Breakfast at Siti's

If I ever had a restaurant, it would 90% be a breakfast/brunch spot.

I. Love. Breakfast.

Breakfast foods, breakfast time, breakfast rituals. IT’S AMAZING. As you read, you’ll see pictures of some of the breakfasts from this past week. I didn’t want to talk on and on, without some examples. Also, this was a fun and raw archive to be more candid with what I ate. I hope you’re inspired? Maybe, I’m not sure.

Omelet with tomatoes, onions, spinach, and cheese with green chalula. This isn’t a weekly occurrence, I promise you this is probably the prettiest thing you’ll see.

I love the ritual of breakfast. While every day is different and asks different things of us, there’s a big chance that the breakfast window stays pretty consistent.

Personally, I can’t start my day unless I have some kind of breakfast time/ritual. While in college, it’s looked like this.

• Make coffee (put on a kettle, grind some beans, I’ve been making French press the last few months, but I do love a good pour-over).

• Make breakfast (definitely varies day by day, depending on how much time I have)

• Spend time with the Lord and crack open my Bible (some days are easier than others, either way, if I don’t do this, I’m a mess)

• Journal/mentally prepare for what I have to do next.

This isn’t new information, and I’m not saying that every person has to do this routine, but this works for me! I find a lot of peace in the consistency, and something to look forward to when I get up in the mornings.

a bagel “cucumber toast”-mayo, cucumber, dill, S&P, lemon juice, with a scrambled egg and spinach

Then there are holiday rituals. I know a lot of families in the US do big breakfasts for Christmas or Easter, or birthdays.

The biggest holiday morning rituals in my family is The Newspaper.

I love newspapers. My sister loves the crossword, my dad does the word jumble (but will leave it blank when we’re home), I like the word search. Our local paper will release this HUGE crossword during the holidays, it’s super sexy.

The morning newspaper reminds me of my Siti. When she got older, she’d snip out the word jumbles for the cousins so when they came over, they could do it all at once (so sweet). I also have a lot of memories of sitting at her kitchen table, listening to her figure out the crossword answers out loud.

Half an Everything Bagel with cream cheese, greens, tomatoes, and S&P

Breakfast was always good at Siti and Gido’s. Standard American staples most days; bacon, eggs, coffee, Syrian toast. She’d also make a Lebanese version of Migas with Syrian bread, I’m sure there’s a real name for it but I can’t remember.

When my cousin and I were really little, we’d spend a lot of nights at my grandparents, and 80% of the time be fighting. Except, when breakfast hit, without fail she’d make blueberry and chocolate chip pancakes. We never fought eating pancakes, shocker.

An awful picture of my overnight oats. While you can’t tell, these were banana, peanut butter, oats with pumpkin seeds, almonds, and cinnamon

As of recent, most of my breakfasts interchange. I love a good piece of toast with filling toppings, or thrown-together overnight oats (something I’m passionate about and will probably do a whole article on one day). I love incorporating Middle Eastern staple ingredients in my breakfasts. Call it creativity, call it an identity crisis. For example, stovetop oatmeal with berries and Labne, cinnamon, and honey, or add tahini to my overnight oats (I eat a LOT of oatmeal). Every now and then, I’ll make a makeshift “traditional” Lebanese breakfast, which is a spread of cucumbers, tomatoes, Labne w/ olive oil and Za’atar, bread, and olives if I have them.

Sourdough toasted with Labne, strawberries, cinnamon, and honey.

I understand making breakfast is an extra effort in the morning, but using it as a creative outlet to start my day off is worth it.

If you’re not a breakfast person, you’re missing out. If you’re not a breakfast food person, I don’t relate to you, but I hoped you enjoyed reading this.

With love,

Cara