I have an addiction.

It's not a bad addiction (depending on how you look at it). In fact, it has proven to be really good at times.

Hi, my name is A., and I have an addiction to breakfast food.

My absolute favorite breakfast food is pancakes, but I'll be content with pretty much anything breakfast related.  Sausage, eggs, toast, muffins, crepes, waffles, breakfast sandwiches, breakfast bowls, quiches: You name it, I'll probably love it.  A post-concert ritual that my best friend and I started back in freshman year was to go to Village Inn or some other breakfast oriented (even the sleazy all-night Diner on campus) and have breakfast in celebration of a concert well (or sometimes, badly) done.  At 11 at night.  I love breakfast.

Now, I also have a problem with my addiction.  Pancakes are the one thing which I honestly fail (95% of the time) at making successfully.  I have no idea why, but pancakes never come out right for me.  They're always burned, not cooked through, or some combination of Not Right that makes them Crappy Pancakes.  Even though I always eat my Crappy Pancakes in shame, I will freely admit that it's probably not the best idea to have me at the stove to make them.  R., however, makes them really well.  He's surprised me with chocolate-chip pancakes on more than one occasion, and it always makes my week.

While we're admitting addictions and other negatively-connotated things, I have another admission.  I have Appliance Envy.  My childhood memories of having pancakes at my Grandma's house (those were Really Special Mornings) included her electric griddle, that she still uses today, even though it's probably a good 15-20 years old.  It heated evenly and perfectly, and always produced perfect pancakes. I envy that griddle.  In my dream kitchen, there would be a griddle surface built into the range, all because of that griddle at my Grandma's house from my childhood.

Obviously, I can't have pancakes and breakfast delights every morning, especially with my crippling failure at making them.  I usually settle for cereal or a bagel, something to grab on the way out the door and easy to eat while driving (shh, I know it's a bad habit. But I don't do well in the mornings, and am perpetually rushed.  It's one of the few things I can multi-task to save time).

I was playing around with egg recipes the other day, and found that baking scrambled eggs in a pie dish on a low temp (around 300 degrees) cooked them perfectly, and gave you an almost-quiche texture.  So I mixed in some sweet-and-spicy prepackaged tuna, salt and pepper into about 6 eggs, and baked for about 25 minutes at the low heat, checking pretty regularly to avoid Burnt Eggs (one of the great sins of the universe).  When it was pretty much done except for a little watery spot in the middle, I generously piled shredded cheese on top and turned on the broiler for about 3 minutes.  Ta-da, Egg-Tuna-Casserole!

While the Egg-Tuna-Casserole was delicious, I couldn't finish it all in one sitting.  R. is still out of town, and I haven't even bothered to try to readjust my cooking proportions, because he'll be back on Friday and I'll be back to making things for two people.  Until then, I just cook half as much and eat the same thing, sometimes variated, twice.

This morning I got called into work, and mistakenly turned off my alarm after it went off -- and didn't wake up until about 20 minutes before I Had To Be Out The Door.  I scrambled and got dressed and ready for work, but I needed something to eat for breakfast that could be a) eaten while driving, obviously, and b) a lasting meal that would keep me full for a while.  I took the remaining Egg-Tuna-Casserole, nuked it really fast, put it between two pieces of whole-wheat-whole-grain toast with a little mustard and called it a sandwich.  It was delicious!  And, the combination of whole grains and super-protein from the eggs and tuna kept me full for a long time. Victory for leftovers!

I'm babysitting a friend of mine's 10-year-old daughter overnight tomorrow night, and being as she's one of the coolest kids I know on the face of the planet, I want to make something special for her.  She's adamant that I'm not really babysitting her, I'm just a friend that is staying overnight so she doesn't get scared alone while her Mom is out of town.  Exactly, kid, what I thought I was doing!  I have basic baking ingredients around, and some delicious blueberries in the freezer that need to be used up.

I think this mission calls for muffins!
Here's to friends who keep you safe, and indulge your breakfast food addictions,
-A