One of the things I have enjoyed the most about being home with my family for the past year and a half is our breakfasts together. Our daily schedule has become like muscle memory to us by now, always starting with a little voice in the next room babbling about choo choos or "bubbie buh" which is his word for Bubble Guppies, his favorite cartoon. Jon and I usually roll over at the first peep, hoping it's a false alarm, but when he starts kicking the wall (undoubtedly annoying our new neighbors downstairs), we jump up and rescue him from his crib. A diaper is changed, a milk smoothie is made and the french press is poured while we all settle in on the couch to watch an episode of "bubbie buh". Our apartment doesn't see much morning sun, which creates a gentle environment to ease us into the day ahead, and the coffee gives us the jolt we need to get going. After the cartoons, we switch on the news, Jon hits the shower and Ollie and I make breakfast. Usually eggs, often with greens or squash with cheese, piled on top of buttered sourdough toast. We all sit down together at the table most mornings and Oliver makes our hearts swell when he puts out his hands to remind us to pray. After thanking the Lord for His goodness to us, we eat and we laugh, mostly at Oliver and then daddy leaves for work and Ollie and I go about our day.

In just a few short weeks, I'll be returning to work full time. While I have missed the working world and look forward to joining it again, this decision was a hard one to make, with the obvious consideration of my son and the life we have come to enjoy so much. It's overwhelming at times to think about all the changes we will go through and all the adjustments we will have to accommodate. Only knowing life as a stay-at-home mom, I can't quite wrap my head around what our lives will look like in a few short weeks. My hope is that we will adapt with joy and marvel at all the new opportunities we have been given, though I must be honest, today I'm feeling like I'm going to desperately miss my son.

I'm hoping our breakfasts will still be a part of our morning, even if they're slightly abbreviated. These savory oats definitely could be on the menu, especially if I make a big batch on Monday morning and just reheat them the rest of the week, only needing to cook a quick egg. I love that these take a savory turn as too much sugar in the morning generally doesn't do me any favors. They're a good way to start your day and could easily carry you through to lunch.

savory oatmeal with a poached egg

serves four

Ingredients:

2 cups water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup quick cooking steel cut oats (I love Bob's Red Mill)
1 teaspoon hot sauce (plus more for garnish)
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
sprinkle of freshly ground pepper
4 eggs
1/4 red onion, diced
1/4 cilantro, chopped

Preparation:

Bring water and salt to a boil and add the oats. Decrease the heat to low and cover. Cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the pot from the heat and let it sit for two minutes. Transfer the oats to medium bowl and add the hot sauce, cumin, smoked paprika, kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. Stir to combine and cover with foil.
In a clean sauce pan, bowl 4 cups of water and then reduce to a gentle simmer (you should see small bubbles coming up from the bottom, but nothing more aggressive than that). Crack an egg into a small bowl or cup. Swirl the water with a wooden spoon and slide the egg into the middle of the swirl. This allows the whites to wrap around the yolk in a little package. It may still look a little messy, but thats ok. Set a timer for 2 minutes. Remove the egg from the water with either a slotted spoon or a spider strainer. Transfer to a plate. Trim and wild bits of egg white. Repeat with remaining eggs.
To plate, divide the oats among four bowls and top with an egg, onion, cilantro and a splash of hot sauce. Sprinkle with a touch of salt and pepper.

biscuit sandwich with bacon, egg + tomato

I used to go through a major crisis when we went out for brunch. The decision to go sweet or savory was so hard for me, you'd think I was making a life and death decision. Nearly every time, I go the savory route, mostly because so much sweet so early isn't usually my jam but a little something sweet is nice. We finally figured out that if we ordered a pancake for the table, our problem (my problem) was solved. This made all my brunch decisions easy, breakfast sandwich please, with a side of pancake to share.

