Beginnings, fresh starts, warmth, comfort – breakfast has all these connotations for me. I feel there is no better way to embark on our journey than for Irish Food Revolution’s inaugural blog post to feature breakfast. And the Irish do it right.

It is no wonder that James Joyce begins Ulysses with the morning meal playing such an important role. Leopold Bloom starts his celebrated day on a quest to find and cook a pork kidney for his breakfast. No kidneys will be fried up in the making of this blog; however, Bloom’s satisfaction with the kidney’s earthiness and decadence seems to transcend a single breakfast, speaking to the importance of a hearty meal for the Irish.

Breakfast was actually my indoctrination to Irish food over twenty years ago, and after embarking from any plane trip back to Ireland, I always head out for the quintessential Irish fry up (for restaurant suggestions head to the ever-growing locator page). But at home, I make it myself; it brings me back twenty years to my first day in Ireland.

What I’m creating here is one possible version and does not include black or white pudding, but the Irish sausage, Irish beans, and fried tomato do it for me!

RECIPE
For a simple nod to an Irish Breakfast, and I stress simple:

1. Fry up the following (I use Kerrygold butter rather than oil for a truly decadent experience):

• ^{Half a fresh, ripe organic tomato- till it is soft and has a nice crust}
• ^{One cage free, organic egg- made to your liking}
• ^{Two Irish sausages (you can find links to online Irish food sales on the locator page-if there aren’t any stores near you that sell any). Heat the sausage until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees. The sausage needs to be golden brown all over.}

2. Warm up some authentic Irish canned beans- I bought my can of Batchelors at a local Irish shop. They use tomato in the beans, which gives them a distinctive flavor.

3. Serve with soda bread or brown bread with more butter (and even a bit of honey too).

4. And plate.

Note about beverage

No Irish breakfast is complete without a cup of tea. In Chapter 1 alone of Ulysses, tea is mentioned ten times as Joyce’s alter ego, Stephen Dedalus, eats his breakfast. And Clodagh McKenna has a wonderful recipe for an authentic cup of tea in her book, Clodagh’s Irish Kitchen. But one simple directive: you must use a kettle and bring the water to a rolling boil before pouring over tea bags or leaves. The tea flavor will be that much richer!

At this moment, I am actually craving a cup of tea-so until next week, where I will explore great breakfast alternatives.

Here is to your own new beginnings. May they bring you joy.