[Perhaps "Breakfast at Tiffany's" or was there a soundtrack to The Breakfast Club?]
Breakfasts here are a bit different from what I'm used to (some form of protein, a few carbs with Actimel and coffee chasers). When I was staying at the Liv'in (which now seems like a very long time ago), they had a breakfast buffet of sorts. It included cold cuts of meats (generally containing pork, I was quite certain), fresh cheeses, some fruit, yogurt, some muesli type cereals (for which not-very-cold-and-certainly-not-skim milk was available), sliced cucumbers, and a wide assortment of breads and rolls. They would also make some scrambled, boiled or fried eggs upon request. Hmmm.... There were too many options for me to make any sense out of and I usually just had some yogurt and a roll with some cheese and cucumbers, the latter of which always made me think I was having lunch.
I suspected that this type of spread was not generally available in the typical German household, but since you don't really discuss your domestic situations, this didn't exactly come up in casual conversation. A few weeks ago I was in a baking mood and mentioned to my neighbors that I was going to bake some muffins (cranberry and currant muffins from the Mayo Clinic cookbook that are surprisingly tasty and not too bad for your health). The recipe cranks out about 18 muffins, which obviously I could not consume, so I asked if they would like some (before I realized that muffins might be a decidedly American thing). They graciously said they would love to have some and suggested I bring them to their place and join them for breakfast. Oooh. A real German breakfast! I am totally in....
So we had breakfast out on their balcony, which is about 25 feet from my own balcony. While breakfasts may vary by family, theirs consisted primarily of fresh baked rolls from the corner bakery (not to be confused with Corner Bakery). You slice the roll in half (which can be difficult when they are so fresh they are still warm -- yum!!!), and slather it in 100% butter. You then top it with a slice of good cheese (it's like good aged cheese but cut in large slices that you folder over to fit on the bread). Like a double fat sandwich. Mmmm..... Another alternative is to put preserves (true preserves, not some of the products that pass for jam in the US) on top of the butter layer, yielding a double carb sandwich. Delightful. And they seemed to genuinely like the muffins (as opposed to the Girl Scout Dos-e-do cookies for which they couldn't eat a single small cooking, practically spitting it out and saying, "Oh, Americans!" -- I tried not to be horrified by the waste of a Dos-e-do, which I consider a classic American delicacy and which had been carefully smuggled in by Dena along with the animals).
Speaking of which, as we were scarfing these down on their balcony, I heard a horrible sound. Turning, I traced its source. My own balcony. It was a beautiful spring morning so I had left the doors open to the balcony so the cats could hang out there. While the wind was blowing the wrong direction, they had apparently figured out that I was on the neighbors balcony and they were just howling. I'm not sure whether they were more upset that I was stepping out on them or that I was having food and they didn't have a chance to beg for some. So I went back to my apartment, served them some moist food on the balcony, and everyone was happy and full. Animals....
We finished breakfast on my balcony with some coffee from my cool coffee machine. The neighbors appear to be even more fascinated with the machine than I am (which leads me to believe I overspent on the machine relative to what is considered necessary for in-home consumption, but...). We have several other such coffee clatches on my balcony, so I have had to invest in coffee service pieces. The mugs that I brought from home do not even fit under the machine and each serving from the machine provides about 2/5 of such a mug. So I got some cool coffee and espresso cups and matching saucers (which saucers are rounded triangles!) because one wouldn't dream of serving coffee without the saucer. A sugar bowl (forget about Splenda over here) and cream pitcher in contrasting colors were also added (taking up precious space in my limited cupboards, I might add).
When I served the neighbors coffee the first time, I set out a small 3" vase in which I keep wooden coffee stirrers. "What, did you steal these from Starbucks?" No!!! Apparently it is not common to have those at home here. So I purchased a set of espresso spoons that seem even smaller than spoons for infants. (I feel compelled to share that I purchased a set of six such spoons, but the package contained seven. Bonus! But clearly they must not have been produced in Germany where such an oversight and lack of precision would not have been allowed.) So the next time the neighbors were over for coffee, I was prepared. Until they laughed at the spoons. Apparently they were overkill and it was fine to just use regular spoons. How was I supposed to know?! Somehow I have moved from American mugs to Euro coffee service snob. Who knew?
So I am getting used to the breakfasts here. When I have time, I still like to make some eggs (which are sold in 10s, not in dozens, incidentally) and otherwise have some yogurt (can't find cottage cheese here). But I have now started enjoying fresh rolls with fat and additional carbs, particularly on weekends when I have time to sit on my balcony and just enjoy the experience (see photo above, in which you can see that scene, include the balcony of the neighbors that is much more properly decorated). This also generally follows a run or other sort of exercise so I can justify this new habit.
One of the interesting things here, too, is that even though pretty much everything is closed on Sundays and holidays, the bakery is open at least half a day. Cuz you have to have fresh bread, right? The bakery also has coffee. Which is served with stir sticks, not espresso spoons....
No comments:
Post a Comment