Toshiko and I have been friends since we were roommates in college, and she knows me pretty well. A little too well if she remembers all the mischief I got up to my first year away from home. So when I stayed at her Tokyo apartment, she offered to make me a traditional Japanese breakfast, just like her mom used to make for her before school. Does she know me well or what?! Home cooking is the Holy Grail of travel food blogging, so I was perhaps more excited than is reasonable considering that breakfast is a largely understated affair in Japan.
Miso soup. Plain white rice. And eggs scrambled with chives and teeny tiny fish.
Combined, it’s total comfort food. But what struck me (and strikes Toshiko when she visits) is how different the American breakfast is (which you can’t even find in Tokyo last I checked). What do you think of when you imagine the traditional American breakfast? Two eggs, 2 slices of bacon, buttered toast and jam, or perhaps pancakes with syrup. It’s salt, fat, and carbs all over the place. In other countries, they call it dessert. (These photos were both taken at Layer Cake – a fabulous bakery near my home in Orange County).
Just a little food for thought this Monday. Now I’m going to scramble up some eggs – sadly minus the mini-fishes.