Brunch Luck

I am a pretty devoted breakfast eater. The hour and quantity of when and what I eat very quite a bit depending on the day, but I generally eat something before I leave the house or get too far into my day. I don't usually think too much about what I will eat -- usually whatever is on hand that will fill me up nutritiously and keep me going for a few hours. If I have a free morning or some extra time I will frequently bake something for breakfast and snacks.

Though I don't give it much thought everyday, lately I have been cataloging the endless possibilities that can be breakfast. Truly there are unlimited possibilities for every meal of the day and more, but I don't think any other meal has so many options that are so unfailingly delicious and unrelentingly tempting. I've been thinking about this more and more since we started a monthly brunch pot luck at our apartment. First there are the morning classics (with variations only limited by the imagination) which aren't surprises but they never fail to please, especially when homemade. Pancakes! Waffles! French toast! Scrambled eggs, home fries, maybe fruit and yogurt. I don't hear any complaints, just the sound of forks scraping plates. And this is only a tiny tip of the vast iceburg filled with breakfast. Muffins, scones, cinnamon rolls and all the varieties they come in; egg dishes, cereals and cooked grains, breakfast puddings, breads, savory breakfasts I have yet to try...

Anyway, if I had time to make a big breakfast every day, I could probably eat something different every day of the year and not be dissappointed (I also probably wouldn't have to eat lunch or dinner). Lately, though, most of my breakfast planning and making has happened for brunch-luck. This usually involved mulling over all of the possibilities that immediately come to mind, buying a few ingredients and then, just as often as not, changing my mind about what I will make. The whole thing involves a lot of whim.

This was only our second monthly brunch-luck, but I think morning is an ideal time for a potluck. While I really enjoy having people over for dinner, it is always more of an event with more preparations and higher expectations. A brunch-luck on the other hand takes minimal planning -- whim is actually a central element to the whole thing. Since its a regular date, people can show up one month and not the next. We miss them, but we're consoled by the meal at hand. Our friends can come over sleepy and hang out for the morning. Its low key and, like I said before, the possibilities are endless.

This month I ended up featuring cranberries. I made a simple fruit salad with pears, apples, oranges, toasted walnuts and dried cranberries lightly tossed in lemon juice. A few days before I made a variation of these scones which I froze and popped a few in the oven on Sunday morning. I experimented with cooking grains for a breakfast cereal which still needs some work. I simmered frozen cranberries and blueberries in a bit water and a couple tablespoons of sugar until they thickened into the perfect sauce to put on top of the cereal and Ray's french toast. It turned everyone's teeth an alarming shade of blue, but no one seemed to mind.