English Breakfast

Breakfast or brunch (brunch is a meal eaten in the middle of the morning, in between the normal time of breakfast and the normal time for lunch, as a substitute for both of these meals),for a weekend starter for the day. After eating a meal like this you will be ready to take on what ever the day brings you.

You can cook the bacon first, remove and keep warm, pour off any excess dripping and cook the Bubble and Squeak in the dish.

No need for butter or onions then, because there is a nice flavour of bacon, but be careful,

What is Bubble and Squeak?

• It is the name given to leftover vegetables from a meal the day before..

In a large frying pan melt about 4 tbsp butter ( depends a lot on how much leftovers you have) use according to requirement.

Finely chopped a small onion and add to the butter (not too hot, cook about 3 minutes or until soft.

Turn the heat up slightly and add the mashed potato and finely chopped vegetables,which could include - cabbage, swede, carrots, peas, brussels sprouts, (last nights left-overs).

Fry for 10 mins turning over in the melted butter two or three times ensuring the potato and vegetables are thoroughly reheated plus you are aiming to brown the outside edges but not to burn the bubble and squeak.

Cooking Mushrooms:

Butter may not be the healthiest cooking ingredient, but it gives mushrooms a flavor you cannot get be using other cooking oils and margarine.

Mushrooms must be dry, the butter very hot.

No need to peel mushrooms, mushrooms can be sliced thick or thin, cut in quarters, coarsely or finely chopped using a sharp knife.

Eight ounces of mushrooms, melt one tablespoon butter in a large skillet.

Add mushrooms. Cook and stir until golden and the released juices have evaporated, about five minutes.

Seasonings: Mushrooms are very similar to meats and other vegetables.

Virtually any and all seasonings go well with mushrooms.

Cooking eggs:

There are several ways you can cook the egg, on top of the stove in a pan after cooking the mushrooms, or in the microwave.

Frying an egg in the Microwave:

Break 1 egg into a microwave-safe bowl, (or I use a small Tupperware bowl).

Gently poke the yolk of the egg with a knife so it does not explode.

Cover the bowl with a saran wrap or a plate, ( I find the saran wrap perfect for if the egg does explode it does not make a mess, a plate are inclined to get blown off if it does explode).

Microwave for one minute, remove from microwave and flip. Microwave for another 20 seconds.

Season Ready to serve.

Tips for cooking eggs in a Microwave

• Be careful not to overcook, far better to undercooked, as eggs go on cooking when sitting before serving, they tend to get a bit rubbery and take on a green tinge around the edges if overcooked in the microwave.
• If it does happen, you can add some grated cheese on the top and no one would be any the wiser.
• If you use a cup to cook the egg in the microwave remember to spray it as the egg will stick to the sides.

Now to heat up the Baked Beans in the Microwave

Of course, we can't forget the Baked Beans just open a tin or maybe you have your own preserved tomatoes which are nice, just warm up in the microwave in a Tupperware dish until hot, stirring occasionally about 2 mins.

Happy cooking!

Brunch meal for any occasion, hope these tips help you to succeed in your endeavors.

These days most families do not have the time to cook meals like this for breakfast, but when I was a child in the 1940s we had porridge followed by a cooked breakfast everyday.

I have to admit, even though we ate like this, I wasn't a over weight child.