Breakfast: Peppermint tea

In a strange turn of habit, I did NOT start my day with Bircher muesli. Not only was I still full from last night’s pizza and cake, but I was also still in Colchester, miles away from London and my stash of oats, raisins, apricots and nuts. On the plus side, I think last night’s food fest, paired with lots of water before bed, helped stave off a hangover. This was good, because I had to get back to London in time for breakfast with Ruth at 10:30am. On the train, I nourished myself with peppermint tea and a bottle of water while I watched the country roll by. As much as I didn’t have a hangover, I was still pretty tired and not really feeling up to reading or being productive.

Brunch: Best poached eggs ever

Back in London, I cycled home via the Newington Green Grocer and Belle Epoque, the bad ass French bakery nearby, for a loaf of Pain de Champagne and a sourdough rye. Then I made my way to the farmer’s market for fresh eggs and this week’s greens and things. There I ran into Ruth, who helped Tim buy bacon while I focussed on the kale, carrots and apples.

We had a phenomenal breakfast. Tim’s poached eggs were the best he’s made in a while. This we credit to the freshness of the eggs and Tim’s liberal use of vinegar in the poaching water. Tim is a superstar when it comes to poached eggs. They are one of my favorite all time foods.

To my frustration, I was still not very hungry, so I opted against toast and instead had my poached egg on some steamed spinach. On the side, I baked some tomatoes and mushrooms with oregano, mixed herbs, salt, pepper and lots of olive oil. The tomatoes were outstanding – organic English tomatoes from “Newington Green man” (our pet name for the guy who runs the Newington Green Grocer). Sweet and delicious. I’m tempted to go buy some more tomorrow for a nice pasta sauce.

Dinner: Pea and sympathy

In between breakfast and dinner I drank copious amounts of black tea plus a snack of leftover steamed spinach sprinkled with some black sesame seeds. Nothing could revive me, and I feel like I spent much of the afternoon waiting around for dinner.

I made soup. Comforting, pureed yellow split pea soup with kale and thyme, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with paprika. Seemed like the perfect antidote to my sleepiness and this dreary cold day. The kale part was inspired by Susan’s Yellow Split-Pea Soup with Sweet Potatoes and Kale while the oil and paprika comes from Heidi’s Vegetarian Split Pea Soup. This was very yummy, though next time I might leave out the kale in favor of a simpler, smoother soup.

I ate this with some Belle Epoque bread and a salad.

Speaking of soup, Cassie just posted this awesome looking recipe for Roasted Pumpkin Lentil Soup with Pomegranate Molasses. I love the idea of pumpkin in lentil soup and I actually have pomegranate molasses on hand.

Any other soup lovers out there? Send me your recipes. Winter is here and I’m on a soup kick!