Root-veg fritters for breakfast and beyond, and mushrooms in a tomatoey sauce topped with slabs of crisp polenta

These recipes help see me through from winter to spring. The carrot fritters are a go-to breakfast number in our house (but are equally good at lunch or dinner) and can be made with whatever root veg you have around. I enlist my four-year-old son to help with the grating and mixing. The polenta and mushroom dish is like a warm embrace – rich, comforting and fortifying – and will convert any polenta sceptics in your life.

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Serve these cakes as a vegan weekend breakfast – the flavour variations are almost limitless

Like many of my fellow southerners, and many of my fellow Indians, I love black-eyed peas. My mom seemed to know dozens of ways to prepare them, and the variation kept us satisfied; looking back, I now realise that it also probably helped her stave off boredom in the kitchen. She served these griddle cakes for breakfast or as a quick afternoon snack. After the peas soak, the batter is simple to prepare and the cakes cook very quickly.

I used to think that soaking, grinding and deep-frying or griddle-frying black-eyed peas was a uniquely Gujarati thing, until I realised that the west African pea fritters called accara use much the same technique. Black-eyed peas migrated east and west from their west African origins, to the Indian subcontinent and to the Americas. Their myriad preparations – distinct, but showing threads of kinship – offer ties that bind diverse cultures.

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Take your tastebuds Stateside with these smashed potatoes with ranch dressing, sweet potato pie with whipped cream, and quick biscuits with sausage gravy

From Spain last week to the big old United States this, I think I’m still on some kind of imaginary summer holiday road trip. That’s the power of food, though: it can take you to places that life and logistics prevent you from actually ever getting to. In my mind, then, here are three deliciously dialled-up diner dishes for which I’d turn off any highway.

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Life is tough enough without having to consider what to make for breakfast with little mess. If you’re anything like me and want to avoid adding to your dish-washing duties, here are some options to get you out of a toast or cereal rut.

Since the working from home cycle began back in March 2020 (man, it’s been a long time), I’ve had a bit of extra time in the morning. While that’s given me the opportunity to get in a few extra winks, it also means making something for breakfast is once again possible — something my commuting days made quite difficult.

Just because I have an extra half an hour to crash around the apartment like the morning zombie I am, however, doesn’t mean I want to dedicate it all to making something gourmet and then having to clean up after.

It’s why I’m proposing this list of simple breakfast ideas to get you out of the cereal or toast rut you’ve found yourself in. There’s nothing revolutionary on the list, so if you’re expecting that, you might want to hit the ‘x’ on this tab. We’re going through a damn global pandemic and there’s no time to be shamed into being a breakfast chef.

Let’s talk easy as hell ideas.

Bagels and whatever

Bagels are a little niche in Australia but they sure as hell aren’t toast and that’s the goal here. You might have to do a little searching in your local supermarket but it’s worth the effort —  bagels are great because you can get away with a multitude of toppings. The classic, and easiest way, is just to slice it in half, bring out the sandwich press then slap some cream cheese and maybe chopped chives or spring onions for a bite.

Otherwise, experiment . The world’s your bagel.

Tamago kake gohan, or Japan’s answer to simple breakfast

When I visited Japan before-COVID times, a friend showed me this ingenious breakfast option called tamago kake gohan or ‘egg on rice’.

You’ll need to do a tiny bit of prep ahead of making this super simple dish. Make enough rice for three breakfast portions (or for whoever else you’re feeding) the night before and then whack it in the fridge. In the morning, put your rice into a little bowl, crack an egg into it and add a combination of soy sauce, salt, dashi (bonito stock powder) and sesame seeds or oil. Then whisk it furiously with some chopsticks.

Once it’s done, you’ll have a simple rice dish ready for eating. If you are a bit iffy about eating raw egg, and that’s valid, you can heat up the rice in the microwave after you’ve whisked it thoroughly.

Last night’s leftovers

I get that there’s some sacred rule book in Anglo culture that says you can’t eat ‘dinner’ food for breakfast but throw it out. Whatever you’ve got left over in your fridge from last night’s dinner will do fine for breakfast.

Pizza, stir-fry, pasta, noodles and even steak. Just heat them up with your preferred method — microwave or the grill is king — and bam , you’ve got yourself a breakfast. Ain’t no shame in it.

Fruit and peanut butter bowl

We’ll end this list on a god-tier suggestion from my editor — the fruit and peanut butter bowl. Have some bananas that are starting to get iffy? What about some berries? Great. Slice up the banana and add it and the berries to a bowl. Then smother in crunchy or smooth peanut butter.

A breakfast treat that’s naughty, nice and most importantly, extremely simple.

If you don’t have fruit on hand, then peel a carrot or cut up some celery and dip it into your peanut butter bowl. You’ll win no culinary awards but you will satisfy your morning tummy rumbles.

This article has been updated since its original publish date.

The post 4 Easy Breakfast Options You Can Make Half-Asleep appeared first on Lifehacker Australia .