BREAKFAST FROM ACROSS THE POND

If there is one nation which celebrates breakfast as much if not more than the English it is the people of the U.S.A , for sheer variety I am sure that they would take some beating. Many years ago I lived for a short time close to an American Air Force base and during those few short months I picked up ,many hints, tips and recipes which I still use today, here is one of my families favourite American Style breakfasts.




Pancakes with maple syrup and bacon.

100g self raising flour

20g caster sugar

100ml milk

20g melted butter



8 rashers dry cured bacon

oil for frying.



Mix the flour salt ,sugar and milk together with the melted butter then fry tablespoons full in little oil on a griddle of in a frying pan at the same time fry the bacon until crisp. Layer the pancakes on a plate with a little butter between each and garnish the plate with the crispy bacon. Finally pour some maple syrup over the pancakes and serve.

The amounts shown are sufficient for a hearty breakfast for two, it is easy to double up if more is required.

You will not believe how gorgeous bacon and maple syrup are together until you try and this does make a great lazy day breakfast.



Recently our old electric toaster gave up the ghost after years of faithfully burning almost every thing we put in to it. Finding an electric toaster which works has been almost a life times quest and at last I think.......I hope......I pray that I have found the Holy Grail of toasters. Breaking away from the same old type I have purchased a flat bed toaster and so far can report that it has performed brilliantly.



It makes perfect toast with out causing the bread to burn around the edges or become rock hard. It toasted hot cross buns both quickly and again with no burning and it copes equally well with muffing and crumpets. This nifty little gadget sits on the breakfast table so that no one has to keep jumping up and down to check the grill, it easily toasts four rounds of our home made bread and it means that we can sit around the table chatting as we toast our breakfast muffins .

Not least of all it frees the person poaching the eggs or frying the bacon from having to worry about the toast as any one sitting at the table can take responsibility for making the toasted items. I believe this type of toaster has been used in the restaurant business for years, I am not at all surprised.



My son is enjoying his conference and returns home each night happy and full of news, last night he returned home to find that one of his recently written novellas is now for sale on Amazon with two more to follow in the next day or so . His motto at the moment seems to be The more books I get out there the sooner I can tell my current employer to “Take his job and shove it.”

In my opinion he has given them too many chances, been too damn loyal. Those responsible for the decline and fall of this once very successful business do not deserve such a gritty ,hard working set of individuals and my son is not the only one sitting like a swallow on the wires impatient to be off. When you consider how hard it is to gain employment these days this should give you some idea of what a crap outfit it has become over the last couple of years. I am very much looking forward to the day when I no longer have to pull my punches on this topic,hmmmm, perhaps I should just cast caution to the winds and publish a fearless expose!

For the present it is good to see my son relaxed and happy for the first tkme in months.