I eat breakfast every day. That has not always been the case, but I often wake up hungry. The change came for one of two reasons. It’s either because I wake up earlier in the mornings and have time to actually eat before getting ready and running out the door for work. I get up earlier because I sleep better with my CPAP and feel more well-rested in the mornings, and also, Isabella is so insistent that she wants to be fed early in the mornings. The other reason I eat breakfast is that once my diabetes was under control, I woke up with lower blood sugar in the mornings and was thus hungry. The problem with eating breakfast every morning is that I don’t have much variety in what I have for breakfast. I do not like sweet breakfast foods except on rare occasions. If I am somewhere that serves good French toast, then I’ll have French toast. So, more often than not, I have a biscuit, cheese toast, or an English muffin. If I have enough time, I will make some grits, biscuits and gravy, or maybe even savory scones, but I usually only have time for that on the weekend and when I have done some preparation the night before. On rare occasions I might make some bacon and eggs, but as a general rule, eggs are not one of my favorite things and can occasionally make me nauseated.
This morning was one of those mornings when I looked in my refrigerator and freezer and thought, “There isn’t anything that looks appetizing this morning.” So, I made a cup of tea. I’m still waking up congested, so a cup of hot tea seems better to break up the congestion than coffee does, especially since I put cream in my coffee. As I write this, I have been thinking of what I want to make for breakfast, or do I want to hold off on eating until after I leave for work? If I hold off, I can go by Dunkin’ Donuts, McDonald’s, or stop at one of the local delis to get a breakfast sandwich. While I did wake up hungry this morning, I think I could easily wait to get breakfast on my way to work. When I finish typing this I will make my decision on what I will be doing for breakfast this morning. Tomorrow, I will be working from home, so I will have a little extra time and will likely either fry up some ham and cook a biscuit or two so I can have a ham and cheese biscuit, or I may make a bowl of cheese grits. This morning, I just don’t have the energy for either of those.
I am still feeling a lot of fatigue from having Covid last week, so I will be glad to when today is over and I can be a little more relaxed for the next few days. Next week is going to be very busy as I am hosting some guests at the museum, which will likely have me working longer days than usual. I need my energy back to get through next week. The week after that, I will be gone for a conference all week. So, there won’t be much rest for the weary over the next couple of weeks.
Joe
The Closet Professor 
October 24th, 2024 at 9:02 am
Hi Joe,
as a Montréaler
could you explain what grits are?
thanks
Jean
October 24th, 2024 at 11:56 am
Jean, grits are a type of porridge made from coarsely ground dried corn or hominy. To initially made the grits, I a 4:1 ratio of water to grits and liberal amounts of salt and butter to taste. Quick grits, which is what I usually use, boil for about 7 minutes. If you want the simplest form, that’s all you do. I like to add a few more ingredients. In the 6th minute, I usually add cheese, American or cheddar, works best in my opinion because they melt easily in grits. I also like to add either some crumbled pork sausage. Alternately, you can also add bacon or ham, though I prefer sausage best.
October 24th, 2024 at 4:30 pm
Jean, if you have the inclination, the subject of grits is a running theme/gag in the movie “My Cousin Vinny.”
Grits have a remarkable quality to them. No matter how much alcohol you might have drunk the night before, grits naturally soothe the stomach…
Joe, are your biscuits from scratch?
Best, Bruce
October 24th, 2024 at 6:06 pm
I have some frozen biscuits, I occasionally make them from scratch. I know my grandmama’s recipe.
October 24th, 2024 at 8:32 pm
That’s nice! My grandmother’s receipt (the term they use in South Carolina) didn’t survive because she cooked/baked from memory. She got her corn meal and flour from a local miller so they both were coarser than commercially milled grains. Good for you, Joe!
October 24th, 2024 at 8:38 pm
Grandmama always cooked from memory too, but she taught me that skill and I also wrote down what she taught me.
October 24th, 2024 at 4:35 pm
Jean, I forgot to mention that Marisa Tomei won the best supporting actress for her role in this film. When I taught law school, I always insisted that my new students watch this film…it’s so incredibly funny no one ever complained!
October 24th, 2024 at 9:50 pm
You are fortunate your Grandmama allowed you in the kitchen. My grandmother was very protective about that. She didn’t even like my mother in the kitchen. She would allow Annie Henderson to help. Annie was the wife of their last sharecropper Cordell. The day we buried Grandmother, I had one of the limos drive the two of us to the church so she could pay her respects. Boy did I catch hell over that! It was 1977 and the Baptists were furious I brought a colored woman (being polite, don’t you know, N word was accurate) into their church. Annie stayed in the kitchen and made sure we had a fabulous feast. Annie used to tell me that my grandmother was special because she fed the white and Black field hands the same food. Apparently it was normal for the Blacks to be fed inferior food. Grandmother made them sit on seperate porches however, and I wasn’t allowed to speak to the Blacks.