Breakfast of Champions, Or At Least Of Old Ladies

So my concussed self is still recovering.  Womp womp.  I've been taking it pretty easy for the past week and a half.  We (me, myself, and I) are at the point where I'm starting to feel massively guilty about it - and then I go up a flight of stairs and I'm exhausted.  (Translation: I've become that obnoxious person that takes the elevator up two floors.)  Anyway, I came back from my first class of the day hungry and cranky, so I made myself the best breakfast EVER - the breakfast of champions: toast with jam and cheddar cheese (what up, my Vermonters) and a massive cup of black tea with milk and honey.  There may have even been a teapot and a makeshift tea-cosy involved.

Makeshift tea-cosy/champion of the rectification
of a botched consideration of Bernoulli's Principle

Dobby and his tea cosy hat

The towel is actually there because it's a crap teapot that has a tendency to drip during the sacred act of tea pouring.  It also has the lovely effect of keeping my tea warm.

Another great tragedy of dorm-life is the lack of toasters.  As someone who considers toast to be a gift from God right up there with Jesus (it's warm bread), I was enthralled to remember how my grandmother maintains her most civilized breakfast habits without a toaster (or, for that matter, a microwave, not that breakfast usually calls for a microwave). She uses the oven.  Gasp.  So here I have adopted her methods to make my toast and do my best to not unknowingly find myself in the infernal abyss of pop tarts.

Turn the oven on.  This is a good first step.  I usually decide to turn on the broiler (which means just the top coils heat to 500 degrees) because it gets really hot really fast and you don't have to heat the entire oven to toast the bread.  Regardless, you do not have to wait until the oven is officially preheated.  Make sure that the top rack is as close to the coils on top as possible.  I put the bread on a baking sheet, but you can put the slices on the rack as well.  If you are using something made of pyrex, check to see if it can withstand the almighty powers of the broiler.  If it can't, it shouldn't be too big of a deal because the oven won't actually get that hot, but still.  Remembering an oven mitt or a really giant wad of paper towels from the bathroom, take the toast out when it has crisped to your pleasure.  Keep in mind that it will look/be more toasted when you take it out of the oven and it cools.

tea, a drink with jam and bread

Pick the jam of your choice (try farmer's market jams... expensive but delicious) and the cheese that speaks to you, although I think extra sharp cheddar always blends perfectly with any jam, be it tart or sweet.  Right now, I have a jar of plum jam, although I'm a fan of most of the berries as well.

the toast, jam, and cheese in all its light-reflecting glory

As for the tea, I like PG Tips - especially their black tea, although Trader Joe's also has some Mango Black Tea that is subtle but sweet when you add honey.  Boil the water, pour the water, add the tea bag, and let it steep for awhile.  I usually add a spoonful of honey and a bit of milk.  Be careful not to add too much, otherwise you will end up with tepid tea-flavored milk.  Consume.  Preferably with music in the background and the paper or a good book in front of you.

There's a bunch of songs that I want to post right now, but none of them are entirely appropriate for breakfast in the traditional sense of the word - just in the weird it's-almost-noon-and-I-haven't-eaten-yet-but-hell-I'm-in-college-and-becoming-nocturnal-except-I'm-not-really-sleeping-during-the-day-either kind of way.  So here's a song that is mellow but also has a good, energizing beat.  It's a song by the artist Brett Dennen, who is kind of folksy in that campfire way.