If there is a breakfast sandwich on the menu, I want it. If said breakfast sandwich is made with a biscuit, definitely get that in front of my face as soon as possible. My love for biscuit sandwiches probably stems from many childhood mornings at McDonald's. Just a biscuit with sausage, maybe some cheese. No egg (was it even really egg back then?) and definitely NOT on an english muffin.

Now that most of our brunches happen at home (have you ever tried to have a civilized meal in public with a toddler?), I've been on the hunt for the perfect biscuit recipe. There isn't a huge amount of variation in the method, except for the additional step of folding the dough to create some extra beautiful layers. Of course, the ingredients or add ins vary, like these gorgeous sweet potato biscuits or these with honey and rosemary, which are both on my to-do list, but for the most part, the magic is in a few basic rules of biscuit making: work with cold ingredients, mix it all quickly and don't overwork the dough. Those luscious layers don't happen by accident, that's the cold butter working to create steam, pushing the dough into sheets of flaky nirvana. The fat in the butter works to tenderize the dough, making it soft AND flaky . YES. That's what we want! Bake them in a hot oven, top them with some salty bacon, a fried egg, a big hunk of tomato and a dollop of mayonnaise and then call me, because I'm coming over.

When you've got a lazy weekend morning, make a batch of these biscuits. Go wild and double the recipe if you can and freeze half of the biscuits to make weekday biscuits a thing. They could be a thing, you know. I mean, any weekday that starts out with biscuits is all right by me. These biscuits are quite good, too. They're soft, buttery and are the perfect vehicle for all kinds of breakfast sandwich fare. Next time I'll remember the "L" in B.L.T. and add a little spicy arugula for a fresh kick.

biscuit sandwiches with bacon, egg + tomato

serves 6

find the original biscuit recipe (and much prettier ones at that!) here

Ingredients:

9 oz all purpose flour (about 2 cups)
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
5 tablespoons very cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
3/4 cup cold buttermilk, plus more for the top of the biscuits
6 eggs
12 slices of bacon (you should probably throw a couple extra on in case someone wants a sample)
mayonnaise
1 large tomato, cut into thick slices

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a silicone liner or parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the butter cubes, and use a pastry cutter or a couple of forks to mix the butter into the flour mixture. The pieces of butter should not be smaller than the size of peas and the mixture will start to look like course meal or wet sand. Stick the bowl in the fridge for 5-10 minutes to chill.
Add the cold buttermilk to the flour and butter mixture and mix it quickly with a fork until it's moist. There may still be some dry bits of flour, that's okay. They'll get mixed in in a minute.
Dump the dough (and any extra flour) onto a lightly floured work surface and knead gently about 3-4 times until you have a mostly cohesive mass. The dough might still be a little shaggy, but we'll work that out right now. Roll the dough into a rectangle about 9'' by 5". Fold the dough into thirds like a letter, folding the long sides in toward the middle, overlapping one another. Roll out the dough again into a 9" by 5" rectangle. Fold it up again like a letter. Roll it out again into a 9" by 5" rectangle. Repeat the letter folding one more time, and then roll it out to about 3/4 inch thick. With a large knife, cut the dough into six equal pieces. Transfer the biscuits to the baking sheet and brush the top of each biscuit with a little buttermilk. Sprinkle with kosher salt.
Bake for about 12-15 minutes, until the biscuits have puffed and are golden brown around the edges. Transfer the biscuits to a wire rack to cool slightly.
While the biscuits are in the oven, cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium high heat until crisp. Let them drain on some paper towels.
Wipe out the bacon skillet and cook the eggs over easy, until the whites are set, but the yolk is still runny.
Now that the biscuits are cool enough to handle, cut them in half and spread a good dollop of mayonnaise on the bottom of each biscuit. Place a tomato slice on top of that, and then put an egg on it. Give it a light sprinkle of salt and freshly ground pepper and top with two slices of bacon. Place the top half of the biscuit on, well, the top and take a giant bite. Let the egg and tomato drip down your elbows. "Mmmm" and "Yumm" loudly.