Breakfast at Chasing Delicious

Howdy! For all my new readers, subscribed readers who might be a bit forgetful, and Project Food Blog judges, I am Russell van Kraayenburg. Welcome to Chasing Delicious!  Before we start the day, I’d like to tell you a story. See, I typically start my day not only with coffee and a delicious breakfast but with stories; breakfast is when I catch up on all of my favorite blogs–foodies and otherwise–, news sites, and social media. I feel it is appropriate then to start this entry off with a story.

This is the story of my foray into chasing delicious food. It all started twenty-four years ago when I was born. Ok, maybe not that early. Fast forward one short year and my parents discovered I loved cake.

And I mean loved cake. It wasn’t long after I became my family’s personal chef; I should probably mention though, all my dishes were made out of mud and were made exclusively in my sandbox. Of course, I did eventually graduate to our kitchen, though it took many years and too many oddly colored dishes before I was making edible food.

In fact, it wasn’t until after I graduated–with a degree in radio-television-film–that I decided I wanted to spend all my waking time in the kitchen. This came as a small shock to my parents as they had spent way too much money funding my excursion at the University of Texas at Austin, which to them at this point was looking more and more like an extremely expensive five year vacation for their oldest.

It hit me on Thanksgiving, as I held a turkey leg in one hand and a world of aspirations in the other. The ten hours I spent in the kitchen before that particular thanksgiving meal gave me so much joy and so much reward that I wanted to emulate it everyday. There was one problem: I barely knew what delicious was; the majority of my life, especially the past five years, consisted of  cheeseburgers, pizzas, over-fried things, or previously frozen things.

I was lucky enough to get to travel around the states and world though–Italy, Germany, Switzerland, South Africa, Swaziland, the west coast, east coast, deep south, midwest, LA, Chicago, New York, Miami, DC, a whole host of small Texas towns and everything in-between. On each trip I became obsessed with eating vast amounts of the delicious regional food. Sites to see? No thank you! Leave me at a cafe or diner all day and I’m set! I had a world of inspiration reminding me what I was missing out on each time I scarfed down something simply for sustenance. Enough was enough.

I not only wanted to teach myself how to cook, I wanted to take myself on an adventure that would lead me to delicious dish after delicious dish. And because I love to tell stories–and to show my parents that their hard earned money was not wasted on my frivolous academic pursuits–I decided to create a multimedia blog following me on my pursuit of all things delicious. I’ll do anything to find that perfect, most delicious dish ever.

And I mean anything.

Ok, you don’t really have to worry about guarding your cart if you see me strolling down the isle at the grocery store, but I really will do anything to share the deliciousness with y’all out there! That of course includes recipes I stumble across or create, which are backed by hours spent in the kitchen, often searching through my favorite cookbooks and culinary textbooks.

And also numerous photos, like this one of my favorite breakfast: fresh fruit and left over bread from the night before; today it happens to be kiwi, black grapes, a banana, and ciabatta. Yum, yum, yum, and yum!

Or this one of my favorite pre-breakfast activity: checking out the local farmer’s market to people watch and to find delicious ingredients and inspiration.

Sometimes I like to put my education to good use and make a short video; In a previous post I shared tips about my favorite breakfast companion, coffee, and how to brew the perfect cup every time. Because my breakfast, and morning, is not complete without my cup of french pressed coffee, I’ve decided to share the video here again.

Other times I feel like doodling (click the image to enlarge). Take it from someone who only recently began starting his day with breakfast, there is a big difference!

So far in my chase I have learned a lot. I have learned that there is no limit to the deliciousness that exists out there. I have also learned that it really isn’t that hard to find the deliciousness and it is most definitely fun to chase it. But most important of all, at least so far, I’ve learned breakfast really is the most important meal of the day. It is not just a time to feed your starving body but a time to enjoy a delicious meal, a time to relax, to reflect on the previous day and the day ahead, and if I get my way every day, a time to enjoy a story and some good company. My mornings are spent sipping on coffee, browsing the numerous food blogs–and other blogs–I frequent, sharing my own culinary stories, and always enjoying a delicious meal; my mornings are spent doing the things I love.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my roundabout post on one of my favorite times of the day. I know I enjoyed sharing it. And in true Texan style, I have a request–a goodbye of sorts that is anything but a farewell and more so an invitation. This breakfast, a metaphor for my both my first Project Food Blog entry and the beginning of this exciting journey I am taking here at Chasing Delicious, truly is just the beginning of something very exciting.

So, y’all come back now.