Livermush (credit: Hanna Raskin)

For those who missed the long comments section on unusual breakfast ideas a couple of weeks ago on this blog, here’s the condensed version that went into print.

Odd Breakfast Isn’t Unusual

Our family goes through enough rice to feed a typical Chinese village. We generally buy short grain brown rice by the 25-pound bag, but on any given day the pantry holds fragrant Thai jasmine rice, Japanese short-grain white rice and carnaroli rice for making risotto.
I usually cook a large batch so we’ll have ample leftovers for future meals, including breakfast. Yes, it sounds strange, but a fairly common breakfast in our house consists of rewarmed rice topped with a fried (or, alas, microwaved) egg, some olive oil or soy sauce and a grind of black pepper. I have trained my children to appreciate this unusual breakfast.
Recently, I shared this information on my blog and asked people what unusual breakfasts they enjoyed. I was astounded not only by the huge number of responses, but also the variety of foodstuffs mentioned.
There is something about a favorite breakfast that speaks directly to the soul. It is the food you choose to power-on your somnambulant mind, to fill your limbs with energy, to greet the new day.
When people responded to my post, they shared something intimate about themselves. Their comments came pouring out in a rush of unbridled enthusiasm (”yum!”), defiance (”I know this sounds strange, but …”) and a kind of devil-may-care posturing as they described dishes that sounded weirder and weirder with each detail.
Yet as each ingredient piled on, I also got a clearer sense of who these people were. Here’s a sampling of comments, edited for grammar and spelling:

• “Livermush biscuits with mustard or if you must, add egg and cheese.” — Corky
• “Scrambled eggs and pimento cheese.” — Tom
• “I . . . tend to have a ton of kimchi that the wifey and I can’t get through, so there are a lot of variations of kimchi soup that I sometimes have in the morning with a bowl of rice.” — Gene
• “Plate of spaghetti topped with diced bacon/sausage/ham (pan fried), two sunny-side-up eggs and ketchup. Once plated, mix everything together . . . the mix of the runny egg yolk and ketchup is what really makes the dish.” — Steve
• “Peanut butter, mustard and bacon sandwich on toast. A guilty pleasure that is good 24/7.” — Kirkfish
• “My wife eats raw [sweet potatoes] for breakfast. Throw in a handful of raw almonds and she’s … in heaven.” — Bhorsoft
• “A fried egg and asiago cheese with lots of freshly ground black pepper.” — Jeff
• “Amazingly enough my family has started a tradition of breakfast tacos every weekend. It’s the only thing that I cook that my wife eats.” — Faceman
• “I always make an omelet with salsa, sriracha, jalapeno, and topped with Greek yogurt.” — Mike
• “Graham crackers with warm milk poured over.” — One Hot Mama
• “My favorite breakfast is hot oat bran . . . mixed well with frozen berries, a teaspoon of natural peanut butter, a dash of almond milk, and a tiny piece of dark chocolate. Even my kids love it!” — Margie
• “Toasted halved sub roll with rice, black beans, avocado, cheese and salmon.” — R.N.
• ” ‘Huevos Italianos’ with marinara, ham and cilantro on Italian bread. — Eric
• “I like steamed rice, fried tofu, kimchi and a fried egg in a bowl.” — Sean
• “Angel hair pasta with a raw scrambled egg mixed up in it, add fresh [Parmesan] or romano, fresh black pepper, a little salt. Yum!” — Ziza
• “My dad’s slow-cooked pulled pork barbecue. . . . Dad will scramble up some eggs, make a little pocket with peppers, onions, cheese, and … you guessed it — pulled pork.” — Tyler
• “Peanut butter on pancakes with syrup.” — Breakfast lover
• “Toast with butter and extra crunchy [peanut butter] mixed together then spread on the toast. On top of that, a fried over-easy egg with slightly runny yolk with dill pickle chips placed on the egg.” — Glenn
• “Two dry-fried chicken livers with eggs sunny side up.” — Jean
• “Fried slices of sugar-coated Spam, fried rice and sunny-side-up eggs, all doused with ketchup.” — Lucy
• “Grilled peanut butter and banana sandwich as you would grill a grilled cheese sandwich.” — Win-win
• “Love French toast made with panettone. I mix a little OJ and amaretto into the egg batter.” — Ganners
• “Eat all that nasty stuff you want; I’ll go to Waffle House!” — Spence