There’s quite a bit of my history buried in today’s challenge photo:

  • The older I get, the more I am trimming down my life to simpler things. I can recall past Christmas mornings with huge tables set with a dozen different dishes. That sort of thing no longer appeals to me.
  • The main dish here is a plate of sourdough pancakes. Yes, I keep my own sourdough starter going; I was doing so long before the pandemic, thank you very much. This particular starter is about 8 or 10 years old. I feed it a quarter cup of whole wheat flour every morning (occasionally varied with dark rye flour) and then use it straight on the griddle to make pancakes if I don’t have any other plans for it.
  • I am a creature of habit. The two-pancake breakfast happens every other day, alternated with the homemade-bread breakfast.
  • No maple syrup for me. I gave that up on pancakes when my aging teeth started protesting too painfully against it. No need to go into my history of dental surgery here. Kids, brush your teeth better than I did.
  • No butter either. I’m vegan. Vegan “butter” (i.e., margarine under another name) does OK for baking, but it’s an abomination when presented as an actual butter substitute.
  • I realized after a while that what I missed about butter was the fatty mouthfeel and the saltiness. So these pancakes are dressed with a bit of high-quality olive oil (well, at least not “bottom shelf”; I can’t afford truly high quality these days) and a bit of ground sea salt. (No, sea salt isn’t healthier, but it’s easier to find in grinder-suitable crystals).
  • The other food here is some stewed prunes. I’m 66 years old and paying attention to my digestive plumbing is essential.
  • I’ve been drinking black coffee since I was 10 years old. I drink less of it these days, but one tiny french press worth every morning is nice. I’m not especially a coffee snob; I grind my own beans but I grind enough for a couple weeks at a time. I refuse to touch plastic disposable K cups or the like.
  • Feasting applies to mind as well as body. This is volume 2 of the Encyclopedia Britannica, a late 1940’s edition. I am working my way through the encyclopedia from one end to the other, though based on my speed on the first volume, I don’t expect to actually reach the end before I die.