Chez moi

No, that's not a restaurant (though it would make a great name for one). A few factors (bills, mostly, and some wining and dining on Friday) prompted us to forgo our usual brunch this weekend and opt for a breakfast at home. And it finally allowed me to break out and appreciate my French press in all its full glory.

Early on in our relationship, breakfast at home most likely would have meant buttered toast, or plain old cereal. Sometimes without the milk. Just  dry cereal. So sad. But as we've gotten older, we've gotten less lazy, and are cooking actual, nutritious meals.

A favorite weekend breakfast is pancakes, but we already had pancakes earlier this week (breakfast for dinner is such a happy occasion), so we decided on breakfast burritos.

That colorful concoction above is our eggs, cheese, peppers, onions and bacon all sitting pretty in the frying pan. So. Much. Bacon. We were big into turkey bacon for awhile — it's significantly cheaper, cooks faster and is, frankly, better for you — but nothing beats the taste, or even just the smell, of real, greasy, fatty bacon. I may never stray again.

During the cutting and beating and stirring of all that goodness, I got to work on the coffee. Our apartment complex has one of those fancy (and free) coffee machines, which can whip up a plain cup, a latte or cappuccino with a few pushes of a button. But this was our brunch, so I wanted to forgo the fast, convenient and free route, so it was time to break out my French press.

There she is.

More than a year ago, I purchased a Bodum model. Truth be told, I didn't get it much for the taste of dark coffee — I just loved it when restaurants brought out the press, and you got to filter the coffee yourself. It's so hands on! But, I soon realized, there's more to it than just the purchase of the press, and I've always found myself unprepared.

First off, I simply never quite had the right coffee grinds to use it — they were always too small and would find their way through the filter,  So, on my first food shopping trip here, I was smugly cautious of that, and, seeing the French roast label on my Starbucks bag, figured I was in the clear. Except that they were whole beans, and I needed a coffee grinder — something I also didn't have. O mon dieu!

Rather than simply buy ground beans, I figured I would take the fate of my French roast into my own hands. So this week, when I found myself at Target, I picked up a cute little Mr. Coffee grinder, and I was finally good to go. (Note to self: this little guy is really effective! After a few seconds in there, my beans are just the right size for the French press. A nanosecond longer, and they would have been too fine, and my pride, and patience, would have faced a possibly debilitating setback.)

When our food was ready, we wrapped our egg, veggie and meat mix in a few warm, whole wheat tortillas, during which we realized our wrapping skills still need a bit of work. No matter how many times I've watched a burrito get made at Chipotle or Freebirds (and it's been many), I'll never quite grasp how to make it all stay together without one end coming undone and ruining it all. Still, served with some OJ, French roast coffee, and this week's "Community," it was a pretty perfect meal. And that French roast? I still need to get the ratio of grinds to water right, but it was already such a richer experience than anything from the coffee machine.

But don't worry, we're not going to count on ourselves every weekend for a tasty, hearty brunch, and our hunt continues next week. Til then!