Fried Breakfast

It's Sunday afternoon and my stomach is only just beginning to empty after a true weekend treat; a fried breakfast.

When I was younger, I used to avoid breakfast at all costs. Caffeine was usually all that I wanted/needed before I left the house. Now I'm older, I am far more conscientious about eating in the mornings. Most of the time this is still a bit of a chore. During the week I usually force down some cereal; stuff that's about as tasty and nutritious as the packaging but has the dubious virtues of being quick and filling a gap.

All this changes at the weekends. Then breakfast becomes something decadent to be savoured. Taking time to enjoy the first meal of the day is not just a nice start to the day but a nice way of reminding myself that it's the weekend and I don't have to rush about.

These breakfasts can take many forms; a selection of pastries and coffee, bacon rolls and the Scottish delicacy lorne sausage are all favourites but a truly decadent treat is a full fry-up especially when we go out and it's delivered to the table.

This leads on to the question of what makes up a proper fry-up? Most places will agree that sausage(s), bacon, beans, mushrooms, tomato, egg and some form of bread will feature. The first debate is whether the bread should be toasted or fried. For my money, I prefer the latter even if it is less healthy. A couple of slabs of black pudding never go amiss either, nor do some fried potato scones and some hash browns even if we are starting to get a bit heavy on the carbohydrate. Lorne sausage (flat squares of sausage meat) are also most welcome although usually a delicacy found exclusively in Scotland.

Sadly there is a problem with all this (beyond the astronomical risk of a heart attack)... if you're lucky enough to find all of this piled on your plate of a morning, you will almost certainly find it impossible to finish! If you don't believe me, try a triple in Jacks cafe in South West London or a Big St. Andrews Breakfast in MacGreggors on Market Street in St. Andrews. Both these places offer variations of the ingredients listed above.

Go on... I dare you!

TFB