Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and I despise it.
Lumps of low-fat cereal afloat in a sea of soymilk. Goopy, gelatinous oatmeal. Protein shakes the color and consistency of mulch - and every bit as appetizing.
Recently I vented about this on Facebook. And thanks to the wonders of virtual communication, my longtime "friend" Kym Motley responded right away with an offer to help.
A Charlotte native who lives in Manhattan, Kym writes about food, art, design, and life in New York City at dailymodernliving.com. She messaged me to ask if there were any breakfast foods I actually enjoy (for the record, there are a few).
Within hours - not days, hours - she sent me Operation Fun Breakfast. It’s a color-coded, easy-to-use, Excel spreadsheet with dozens of options for combining the items I like into meals I want to prepare and eat in those early morning hours.
Now, my attitude toward spreadsheets is about the same as it’s been toward breakfast - up till now, that is. The plan Kym created for me has radically improved my outlook on both.
One page lists all the warm breakfast options. Starting with One Egg Wonders, Kym gave me combinations that include ingredients I adore but would never have thought to add to my own miserable morning meals: avocados, capers, or white truffle salt.
The other page lists the cold breakfast options. My favorite so far: baked apples or pears with ginger and lemon.
Kym and I share many mutual acquaintances and real-life friends, but we’ve yet to meet in person. That’s one of the many peculiarities of our online lives, and I jokingly refer to Kym as my best friend I’ve never met.
I’m delighted and humbled by Kym’s generosity and her culinary creativity, even if she didn’t know until now that I think of her many a morning when I go to my kitchen. I hope we meet up sometime soon so I can thank her in person - at my house, over breakfast.
