Happy Spring...just kidding y'all. The Great Canadian Tease is taking place nearly nationwide with daffodils one day and ice gardens the next. N'oreasters and blizzards are pounding the East coast.
Why couldn't the sun gods put us on an island where it's warm every day of our lives? The dogs don't even want to go outside and do their business. I've gone through about 500 lbs. of birdseed, watched every movie on TV, rewatched our DVD's and am certain I will begin a new chapter of insanity very soon. Totally ready for sunscreen, shrimp on the barbie and deck time.
Well, Eskimo friends, we can all sit on our hibernated, white, winter butts and whine about it with cabin fever at an all-time high right up there with The Shining or we can try to escape with breakfast. I said breakfast. You won't wake up in Nice, but it will distract you for a moment or two and it doesn't have to be something you spend an hour at the stove doing. It is elegant, easy, delicious and believe it or not, does not include bacon and eggs. We Americans (especially midwestern, cowboy types) tend to forget the art of breakfast and you don't have to eat yogurt out of a plastic cup or run through McDonald's for a super calorific-McExcuse-Me-I'm-in-a-Hurry worthless meal.
When I traveled in Europe, the mornings were something to look forward to. Such a simple start to the day with fresh fruit, pastries, bread, butter, jam, juice and great coffee (most of the time). When you have to go down three or five flights of stairs to buy a baguette or croissant, then back up again, you don't worry about calories especially when you'll be going back down those stairs again to start exploring the sites...on foot. European sight-seeing definitely burns 
more calories because you rarely step foot in a car to get anywhere--unless you're driving through Italy looking for a place to stay, lost and dodging sheep, farmers and high-speed scooters on the back roads. I'm sure the anxiety knocks off a pound a day when you haven't ended up in jail for driving onto the piazza during a military parade or getting another ticket for parking at a traffic sign that says Stop or No Parking. I lost five lbs. staying out of jail.With very little preparation, you can enjoy this experience at home with no fear of arrest.
Just dream a spell...
that you are sitting in a garden in Tuscany or
enjoying the view from your balcony in Paris.
Your continental petit dejuener:
All you need is fresh or frozen fruit--blueberries, strawberries, bananas, apples--some pecan pieces--a baguette, croissants, some strudel, granola, honey, creamy butter and your favorite jam--whatever you like.Voila! Simple, fresh and healthy.
Cut-up the banana and apple into bite-size pieces, blend into the blueberries, add a splash of lemon juice, a light coating of honey, serve it in a pretty bowl and top it with pecans and some creme fraiche for an indulgent savoring. Slice the baguette, heat the strudel and pour yourself the best cup of coffee you can buy. Hit the cobblestones and lose yourself.
Bon appetit!
Far away
in the land of summer
the sand is hot and
the water is lapping at your toes.
