on early summer and sweets at breakfast
well hello
happy summer!
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i like sweets for breakfast
more than at any other meal in fact.
it’s a habit i picked up
in my apprenticeship days.
an assigned task
that led to a lasting affection.
back then
when we were finished
when we were finished
baking the breakfast pastries
and set to start on afternoon tea
we’d stop for morning coffee.
i was the newest on the team then
and it was my job to sort our break.
it was easy to remember,
it was always the same.
it was always the same.
day after day, morning after morning
chocolate and butter sandwiches
chocolate and butter sandwiches
and small cups of coffee.
i’d take warm white buns
straight from the rack,
the kind with little hats on top.
the kind with little hats on top.
i’d rip them horizontally
and place a thick slice
of cold unsalted butter inside
atop that, two chocolate batons.
and i’ll tell you what,
it was delicious
ALL CAPS DELICIOUS EVEN.
we’d stand to eat them
rushed by the clock ticking,
eager to get on with our day.
it was a little bit of perfection for my then, twenty year old self.
with that though, let’s get back to today.
i like early summer almost as much as i like sweets at breakfast.
i like the start to the season.
i’m particularly taken with
the colours of roses
and the round heavy of peonies.
i like other people’s gardens
their pretty scents
and their look-at-me beautiful.
i’m fascinated with how
trees turn from willowy silhouettes,
to tall kind of, minarets of green.
i like how grass,
that seemingly days before
wasn’t there
now stands
near four feet tall.
i like that along the train tracks
i’m fascinated with how
trees turn from willowy silhouettes,
to tall kind of, minarets of green.
i like how grass,
that seemingly days before
wasn’t there
now stands
near four feet tall.
i like that along the train tracks
beside the place where i sometimes live
there’s a strip of wild like that.
apparently one day bare
apparently one day bare
then the next all sorts of green.
there’s a perfect spot for my table there
there’s a perfect spot for my table there
alongside a white bush that blooms.
and you know what
there’s a special kind of beauty
in watching the
city wake up from that place.
sheltered in that little spot of green
right in the centre and untended of it all,
yet right in the middle of the city.
there’s magic in that
magic in eating sweets for breakfast there.
magic in the company
i keep there.
toodles friends.
xo, n
photos: michael graydon
props & styling: me
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you can purchase a copy here
+
a new collaboration with my good friend
find out more here.
eeep!
+
birthday wishes to my sweet and super talented friend celine today!
+
if all goes well, we’ll be updating HG on monday.
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PS:
curious about the recipe?
i’ll be including more recipes here soon
but for now, here’s
a quick run down of my process.
the pavlova we ate that morning
was one made with a recipe really
it had brown sugar plus white
and was topped with a tart grapefruit moussaline.
(that’s about 50% curd and 50% whipped cream give or take)
we topped that with early summer fruits
macerated in a tiny bit of homemade raspberry jam,
vanilla bean, water and lemon zest
that we let stand in a covered bottle for just over an hour.
:::
Beautiful post! I wish breakfast could be outside everyday in the summertime.
What beautiful writing! I love every change of season. Warm mornings are such a treat, like sweets for breakfast.
This is beautiful, Nikole. Your photos and thoughts remind me of light summer nights back in Finland. And congratulations on the features! x
beautiful! lovely greetings
love the photo and the post :)
So beautiful, the light, the photos…all
So loverly, all of it. Mmm, summer.
oh my gosh! was this at 5am in the morning?? haha! Oh Nikole! You're the best. You and M make an amazing team.
clearly.
I cannot wait to hang out, the 4 of us.
And thank you for the birthday shout! Super sweet of you! One day I will come over for some sweets for breakfast.
yummm!!
just reading this felt like summer, so lovely here.
Oof. Nikole. Your writing is as sweet and simple as little drops of dew. Just perfect. x
So yum! Thanks for sharing the recipe. Those raspberries look so delicious on top of the pavlova. Stunning, as usual!
Looks fun. Looks cute. Looks yummy. Happy summer!
It looks so delicious!
The photos are great.
xx Viktoria
http://fashiondanslacuisine.blogspot.com/
That breakfast looks very alluring in the morning sun and tall grass. Looking forward to trying the recipe – half brown sugar? yum! I've missed your posts! x
This is,
definitely,
my favourite blog to read.
I thought you
should know.
I agree
with Ursula.
I appreciate
your poetic little take
on the simple things.
so much.
thanks.
haha :/ i was never much of a poet. but really, thanks.
An amazing post Nikole. Poppy and Grandma would love to have shared breakfast with you at their old kitchen table. xo Mom
gorgeous as per usual :) I want that in my belly hehe
I'm still swooning over the styling of these photos, how lovely!
oh everything is so perfect here.
like if summer had a picnic.
Adorable post! And I am SO jealous of that beautiful table in the middle of nature! I wouldn't mind to have breakfast there everyday ;)
Your post is like a christmas gift!
hi everyone, big thanks!
Looks so delicious ;)
Looks absolutely delicious
Hello Nikole. I just discovered your beautiful, inspiring blog. I have similar memories from my early days as a pastry chef–bread, butter, and chocolate (and lots of coffee). And I liked the butter and chocolate cold and firm. Nowadays, I don't eat breakfast, except when I've baked chocolate croissants, or there's cold leftover pie, or we're visiting a city with a good bakery. Those events are known in my household as Breakfast Exception.
Just discovered this lovely blog. Excited to read more. :)
Chocolate and butter sandwiches! Whoa! :)
the cake! the colors! what a beautiful season!
I'm loving the imagery on this blog!!! You take beautiful well styled images!!
yummy yum yum! you make the best foods – makes my tummy growl. love it all.