeuner salé. Une omelette ou des oeufs durs accompagnés de jambon, bacon, ou même de salami... Je dois avouer que l'odeur des oeufs cuits le matin ne m'ouvre pas l'appétit...

Mais nous avons quelque chose en commun: le thé !

J'ai demandé à Paprika dernièrement, ce qu'il aimerait avoir au petit-déjeuner et j'ai été surprise qu'il me réponde: -"un pain au chocolat !" Je sais que ça lui manque... et tout type de viennoiserie me manque également.

Il n'y avait pas de chocolat à la maison, juste un reste de pâte feuilletée, alors j'ai fait des sortes de mini-croissants. Une consolation, loin d'être aussi bons que des vrais. Néanmoins, nous les avons tous engloutis !

Le petit-déjeuner est le repas le plus important de la journée. C'est un repas spécial, chargé de signification, en rapport avec notre enfance ou les endroits où l'on a vécu...

Et vous ? Qu'aimez-vous prendre au petit-déjeuner ? Où aimez-vous le prendre ? Et avec qui le mangez-vous ?

Comments

J’aime tes photos!! Personnellement j’aime le pain ou la brioche avec diverses choses dessus. Le matin je bois du thé, accompagné parfois de jus de fruits frais fait maison. Ça dépend de mon humeur et de ce qu’il y’a à la maison ;) Botacook

i couldn’t agree more! what gorgeous croissants! my breakfast is usually fruit, coffee, bread but sometimes eggs too. I love breakfast! Aran

Marmite on (slightly burnt) toast, a cup of tea and - importantly - a newspaper to browse through. As long as you know what ‘Marmite’ (not the French word) is then this makes my nationality very easy to pin down! If you don’t, my homily to the black stuff is on http://discoverunearthed.wordpress.com I agree with your thoughts on breakfast - I once lived in India for 6 months and only by the end was I getting used to fermented rice cakes and lentil dip. With people trying to make allowances for my background I was also served jam on toast a few times, but the ‘toast’ was always fried bread! A bit too much for me just before a run to the bus! Discover Unearthed

I know what you mean. Although I generally favor something on the sweet side for breakfast (and your homemade croissants as well as your rhubarb compote look just delicious) with a little home-made jam, I can be very partial to eggs (omelette, scrambled, poached, a la coque avec ses mouillettes, sunny-side up), bagels, smoked fish, strong cheeses, pancakes, crepes, cereals, plain yoghurt, smoothie and even “riz chauffe avec un’ti piment” - not all at once, though!. And of course fruit (ah, a half melon just picked from the garden in summer…) I prefer coffee but sometimes we switch to tea in winter. Breakfast really depends on the season, the weather, the time we have (to prepare or to eat) and our mood. I do put the line at cold pizza and beer though. That’s one multi-cultural habit I have not yet adopted… Sylvie Sylvie, Rappahannock Cook & Kitchen Gardener

Sadly I eat breakfast alone. It has always been my favorite meal of the day, but my husband is decidedly not a breakfast eater. I generally just make myself cereal and coffee, but my favorites are biscuits and bacon gravy, and ham steak and eggs with pancakes. I’ll never understand the people who hop up and start their day without first filling their bellies. Pinky

First of all, I want to thank you all for your comments. They made my day ! What can be more interesting to read about you, while taking my breakfast on a foggy rainy morning (yes, I know it’s supposed to be Spring down here !…) Botacook, nous savions toutes les deux que nous avions quelques points communs déjà ;-) Aran, that’s normal you like breakfast everything on your table always look delicate and beautifully appetizing ! Discover Unearthed, I was not yet fully awake when I read your comment and was wondering where are you from…but YES, it’s true ‘marmite’ ! They have it here too. And even a local version called Vegemite ! I should try it… Sylvie, that’s true combinations can be endless for breakfast… And I agree about the cold pizza and beer (I didn’t think about this one !). Strangely I’ve never tried the ‘riz-chauffé un ti-piment’ neither ! But afterwards, sure you feel up to the day ! Pinky, I totally agree. I’m hungry when I wake up and I need to eat. I would starve if I had to wait midday to have my first meal ! Vanille

I don’t know, cold pizza is a pretty good way to start the day. Especially if it’s Hawaiian, something about cold ham and pinnapple in the morning just feels right. But beer is just a bit to much for me. But I’ve served it to many a breakfast eater back when I was waitressing. Along with bloody marys and the occasional shot of goldschlager to accompany some steak and eggs. Can you guess where I lived then? Pinky

