Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us act, just once, with beauty and courage. Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that wants our love.

― Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet

This week has been hard on the world. Hard on the hearts. To that someone out there who asked “Can 2020 get any worse?” - I’m looking at you. There is a global pandemic, there are killings, there are lootings and riots, there is a state of emergency. I’ve spent the last few days educating myself in the form of movies (list here) and books. I hurt for my fellow human-beings. I’m trying to do better and be better. And if you’re not trying to do better than me, I’m looking at you, too.

This month I also continue my culinary learnings: (1) making my own donuts: sourdough, brioche, and potato donuts. Don’t even get me started about the glaze and filling ideas I’ve been trying to narrow down, (2) cooking more Filipino food. I recently messaged my mom and asked her for her top ten recipes and will start to work through them. Munggo, apritada, sinigang, and more in my near future. And (3) baking my way through Christina Tosi’s Milk Bar cookbooks. I set a goal to bake all twenty of her layer cakes and I’m about half-way done with flavors like pineapple upside-down cake and popcorn cake coming up next. When I’m not stressbaking or procrastibaking, I’m having deep, intellectual conversations with Marshmallow and Lambchop on the couch (read couch potato-ing). Other times I’m foraging the heck out of our neighborhood bushes and blooms and bringing everything into our home. Secretly I also plan grocery store runs or Instacart purchases in my daydreams. Oh, and I also work (some). Normal things. Me things in 2020.

JUNE THEME

What else is so 2020? I don’t know about you but we’ve started to have breakfast at home more. Oatmeal and cereal. Toasts and instant coffee. These things in heavy rotation. But, let’s take it easy and make it romantic.

Slow down and set the mood: Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong crooning, the morning light streaming in, the smell of coffee waking up every tired inch of the body, the bright sunshine yolk of every egg. And on the table: is that a perfectly oozy egg yolk? Is it the longsilog from my home and dreams? A hearty plate of huevos rancheros. A side of country potatoes or hashbrowns, ketchup included for sure. Is it time to finally make my own millionaire’s bacon? Chicken and waffles if I get over the fear of deep frying. Fried oyster, bacon, and scallion scramble from Brenda’s? Or maybe we’re all dreaming up sweetness to life. IHOP’s Fruit Lucky Charms cereal pancake stack, maybe? The tallest pancake stack I’ve ever seen in my life? With whipped cream of course. French toasts, bread pudding, cinnamon rolls, les viennoiseries from La Note… I don’t really need to go on. I’ll spare us the drool. Get your orange juices and coffee makers going, we’re doing breakfast for dinner!

JUNE MENU

• Continental American buffet by Elisa

  • Sourdough chocolate, cherry, and almond waffles

  • Sourdough apple cider waffles

  • Ginger and strawberry galette

  • Apricot and cinnamon galette

  • Bread tray: black sesame croissant, strawberry buttermilk croissant, lavender bread, sourdough bagel, rosemary shortbread, blackberry shortbread, vegan Danishes, rose jam, honey

  • Sausages & bacon

  • Egg scramble with homemade herb sauce and pickled onions

  • Balsamic side salad

• Pandan pancake, coconut whipped cream, and assorted fruits by Aaron

• Avocado toast with chili corn slaw by Janet

• Avocado toast with fried egg in bell pepper by Janet

• Chilaquiles by Miguel

• Breakfast sausages, egg, and cheese in a ravioli by David

• Pork belly on crisped rice with side of breaded egg and topped with hot honey by David

CONNECTING DETAILS

• When: Saturday, June 13 at 6:30pm

• We are practicing social distancing and isolation by hosting this event virtually