My Bunker Breakfast

Some friends meditated. Some friends adopted sourdough starters and raised them as their own. Some friends took up painting or learned Spanish or did jigsaw puzzles or kept the Amazon delivery person very very busy.

For me, I realized I had that lovely 45 minutes to an hour that I used to use for commuting, that I could now use for cooking.

So I made breakfast.

For fun, I posted them every day on Instagram. I was quite timid at first, but now I’ve posted my breakfast for over 1,000 days without a break and it’s taken on a life of its own.

I have always loved cooking and eating and learning about the history of food. I have more cookbooks than I have years left in my life to cook. Many many more. And I find when I’m stirring or chopping or dicing I’m focused on that, and not my problems or the problems of the world. Which was — and is — very needed.

What I found was that the whole project was really a good amalgamation of a number of things that make me happy.

• I love breakfast. It is my favorite meal of the day.
• I love photography. I studied it in Japan during college and it fills a visual creative need for me. I really enjoy plating and getting the shots right.
• I love writing. I’m lucky that I’ve gotten to make a living using this love. But writing about food has been a new adventure!
• I love exploring the world through food. Different cultures, eras, aesthetics.

I also learned a lot about how people feel about food, about breakfast, about “rules” concerning food and breakfast, and how they really really really like to tell you why they’d never eat whatever it is you posted that day. I often have to stop myself from reminding them I’m not actually asking them over for a meal.

I have a very snarky inner monologue. Aside from “think things, but don’t post them,” other things I’ve learned have really helped me in life too. I’ve always been the kind of person who tries something new and if it’s not nearly perfect first time out of the gate, I’m probably out. But as I played around with my breakfasts I found that it took me about three tries at a recipe to really understand it and begin to master it. I’ve extrapolated that into life as well.

Paradoxically, I don’t really use recipes. I’ll read four or five recipes of something I’m wanting to try and then kind of morph them together. IMHO it’s the best way to understand different flavor profiles and learn the science behind certain techniques. Based on that philosophy I often include “Not Really A Recipe” notes in my posts so people can see the basic steps, but play with the details to their liking.

In reading comments about my posts I see how many people are intimidated by cooking, and I hope what I’ve been able to show is that you should play with your food! There is no absolute in cooking. If you like how it tastes – it’s right! (If you’re thinking “baking has rules!” yes, you’re right. Gold Star! But you can still experiment.)

I didn’t realize I had a “Project” until we rounded the corner into the home stretch of Covid Year One. It occurred to me that other than necessary bodily functions, I’m not sure I’ve intentionally done anything every single day without a break for this long.

So a Project this has become!

Now I almost can’t stop. How can I break this chain? Besides, I still have two dozen eggs in the fridge I need to get through.