Disclaimers. Not mine. No money. Please, don't sue.
I was going to work on 'Kaleidoscope', but this machine ate all the punctuation. Grrrrr. I'll finish it up next week at work. As for this one, Let's see, What is this one going to be about? Hmmm. Ah, yes. Breakfast. Got it. Thanks to Babyheart for the use of one of her favourite breakfasts. Mine, too, actually. Hope I remember the recipe. The one thing I do remember is that it's yummy. :)
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It was Blair's turn to do the weekly shopping. As he cruised up and down the aisles, he noticed a few extra items that he tossed in his basket, even though they weren't on the list. If Jim had been there, he would have made comments about 'Blair Food', meaning it wasn't anything he would ever want to eat.
It was only the beginning of March, but all the Easter stuff was out on the shelves. As he coasted up the promotional aisle, he was reminded of another holiday. One which he should have remembered without the special sale.
Passover. He slowed down and looked at the shelf, only a part of a shelf, really. Nearly lost amidst the candy and stuffed animals and baskets of Easter. He stopped, remembering. It was a small incident from his childhood. He smiled as he recalled his grandfather. How for that one day, he would cook breakfast. And what a breakfast. He started salivating at the memory. He couldn't resist. He added a box of Matzoh crackers to his basket, looking for the recipe on the back of the box, but not finding it. He'd have to try to make it from his memory of what it tasted like. He could hardly wait, unconciously bouncing in anticipation.
Saturday morning. Blair had awakened early, the anticipation of his childhood favourite breakfast getting him up much earlier than he would normally awaken on a day off. He showered and shaved, then dressed. Jim was still asleep, so he tried to be as quiet as he could. He made the coffee and started his preparations for breakfast. He minced the onion and then saute'd it until it was translucent. He placed it in a large mixing bowl. Then he took half a dozen eggs and added them to the bowl, whisking them with a little water into a froth. When it looked right, he opened the box of Matzohs and took several sheets of the crackers, crumbling them up and adding them to the egg and onion mixture, leaving them to soak up some of the liquid.
At that point, he crept to the foot of the stairs leading up to Jim's loft bedroom. Listening, trying to hear any sound of his friend's return to consciousness. He heard the rustle of the sheets as Jim rolled over, followed by a soft grunt of awakening. He slipped silently back to the kitchen and started reheating the frying pan. When it was ready, he poured the egg/onion/matzoh mixture into the pan to cook.
"Smells good, Chief." Jim called out as he came down the stairs a few minutes later. "How long until it's done?"
"About fifteen minutes. You have time for a shower." Blair told him as he handed him a cup of coffee. Jim couldn't help but notice that the table was even set. Hmmmm.
"OK. I'll be out in a few."
He looked at the odd looking mass on his plate. "What is this?" He asked, uncertainly. He could smell eggs and onions, but there was something odd-looking about it. He poked at it with his fork. "What did you put in here, tofu?" Pushing the plate away with a grimace.
"Uh, no tofu. It's Matzoh Brei." Looking like a lost puppy. This had been his favourite breakfast, and Jim wasn't even going to try it? He withdrew a little into himself, hurt that he had managed to blow it again.
Jim realized that he'd hurt his friend's feelings. He drew the plate back toward him, trying to decipher what it was. "OK, I'll bite. What is Matzoh Brei?" Poking his fork into the mass again.
"It's eggs, onions, and Matzoh crackers."
"Crackers?"
"Matzoh crackers."
"What are Matzoh crackers?" Watching his friend, wondering where on earth...Matzoh? Oh, shit.
"It's unleavened bread. Like when the Isrealites left Egypt? You know, the Bible?"
Oops. "So, what made you decide to make it?" It smelled good. It just looked strange. Maybe it would taste all right.
"I was doing the shopping, you know? I was on the promotional aisle and there was all this Easter stuff, and this one part of a shelf with all the Passover stuff on it, Matzoh, gefelte fish, borsht, candles, everything." He fell silent, poking at his food, nervously.
"Go on." Jim said gently, taking a small forkful of the concoction and tasting it.
Blair took a deep breath, still looking at his plate, not looking up, afraid of the ridicule he expected. "Well, when I was a kid, we stayed with my grandfather one spring, for Passover, he would cook breakfast. The only time he would ever cook. It's called Matzoh Brei. It was my favourite breakfast. I saw the box and remembered. I...I thought I'd try to make it. I'm sorry."
He pushed his plate away and started to get up, only to have Jim's hand reach out and stop him. He looked up into his Sentinel's face, curious, nervous. Surprised.
"It's pretty good, Chief." He released Blair's arm. Meeting confused blue eyes with his own apologetic ones. "I'm sorry." He didn't know what else to say.
Blair realized that Jim was actually eating the breakfast he'd prepared. His entire face lit up with a happy smile. "You like it? Really?"
"Yeah, Chief. I do. It just looked kind of funny." Trying to explain, feeling he was falling short, again, as usual. He shrugged.
"I should have told you about it first, not just sprung it on you like this. I'm sorry." Realizing that he should have known to warn Jim about something new. The guy was so not into experimentation when it came to food. Basic meat and potatoes man. That was Jim. Except for eggs. The man loved eggs. Probably the only reason he did try it.
"Yeah, well, a little warning might have been in order. It really is good." He took another forkfull and popped it in his mouth.
"Does that mean I can make it again, some time?"
"Yeah. Sure." He smiled at his friend. "Just, next time, warn me if you're trying something...new."
Blair matched the smile. "You mean, I can cook anything I want and, as long as I tell you about it, you'll try it?"
Jim chuckled, finishing off his breakfast and reaching for his coffee cup, "Within reason, Sandburg. Within reason."
The End
I have to admit to being the one who does most of the shopping in my household. Like Blair, I tend to get things not on the list. There is a shelf in the cupboard with nothing but "Tonie Food" on it, all my weird stuff with the non-English labels, the Chinese dehydrated vegetables and sauces, the Indian Curries, the Kosher foods. My roommates will eat most of my cooking (unless they can tell that there is tofu in it), they just don't ever ask what's in it. They're too afraid. :) R.I.EATON