Breakfast: Oatmeal Pancakes and Buttermilk Syrup

I start my day everyday with a cup of coffee.  It is important ritually and physically.  I love a dark roast with nutty flavors and a good amount of milk.  Perfection.  Sometimes I actually think about the morning cup of Joe the night before and look forward to it.  Is that going too far?  Maybe.  We all have our routines that keep life right!  This one is particularly important for me because I am not a morning person without it.  I am not really sure I am a morning person with it.  Coffee and the morning paper.  Yes, I actually hold a newspaper in my hands and read it.  No e-reader yet but I know it is coming.  Then there is breakfast!

Everyday breakfast is usually a light affair for me.  Something whole grain and nutritious such as yogurt topped with granola and/or fruit or whole grain toast with a smear of jam are among my favorites.  There are couple of breakfasts that I have made for years when the family is around or we have guests and this recipe for Oatmeal Pancakes tops the list.  They are packed with delicious rolled oats and are simple to make.  I like to serve them with maple syrup or golden syrup. For an extra special touch, I make buttermilk syrup which can easily be found in various recipe sites on the net.  I wonder who really is responsible for this buttermilk syrup recipe because it is really, really good.  I have never seen it in a cookbook.  I would love to know who came up with this incredible sweet concoction because I would have never thought of putting this combination of ingredients together.  I do know, it is delicious and complements these pancakes nicely.

Blood Orange Curd

I love the intense flavor of a fruit curd.  Lemon and lime tops the list because they are the tangiest and I love me some tang!  I had a bag of blood oranges and since they can be tart, I thought they would be a shoe in for a delicious tart curd.  The result was delicious and delicate not the tangy curd I had expected.  It had more of a creamy orange flavor.  I was not completely happy with this curd, although it was quite good.  The second time I made it, I added the juice of a lemon.  This brightened the blood orange flavor and gave it the citrusy tangy edge that I craved.  It was creamier and smoother than a lemon or lime curd but it had the balance of flavor I was looking for.

Chocolate Bread

Several years ago, on a day when I was shopping at the original Central Market (still a new store) in Austin, TX,  I came across chocolate bread in their bakery.  At the time, chocolate bread seemed so unique and I wasn't sure what to expect.  Was it going to be rich and decadent?  How is chocolate in the  simplicity of a bread?  I was intrigued so I bought a loaf.  It was delicious.  It was a simple, slightly sweet, intensely chocolate bread studded with chocolate pieces.  A plain slice was as good as one toasted with a smear of butter and strawberry or raspberry jam was a treat.  I have been on a mission ever since!