Breakfast, the Most Delicious Meal of the Day (Plus a Bonus Cocktail Recipe!)

As of last week I have lived in DC for a year– I can’t believe how quickly it’s flown by!  365 days ago on a 95-degree, humid-as-all-get-out day, BF and I (along with a LOT of help from my parents and a few awesome friends) lugged more stuff than I knew we had into our apartment and started to settle in.

Here's hoping out apartment never looks this messy again-- no promises though!
Here’s hoping our apartment never looks this messy again– no promises though!

We moved on a Sunday, and when BF came home from work the next day, he was shocked at how much I’d gotten done.  I guess I was really eager to start nesting!  Despite how much stuff it felt like we had in those first few days, one thing that was definitely not full of stuff was our fridge.  Our first meal was at Quizno’s!  Fortunately we managed to squeeze in a trip to the grocery store pretty quickly.  But once we’d acquired groceries, I had to figure out how to feed us.  I’m the kind of person who is perfectly content to graze and graze, and never actually make a meal.  Once I was responsible for feeding someone else, though, (a job I gladly and voluntarily took on, by the way– love him, but cooking isn’t exactly BF’s forte, and as long as he’s doing the dishes I’m more than happy to be in charge of the cooking) I worried I’d be cooking things BF didn’t like and he’d be too nice to say anything!  Luckily, except for some weirdddd things about liquids and citrus (don’t get me started), BF’s pretty happy to eat anything.  And we discovered early on that we both LOVE breakfast food.  Like, LOVE love.  Every Sunday we make a point of sleeping in and cooking a late, biiig breakfast– brunch is a big thing in DC but it’s also pricey, so it’s nice to be able to do our own (cheaper) version at home.

We haven’t been around much this summer so we’ve missed out on our Sunday brunch tradition a lot, and I think BF is genuinely sad about it!  Lucky for poor, poor him, we were home this weekend and he got to break his daily routine of dry cheerios (yes, really.  How sad is that?).  When we do Sunday brunch, we almost always make eggs and bacon.  How can you go wrong there?  But if you’re eating your scrambled eggs plain, you’re limiting yourself.  Almost EVERYthing goes well in eggs– they’re a very kitchen sink kind of food!  Spinach, tomatoes, and feta?  BORN to blend with eggs (seriously, I think I ate this combo every single weekend my senior year of college.  I regret nothing).  This weekend I did herb-y tomato eggs with parmesan, and was pretty happy with that too.  Spicing up your eggs is a great idea– bonus points if you add Sriracha!

Cook some chopped tomatoes in a teeeeny smidge of oil with pepper, thyme, and rosemary (or whatever other herb suits your fancy).
Cook some chopped tomatoes (or veggies of your choice– my mom’s fave is peppers and onions) in a teeeeny smidge of oil with salt/pepper, thyme, and rosemary (or whatever other herbs suit your fancy).
Scramble eggs with salt and pepper, and add them to the pan. Stir often to keep eggs soft and protect them from drying out. When they're nearly done, add cheese (I used a bit of gorgonzola and some shredded parm) and stir til melted.
Scramble eggs with salt and pepper, and add them to the pan over low heat. Stir often to keep eggs soft and protect them from drying out. When they’re nearly done, add cheese (I used a bit of gorgonzola and some shredded parm, but again, whatever you’ve got works) and stir til melted.
If you're like me, you'll cut out the middle man and pile the eggs on your piece of toast. But since that isn't the prettiest thing ever, here's a picture of BF's plate instead.
If you’re like me, you’ll cut out the middle man and pile the eggs right on your piece of toast. But since that isn’t the prettiest thing ever, here’s a picture of BF’s plate instead.

After a week of cereal, or yogurt and fruit, or whatever routine breakfast we have, a “fancy” breakfast is a nice way of acknowledging that it is in fact the weekend.  Plus, adding veggies/herbs/cheese is an instant gratification way to change up plain eggs (not that there’s anything wrong with plain eggs.  But still).

ANOTHER way to acknowledge that it’s the weekend is to indulge in a summery cocktail.  When we drink at home, BF and I usually just have beer or wine, but we made it our mission this summer to try some fun cocktails.  We haven’t been around much this summer so we haven’t tried as many as we’d like, but this weekend we tested out Tequila Cosmos.  The verdict?  First, a confession: I really, genuinely like tequila.  Everybody I know seems to hate tequila’s taste, or has a “tequila story,” but I don’t!  I like tequila cocktails and don’t mind the taste.  This drink was strong, but I liked it!  You could certainly taste the tequila in it, but the triple sec and cranberry flavors balanced it out.  If you’re not so keen on tequila’s flavor, you might want to add more cranberry juice to dilute things a bit.  Or I suppose you could use triple sec, but I’m not sure that’s in your liver’s best interest…

Tequila Cosmos (makes one drink)

First, gather your supplies. If you don't have a fancy drink shaker (which we did not until very recently), i've found that a Nalgene works well for mixing drinks. Very classy, I know.
First, gather your supplies. If you don’t have a fancy drink shaker (which we did not until very recently), I’ve found that a Nalgene works well for mixing drinks. Very classy, I know.
Add 1.5 oz. tequila, q oz. triple sec, 1 oz. cranberry juice, and 1 oz. lime juice to a shaker full of ice.
Add 1.5 oz. tequila, 1 oz. triple sec, 1 oz. cranberry juice, and 1 oz. lime juice to a shaker full of ice.
Next, shake the drink to your lil heart's content! This was our first time using the shaker, so we were pretty psyched.
Next, shake the drink to your lil heart’s content! This was our first time using the shaker, so we were pretty psyched.
Strain the drink into a glass (these are doubles, for the record), admire it's beautiful color, and find someplace outside to enjoy it!
Strain the drink into a glass (these are doubles, for the record), admire its beautiful color, and find someplace outside to enjoy it!
Drink it slowly to A) savor it, and B) save yourself a (literal) headache down the road!
Drink it slowly to A) savor it, and B) save yourself a (literal) headache down the road!

Now that August is almost halfway over, I’m realizing how quickly my free days are fading– I start classes two weeks from today!  I’m really excited for this semester, since I got to pick my classes and I have the MOST exciting internship lined up for the fall, but I’m still pretty sad to see summer go.  At least it stays warm for longer down here than it does in upstate NY– even if I’m stuck at school all day, it will still feel like summer for a while!

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