Monday, March 16, 2009

Lazy Weekend Breakfasts

I was able to get a half kilo's worth of fresh mountain blueberries on a recent trip to Baguio City, and it's been figuring in a lot of my breakfasts lately.

I first used it in a blueberry cheesecake, caramelizing it with a little sugar and blitzing it after it's cooled along with the cream cheese and cream. After the cheesecake has set I topped it with more fresh blueberries.

A no-fuss, lazy weekend breakfast that's been a favorite of mine for years now is mixing the blueberries with a spoonful of cottage cheese, a sliced banana, and an apple that's been cored and diced. It's a perfect treat to wake up to mid-morning - just a few minutes to prepare, and doesn't require any dexterous nor mind skill that it could be assembled while still half-asleep.

And the best part, it's a very light dish, so that I could join the family in the full-course lunches I am wont to prepare on weekends (like making up for the weekday cooking by the househelp).

The blueberries, banana and apple (better if using both green and red), plus fresh strawberries if available, is my ideal mix, because they all somehow complement one another in taste and texture, which is then rounded up by the creamy, soft curds of the cottage cheese. Last weekend my strawberries have all been eaten up or made into shakes. But I added a mango, de-seeded and cubed, because I couldn't resist, with several sitting on my fruit tray, very yellow and so fragrant.

The mango was so sweet it dwarfed the individual tastes of the other fruits. But it was still a delicious mix. I'll probably try another one with solely mango and cottage cheese next weekend, as it is mango season, after all. And especially since I have now run out of fresh blueberries and I don't foresee another trip to Baguio in the immediate future.

I also use fresh bluebrries in pancakes, just incorporating them in the pancake batter before cooking. Topped with some powdered sugar and more blueberries, another easy-to-whip but satisfying mid-morning weekend breakfast.

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