Those croissants look delicious! My favorite breakfast would be a soft-boiled egg with bread (des mouilletes!) and a fresh glass of orange juice. Chocolate Shavings

I have a big sweet tooth too. Usually I have porridge, but have to have it with lashings of honey or maple syrup and sultanas, yum. Or nutella on toast. I would have pancakes for breakfast everyday too if I were more of a morning person! I am very partial to a good bacon sandwich though too…I guess I just like all kinds of foods! When I was on holiday I liked to have breakfast on the balcony with a big cup of coffee, nutella on toast, some cereal and a grapefruit and some orange juice to wash it all down. Usually I don’t have time for a nice breakfast like that though! Helen

j’aime les deux! I am one of those weirdos who choose both the salty and sweet popcorn at the movies and have them mixed together. sometimes i cant choose between sweet or salty, so I’ll just have a egg-in-a-hole (with brown bread) with a banana+strawberry smoothie with honey. yum! Bloop

Mmm… breakie! By far my favourite meal of the day, especially good at dinner too! As for me my breakfast always includes a banana and coffee, either accompanied by yogurt or dry cereal! But, if it is breakie for dinner - scrambled eggs and toast, or crêpes bursting with fresh fruits or, à la mode Bretton: filled with melted emmental or gruyère, topped with an egg! I’m with you on the no-eggs-at-breakfast thing, though I adore eggs any other time of the day! Breakfast should be sweet, in my mind - as should lunch…and dinner for that matter (well, I wish they were!) Emma

En effet quelques points en commun, et d’autres à découvrir encore… ;) On sent le printemps dans tes photos, et effectivement ce doit être cette saison chez toi en ce moment! Et cette lumière! C’est bizarre en même temps, sachant qu’ici, on se dirige tout doucement vers l’hiver! ;) Botacook

I’m a student so almost all of meals are on the go. Breakfast for me on the weekdays is a yogurt and green tea, which I enjoy on the train into town or during class. Sometimes I’ll bring in a little container of milk and oats and make instant oatmeal at school. On the weekends I usually make eggs (scrambled, fried, whatever strikes me at that moment) and toast. Most of my meals are taken alone with a good book. Lia

Moi, je prefere avoir les croissants ou, en plus du pain au chocolat. La plupart de temps, etant une etudiante, j’ai un bagel avec “le Philadelphia” cream cheese. Quand je retourne chez moi, je prendrai des tartines avec de la confiture et du chocolat ou du the. Ygard

Maintenant, je prends mon pétit-déjeuner avec ma femme. On a l’habitude de manger quelques choses salés (du pain, des tartines, des pancakes…) et quelques choses sucrés quand-même. On mange à la cuisine ou à la salle à manger. C’est un repas vraiment sacré chez nous. A+ lusenalto

That would be interesting to organise a big breakfast with all these food and flavors ! Pinky, sorry I’ve tried to figure out, but all these alcohols did not help me… Vanille

Kaya toast gotta be one of my favourite for brekkie! Mrs Ergül

I was never one for breakfast until I discovered having my yoghurt in a wine glass! hehe Or a parfait glass… it’s all in the presentation ;-) More recently I’ve begun to enjoy fruit clafoutis, poached eggs, English muffins, porridge, sweet or savoury depends on which side of the bed I get out… yes, I love breakfast now! bron

Moi aussi je suis salée au petit déjeuner, depuis toujours, Mmmmm! Bises plume_d_argent

you are right, I’m Malaysian and my husband is American so our tastes of breakfast really differ! I love noodles for breakfast actually, it’s quite customary in Asia, and even rice sometimes! but I do love croissants as well, that reminds me to have some tomorrow! Tastes of Home

Your photos are absolutely gorgeous! Breakfast usually takes the form of some sort of hot cereal around here - oatmeal, cracked wheat, etc. On occasion we’ll have a treat such as granola, banana bread, or baked oatmeal. We rarely have a “salty” breakfast, except on weekends. Cooking for Seven

I am not really a breakfast person but when I do have it, it always has to be savoury :) Cynthia

Just stumbled from Aran’s blog. You have such a serene, peaceful blog!! And absolutely breathtaking pictures!! Sunshinemom

Ha, no worries. I think it was a pretty unique little community. I lived in a TINY town in Arizona near an reservation. People from the res put all us white folks to shame with their drinking abilities. Although most of the people in town had an impressive (or scary?) ability to put back the drinks early in the day. Pinky

I try to have a breakfast that give me energy a sticks to my ribs.Oakmeal with a teaspoon of cinnamon slice of half banana thin piece bagel with peanutbutter and a glass of orange juice. sandy daly