Mmmm. Sunday morning. Don't have to go in at 6:30am so I get to sleep in until 7am. Get up and switch on the LM GS and turn the water on to hear it ka-chunk up. Plug in the waffle iron I rebuilt from the coffeehouse and let it heat up. It's way too big for a domestic kitchen, but here I am in the world of folk who consider commerical equipment in a domestic kitchen just par. Besides, the iron lives in the garage most of the time. Flick on the oven and put in too many thick slices of bacon at 400F to cook. A trick my mom taught me decades ago that gives a superb treatment of thick bacon. Much better than frying. While the bacon is crackling along I clear the steam nozzle and grind the first double for a short cap. Mmmm. The "tail of the mouse" is dancing in the halogen beam from the little spots overhead. The light on the waffle iron goes off and I dump a bit of Krustez's Belgian Waffle Mix into a bowl and give it a shot of water. I forgot to pick up some Carnation Malt to add to the mix so we will have straight belgian this morning. The old copper clad saute pan I've hauled around the country for decades goes on the range and heats up for the eggs. At this point the bacon grease is running in the pan and popping a bit so I pull the cookie pan out and pour off enough to fry the eggs. The eggs go on while the waffle mix is poured and the bacon is sizzling. Timing. As the waffle iron rings that it is ready I take a bit of water in a lid and pour it into the eggs and secure the lid. Another trick my mom taught me. It allows you to fully cook the eggs without over cooking the yellow. Taking the lid off I see the yolks are just fading toward lighter so the flame is cut. The waffle comes out and plated and patted with some real butter. A couple eggs are slid on the waffle and dressed with a few slices of bacon. I take the plate to the table where my wife has put out fresh squeezed orange juice and warm maple syrup. Mmmm. ... The first sips of the cap wake up the taste buds and the simple symphony of bacon, eggs and waffles starts what looks to be a great day. Peace on 'ya.
Bernie

Nice morning wake-up, Bernie.

For those who rarely (or never) visited alt.coffee, Bernie's "Letters from New Mexico" (my title) have been a treasured mainstay for years. They remind me of E.B. White's New Yorker essays from his New England farm.

Word.

...makes me want to start eating bacon again.


.

As if I was there... could smell the bacon and eggs

My mom says that I can't play with you anymore...

BOY, did THAT make my cold cereal just turn to lead in my tummy! Wonderful prose, could almost taste the food!

Does sound excellent Bernie. Similar "routine" for me, though yesterday, a waffle sounded good, but I didn't feel like messing with a scratch batter, and the only mix I had was buckwheat. What adds to the pleasure for me is that I have a couple burners outside where I typically cook smelly or messy foods (my wife has been kind enough to give me valuable space in "her" kitchen for coffee equipment, so the last thing I want to do is destroy the kitchen with splattering oil). I also cook Sunday's breakfast out there - makes me feel like I'm on a backpacking trip. I'm sure I'm pissing off my neighbors, but that only gives me a smile.

For those who rarely (or never) visited alt.coffee, Bernie's "Letters from New Mexico" (my title) have been a treasured mainstay for years. They remind me of E.B. White's New Yorker essays from his New England farm.

Marshall, you should check out an issue of Cook's Illustrated. Editor Chris Kimball always has an essay in the beginning that makes for wonderful, food-related, reading.