A Proper Breakfast

Shortly after I began my love affair with tea books and purchased the subject of my last review, A Proper Tea, I came across this week's book in a catalog called Jessica's Biscuit:  A Proper Breakfast.  [Apparently, Jessica's Biscuit, which was a cookbook only catalog and website, has just ceased existence...]

At the time, I thought and hoped this book would be only the second in a series, but I think this was the only other book that followed the same pattern.  It was never readily available here in the US, even before the era of Amazon.  My copy of the book came complete with a small card explaining that the design and concept of the book was based on A Proper Tea by Joanna Isles.  Clearly Alexandra Parsons and Evie Safarewicz followed the same ideas and designs of the previous book, even to the same degree that, as with the first book, the illustrations are more memorable than the recipes.

Breakfast is my favorite meal, closely followed by brunch.  I love breakfast pastries, and the idea of a casual meal where bunny slippers are de rigueur.  Breakfast has the full compliment of tasty foods and fancy/ridiculous equipage.  I look for any excuse to break out my toast rack!

A Proper Breakfast is a very limited look at breakfast in other cultures (mostly Western cultures) from the point of view of popular expectations, and not necessarily what folks in those places actually eat on a daily basis.  The New York breakfast features bagels and lox.  Brunch in New Orleans features jambalaya.  Breakfast in the Tropics is not about the Caribbean or South America, the way I expected it to be, but about Africa - the one non-Western chapter in the book.  It's clearly the whimsical British look at breakfast traditions.

The opening chapters focus on the breakfast beverages of coffee, tea, and hot chocolate.  I was so surprised to read the suggestion that jugs of coffee be prepared like tea:  put the grounds directly in the pot, pour in the boiling water, stir, and pour out over a strainer.  So odd.  Who does that??

The best part of the book are the illustrations, which are similar in style to those in A Proper Tea.  They feature drawn versions of actual china patterns and breakfast foods.  It was fun to try and guess what each chapter would be about from the drawing at the beginning.  My favorite is the New Orleans chapter with black and white china, iron scroll work curlicues and colorful masks and foods.

Overall, the content of the book is really the pictures.  The recipes are common, and available anywhere, but the pages are worth browsing through for tablescape ideas, or even for art's sake!

Okay, I admit that one of the calendars I want for 2015 is this Breakfast Calendar...