a blueberry pancake kind of day

I woke up today with the notion that this was a blueberry pancakes for breakfast kind of a day.

When your notions speak to you in the morning I find it's best you mind them because then the day might finish and no blueberry pancake batter will be chilling in the fridge ready for round two tomorrow!

I'm a sucker for little blueberries, they're like sweet little reminders that Summer is waiting just around the corner.

This little dog of ours is both sweet and irascible depending on which way the wind is blowing.

Here she is giving my feet a good wash...

this is after she pulled both my socks off  and murdered them with her bare teeth ^.^

She's a character, our little fat bellied baby, my favourite is when she's all sleepy from play and she conks out on her back like a human toddler...my heart melts!

Tonight I'm packing my bags for a short trip North to my great grandmother's cottage in Donegal.

I love escaping to this part of Ireland, there's so much of the country's original, untouched landscapes, glens and white sandy beaches to explore.

Except if it rains. Which it probably will. If so an open fire, books and board games are all to be seen in my tea leaves!!

See you in a few days!

somewhere between the light time and the night time

Wednesday was Liberation Day here in Korea so we were gifted with a rare mid-week one-day vacation. We kick-started the day early and I made Dallas and I a batch of cinnamon french toast from this amazing recipe. A real sweet start to the day. 

Our daytime plans were then scuppered by a fantastic rainstorm that lasted well untill 6 o'clock that evening. We spent most of the day inside reading, listening to good music and claps of thunder and watched the raindrops jitterbuggin' down our windows.

By evening cabin fever had set in and we grabbed our umbrellas and headed out to Hongdae where we got twirly after a few long islands in a bag and wandered the streets taking pictures and buying nonsense trinkets such as a diy birdcage and paper model of Spike Lee :)

Yesterday back at school we were tired and not a little hungover but we both agreed it was totally worth it. 

I guess rainy Wednesday cocktails, street walking and hand holding just do it for me ^^

good morning blueberry pancakes

Nothing says "Good Morning" like a batch of blueberry pancakes :)

I like to rustle up a plate of these on those mornings when only something sweet will do.  Pancakes used to be a once a year deal in my household growing up when my Mom would cook them on Shrove Tuesday, but I've been waving the flag for American-style pancake breakfasts ever since we visited Austin, Texas 5 years ago.

Because of the high sugar content in pancakes these really are a once a month treat as usually I prefer to kick start my day with whole-foods. However, i can feel ok about the blueberries in these pancakes and the more you stuff them with blueberries the better the nutritional value of this delcious breakfast treat.

I could sing about the health benefits of blueberries all day long, they are classed as one of the number one superfoods alongside spinach and salmon. You gotta love 'em!

Here is my current recipe I am using for blueberry pancakes, however I am always tweaking it. Also, you're of course not limited to just adding blueberries,  the beauty of pancakes is you can add any filling you like. As you can see from my photo I was feeling a little fancy that morning and added raspberries too. I also find adding shredded coconut and mashed banana to the pancake batter ridiculously yummy.

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 1/4 teaspoons white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 tablespoon butter, melted
• 1/2 cup blueberries (or any chosen filling) 

1. In a large bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking powder and sugar. In a small bowl, beat together egg and milk. Stir milk and egg into flour mixture. Mix in the butter and fold in the blueberries. Set aside for 1 hour.
2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

avocado toast

Ok this has become a firm staple in my breakfast repertoire recently. I give you: avocado toast.

This is everything you want from a  good morning breakfast: quick, easy delicious and nutritious. The mix of  ripe, nutty, buttery avocado on top of wholegrain toast is to die for. This is so good I even snack on it sometimes.

And this is why it's good for you: yes, avocados are high in fat BUT the fat is un-saturated (you know the good kind, like in nuts) so it won't clog your arteries and actually helps reduce cholestorol. Avocados are also packed with lutein which keep our skin, eyes and heart healthy. I have an aversion to white bread, but brown I can't get enough of, specifically wholgrain which is packed with good wholegrain carbs which again, unlike refined carbs, will not promote weight gain and are stocked with fiber to keep your tummy happy and full till the lunch time snack attack :)

To make avocado toast you simply have to:

1. Halve a ripe avocado and scoop out the flesh into a bowl
2. Add a little olive oil, a squeeze of lemon juice, sea salt & pepper and mash together with a fork
3. Toast one slice of wholegrain bread
4. Spread the mashed avocado over the top and sprinkle with cracked black pepper
5. Devour: Om Nom Nom Nom Nom!...:)

The Breakfast Club

Want to know a secret about me? I love breakfast.

 It's my absolute favourite meal of the day. Most nights before I go to sleep I'll visualise what's in our fridge and plan what breakfast concoctions I can create with them in the morning. Ask my boyfriend. No matter what time of the day we get up at, even if we've been out all night and get up in the afternoon, I have to get up and make us some good breakfast food. Because c'mon, breakfast food rocks! Hello? Eggs, avocados, bagels and burritos? Aren't you just a little bit hungry now? 

Breakfast is just not a meal I'm prepared to skip.

I'm also a firm believer that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It's the perfect opportunity to load ourselves up on some vital nutrients and prepare our minds and bodies for a fabulous day ahead. So here I am to celebrate breakfast and share some of my favourite breakfast go-to's. I've been busy pinning great nutritional breakfast ideas that I want to try out too so I'll be sharing those as I try them.

So I'll kick off with one of my breakfast staples: a soft boiled egg. You seriously can't go wrong here, it's quick it's easy and delicious. Eggs in the morning are such a good idea for so many reasons: they are a complete source of protein so they are not only good for you but they'll keep you going till lunch time. Most of my breakfast plates include an egg of some description or another!

I like my soft boiled eggs really runny as I usually make some toasted soldiers to dip into them! To make the perfect soft boiled egg you need to:

• Place your eggs in a small saucepan and cover with cold water by about 1 cm
• Put the eggs on at a high heat untill the water comes to a rolling boil
• Turn down the heat and simmer the water for 3 minutes
• Remove and serve

How about you? What are your favourite delicious and nutritional breakfast dishes? Let's share!