Chex

In my family as a boy growing up, my mother cooked and served us three meals a day, breakfast, dinner and supper, which we sat down and ate together as family. I've said here before, that you had to be sitting in your place when our father said the Blessing. The rule was that if you came late you could not sit down, and you missed that meal. I don't recall any of us three ever being late, and I'm sure that if it ever happened to me it was only once: I was always hungry, and I learn fast. 

For breakfast this morning I'm having Wheat Chex. Bit of maple syrup dribbled over the little squares, sliced half a banana and the rest of a box of raspberries. Milk. Yesterday I had corn flakes. When I was a boy, breakfast was usually cooked. Grits and scrambled eggs, or fried. Bacon or sausage. More often, hot cereal: oatmeal or cream of wheat, or my favorite "Hot Ralston". Once in a while mama made corn meal mush, but it was nobody's favorite. 

Very seldom cold cereal, it didn't fit mama's view of a proper healthy breakfast for us, but when we did it was a treat, especially if there was a banana to slice over it before you sprinkled on sugar and poured milk. We may have had corn flakes, I don't remember. Our favorites were Shredded Ralston (now Wheat Chex), Skinner's Raisin Bran, and my all time top favorite was Wheaties because they never got soggy, stayed fresh and crispy the whole bowl full. 

In recent years I've seldom had cold cereal for breakfast, but Linda does often and, liking it, I'm enjoying it again from time to time. Cannot stand any of the sweetened cereals except maybe the one the tiger eats, I can't remember the name of it but I think Tony the Tiger sells it, probably makes it right there in his cage at the zoo. Wheat Chex, Corn Chex, Rice Chex, whatever those little round things are as long as it's plain and not sweetened with honey or sugar. Cheerios made from oats, that's it. And there's one I especially like that has pecans in it, don't recall the name or brand. 

But more often I try to keep it to a protein breakfast. Best loved in no particular order: fried or scrambled eggs (Linda has to cook it if scrambled eggs, all others are dry), pork sausage, deer sausage, oysters. Mullet if there's any leftover from supper the night before. Pork chop. Leftover steak or beef roast. Meatloaf sandwich (extra thin ww toast and thin spread of mayo). Sometimes sardines, or I may open a can of salmon or tuna and mix up with mayonnaise to eat just like that or spread on the xtww toast. Now and then at Big Mama's on the Bayou, a BLT with extra bacon and extra tomato and a tiny cup of mayo on the side. Roast beef sandwich if we're eating breakfast at Cahall's.

Why am I telling you this? I'm not, these blogposts are never written for you in the first place. This morning, I'm just thinking about breakfast and stirring memories.

Pic: at 7:15 last evening, a small ship leaving port at a good clip, pic snapped viewing between layers of the scaffolding. 

T