Easter Sunday Brunch, or, How To Completely Blow Your Cycling Weight Loss Goals

It's been quite a while since I posted here; April has been kind of a big month, leaving not a lot of time (usually due to falling asleep myself while putting the kids to bed) for blogging.  But I actually have a little time and a few topics to write about this week, so we'll start off with one related to the "Eat" part of this little publication.

We had some friends over for brunch on Easter Sunday and I was responsible for the menu.  Breakfast-y food is one of the things I like to cook the most, and I also really like cooking for special occasions.  This also gave me a good excuse to set the alarm and get up early to watch the live feed of Liège–Bastogne–Liège - another reason why cyclists should also list baking amongst their hobbies, especially in spring.

One of the kids attending our get-together is allergic to eggs (which is kind of ironic, since the morning's activities of course included an Easter egg hunt), which normally puts a crimp in breakfast.  But there are plenty of morning pastries that can be made egg-free, and brunch adds a certain freedom to incorporate items that aren't traditional breakfast food, while still retaining the feel of breakfast.

And so, without further ado, here is what I ate Sunday morning, completely blowing the day's calorie budget.

1. Coffee - Three Africans from Blue Bottle Coffee.  I kept a pot of water hot on the stove and brewed this as a pour-over, one cup at a time as needed.
2. Mimosas - My wife and son juiced a bunch of oranges, our friends brought over a couple of bottles of Prosecco, and we enjoyed these fresh bubbly flutes of joy all throughout the morning.  Oh, and yummy fresh-squeezed OJ for the kiddos.
3. Oatmeal scones - These are adapted from the oat scones served every morning at Arizmendi Bakery.  The differences: I don't put currants in mine (though I sometimes add chopped pecans, but not this time), I don't add the egg wash for the shiny top (see above about guest allergic to eggs), and I make them smaller and as rounds, rather than the traditional wedge-shape (they fit great in a jersey pocket that way!).  These were served with nectarine conserve from Frog Hollow Farm (we host a pick-up site for their CSA).
4. Roasted yukon gold potatoes, garlic, and red onions.  Cut the potatoes into small pieces, added 2 full bulbs worth of un-peeled whole garlic cloves, and 2 julienned red onions, tossed the lot in olive oil and Eatwell Farm's really great rosemary salt (we host their CSA, too), and roasted at 425F until epic.
5. Young broccoli sautéed with chorizo, young garlic, and spring onions.  Yes, more garlic and onions, but these younger ones have a nice mild flavor that is really nothing like that of their more mature counterparts.
6. Mixed salad greens dressed in olive oil, lemon juice, grey sea salt, and lavender.
7. Salad greens were served over lightly-toasted pain levain from Boulange de Cole Valley.
8. ...and then topped with a sunny-side up egg cooked in my cast iron skillet (with butter, duh), sprinkled with freshly-ground black pepper.  Well, except for the one served to the guest that's allergic to eggs.

I sure wish I'd taken some photographs, because it looked marvelous on the plate.  Actually, I wish I'd asked my wife to take some photographs, because she's a professional and does a lot of that sort of thing for her own blog, Eating Dirt (which, BTW, everyone who has any interest in food should read).  But I didn't.  Which means I'll have to make this again soon, because I really would like to show off how pretty it looked.

Now to figure out how to adjust the training plan to compensate for the extra, ahem, fuel.