Does This Look Like Breakfast to You?

Does this look like breakfast to you? A year ago it wouldn't have looked like breakfast to me, but now it does -- particularly on certain days when my body is pining for it. You know those days, when you crave the fresh, clean energy that only collard greens can provide, the morning after a stressful day, or after overindulgence in fatty or otherwise nutritionally unsound foods. As a vegan, I have learned to pay attention to cravings, and my body is now very clear about communicating its needs. Are you still unconvinced about the beautiful breakfast I had yesterday? Well take a look at it five minutes later:

Mmm -- just looking at it again is making me hungry! I cooked the collards and onions very quickly at high heat in olive oil. See that caramelization? Delicious! Sharing plate space are leftovers from the day before, an updated version of Mushroom and Bean Melange (see Archives, September, "Gourmet at Home" for my recipe). For this update, I only had button mushrooms, not the oyster mushrooms, so instead I added a can of quartered artichoke hearts (not marinated). This made the dish taste quite different. Both are fabulously filling and elegant.

I had gone hungry all morning before creating this, as I was tending to my poor, almost-six-foot-tall baby boy who was suffering from a migraine headache. Incidentally, I fixed him a bowl of miso soup which did provide him some relief. By the time I got Hans all tucked back into bed to sleep off the headache, I was able to tend to my own needs, and the above breakfast, er, brunch, was created. As a mom, I worry more about my kids than anything else. It'll be a life sentence, I can see. Staying nutritionally balanced in times of stress is the best thing I can do for all of us.