Myrtle Claus
After all these years, a slight feeling of guilt still crops up when visitors ask me about it. I confess it then reluctantly. Like a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar. Literal. Therefore, hoping to get rid of those disapproving looks and shaking heads once and for all, I now announce it to the world: I'm having breakfast the Italian way!
An Italian breakfast
That doesn't mean I have to run to the bar early every morning for my daily cappuccino and the accompanying brioche. I'm not denying that sometimes happens. But I also have breakfast at home just the Italian. I make coffee, froth milk and eat a handful of cookies with my cappuccino.
Guilt and gnawing conscience
So why do I always feel that slight guilt? A little bit because of the shocked reactions of our Dutch visit. But for the most part my own conscience plays a role. I grew up with plates Brinta. These were later replaced by hearty brown sandwiches with jam. And very occasionally cheese. With of course the indispensable cup of milk or cup of tea to wash everything down. A good start, because that's half the battle.
That idea of 'good' doesn't fit with that mountain of sugars without fiber that my breakfast consists of these days. Deep down I know that, but I can ignore that nagging conscience. Until a Dutchman asks about my breakfast.
Why not actually? 3 reasons
Of course you may wonder why I didn't keep up that good Dutch custom when we moved to Italy.
Mainly due to the lack of an important basic ingredient: brown bread. Brown bread was almost impossible to find here in those early years. Let alone nice brown bread. The Tuscan bread is not a good substitute: it looks mouth-watering, but tasteless without that bit of salt.
In addition, such an Italian breakfast is quickly eliminated. Also by lingering children who eat the Tuscan sandwiches with long teeth and yet somehow have to show up for school on time. With the snack from half-elf in mind, a cup of milk with biscuits is the perfect way to save time.
Sweet tooth
And third, an Italian breakfast is simply paradise for a sweet tooth like me. All those different sweet rolls on the counter. All those different types of cookies in the supermarket. It is a true Valhalla. If you consider that you have virtually no sugars for the rest of the day, it is very easy to go for the axe. Especially if everyone around you does so without any problems and without a hint of guilt.
Extensive brunch without an extensive lunch
Whether we have completely abolished the Dutch breakfast? No, it is not! Sometimes, on Sunday mornings, we feel like it. We bake those brown rolls ourselves, we cook eggs, we set the breakfast table with everything you can think of and we brunch so extensively that we skip the Italian lunch.
Although my husband will only begrudgingly admit it when people ask him what we ate that day. Because Italians can also look disapproving and shake their heads when it comes to eating habits.
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