8.29.10--Breakfast

Sunday mornings are typically peaceful for me. Adam never gets up early on Sundays, so I sneak out of bed and turn on the espresso machine. I was feeling very Spanish (I mentioned before I spent a semester in Madrid) so I decided to make a cafe con leche. One of the things that made me instantly fall in love with Adam was that he had an espresso machine. When we met, I was working part-time at Starbucks and had a love affair with coffee. I wasn't vegan, but I loved soy lattes and when Adam made me my first homemade espresso, I was in heaven.

Nowadays, we can't handle our caffeine, so we buy decaf beans at the co-op (Fair Trade). We buy Silk soy milk at the regular grocery store because it's cheaper than the co-op. I can't really drink lattes during the week because it makes me too dehydrated on my ride to work, so I really enjoy having them on the weekends.

In Spanish fashion, I also made some toast with tomato sauce. Last week, Adam and I made homemade pizza sauce using tomatoes from our garden. We blanched them in boiling water to take the skins off, and then de-seeded them (mostly). Then Adam put them in the food processor, and we set it on the stove to cook down. It was very watery, so I think it simmered for about 3 hours total. I added some garlic and sugar and it was simply divine. The leftovers were perfect for my Spanish-style breakfast. I toasted some locally-made sourdough bread and topped them with olive oil, tomato sauce, and some chopped basil. I can't describe how yummy this is.

I used to have this breakfast when I interned at the Instituto de Estudios Politicos para America Latina y Africa in Madrid. I spent most of my time translating documents and being too shy to interact with many of the folk there. But occasionally they would invite me to the cafe downstairs for almuerzo (mid-morning snack) and we would all get tostados con tomate and cafecitos. I felt so grown up and extremely international. I worked with Belgians, Swedes, Portuguese, and Spaniards, and they were simply fascinating. At all of 21, I realized that I wanted my life to be like this--spending time with interesting and passionate people who understood the importance of a 10am coffee with friends.