Five Hours of Sleep, 10 Minutes of Prep, and One Fantastic Sandwich

Oh Sundays. We heart you dearly. Not only are you the only day of the week that can be confused with a delicious dairy dessert, you give us peace, quiet, and another Student Showcase! This week's recipe comes from the fashionable Stephanie Fereiro. A Ryerson journalism student like myself and Jaclyn, she brings us her Brie and 'shroom Breakfast'which. Quick, portable, and more than ideal for breaking that fast when school rolls around.

Photography courtesy of Stephanie Fereiro.
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You know what’s beautiful about mornings? Stretching all of your limbs under your warm duvet, reveling in the softness of half-awake dreaming, and listening to the birds chirping outside your window while your mother brings you fresh brewed coffee and breakfast in bed.

Unfortunately not all of us live with our mothers, we wake up to alarm clocks instead of baby birds, and working two jobs and freelance writing put a big, fat “STOP RIGHT NOW” sign right where the face of that dream-someone should be. Or, if you’re like me, your cell phone doubles as an alarm clock and you sometimes hit the “talk” button and say a sleepy “hello?” to the imaginary person on the other end. And then your roommate makes fun of you. But it’s time to forget all of that! It’s time to wake up and stop hating mornings! (Or you could just make this recipe for lunch. You know, if you have the time to sleep in…)

This morning, after what felt like five hours of sleep, I decided to make myself the most gourmet breakfast I could muster up. The meal, which only took about 10 minutes to prepare, turned out delicious, and I wasn’t feeling empty by the time my lunch break rolled around at work.

What I Made:

A breakfast sandwich – but not your typical ham, egg, and cheese number – served with leftover fruit salad and a mug of Earl Grey.



What's In It:

-Extra virgin olive oil
-Teriyaki sauce
-A quarter of a large portobello mushroom
-One egg to fry
-Two slices of whole wheat bread
-A few slices of brie
-Half an avocado, sliced*
-Baby romaine lettuce
-Light mayonnaise
-Fresh ground pepper

Serves One

How I Made It:

1.First I prepared all of my ingredients: I cut the avocado in half and made little slices I could scoop out later, sliced the brie, and cut up the mushrooms.



2.Then I cooked the mushrooms: I turned a small frying pan on medium heat and added a drop of extra virgin olive oil. When the pan was hot, I threw my mushrooms in and splashed on some teriyaki sauce, then gave them a little stir.



3.While the mushrooms cooked, I started getting the sandwich ready: I toasted my bread, spread on some light mayo and added a little pepper.

4.When the mushrooms finished cooking (about two minutes or until dark brown), I pushed them to the side of the pan, added another little drop of olive oil, and fried my egg in the leftover teriyaki sauce.



5.While the egg was frying I topped one of my slices of bread with all of the sandwich toppings, making sure to put the cheese on top so it would melt.



6.When the egg was medium-cooked (yolk not too runny) I placed it on top of the cheese followed by the mushrooms on top, and then topped it off with my second slice of bread.



7.Then I cut the sandwich in half and put it on a plate with some leftover fruit salad I made the day before and a dollop of vanilla yogurt.



So, if you’re tired of grabbing an apple and a granola bar on your way out the door and feeling starving by lunch time, or if you’re making breakfast with someone who refuses to eat cereal, try this gourmet break-wich. I promise it’ll be worth waking up just a little bit earlier to take the time to make it.

* I’m aware that my avocado looks over-ripe and you can tell I cut out the gross bits… Sorry. It was still wonderful.