Against the advice of nutritionists, I rarely eat breakfast. Yes, I know what they say - that a hearty breakfast kick starts the metabolism, helping us maintain our weight and giving us energy to start the day. Whatever; it just doesn't work for me. And besides, breakfast is boring, right?
I'm not entirely convinced otherwise after reading 80 Breakfasts (80breakfasts.blogspot.com). Manila food blogger ChichaJo has a long way to go before she hits 80 - last time I checked, she was only up to breakfast No32 - that averages out to about six breakfast posts each year since she started the blog in 2005. Number 32 - bacon pancakes (above right) - sounds halfway tempting - I'd eat the bacon but skip the pancakes (she makes them from a packet mixture anyway). Breakfasts No29 (creamy mushroom and onion omelette) and No26 (yogurt with jam and nuts) won't get me out of bed any earlier, either. It's where she gets into breakfasts from the Philippines that her blog becomes interesting: a grilled sandwich made of kesong puti (fresh cow's milk cheese) and mango jam sounds delicious; as do chorizo fried rice with egg; carabao (water buffalo) milk champorado (chocolate rice pudding) with cocojam and pili nuts; and tuyo (dried salted fish) with rice and egg.
In between her well spaced posts about breakfast, ChichaJo writes about other types of food she likes: Spanish-style munggo guisado (mungbean stew); kangkong (morning glory) stems with coconut and fermented shrimp paste; tamarind chicken; and peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies.
